Digital Transformation is a misunderstood buzz term. To be sure, Digital Transformation is a thrown-around phrase, but we need to be frank – it’s an ever-increasingly relevant term as more call center infrastructures are seeing the need to adopt cloud solutions.
I spoke to Steve Forcum, Cloud Solutions Engineering Manager from Avaya, at a conference earlier this year. I asked him about Avaya’s digital solutions and how they can work for whatever an Avaya customer needs. Some may think that it requires a complete cloud solution, but Forcum says that’s not true.
“When I talk to customers about cloud, the very first question you have to ask is, are you ready to give up control? Because when you talk about cloud from us or any of the other cloud [companies], it’s like living in an apartment building when the landlord wants to come in to replace the carpeting if its a public cloud option.
“If you don’t like the wall, you tear it down. You can tell the contractors [Avaya] when to come. The ability to build based off of what your particular needs are drives a lot of value.” – Steve Forcum
“On the other end of the spectrum, we have one cloud private. You can have the ability to build a cloud solution that delivers the benefits you’re trying to realize out of cloud. Whether it’s the consumption model or data center resiliency – whatever the benefits you see in cloud – we can build a solution to give you that.” says Forcum. “If you don’t like the wall, you tear it down. You can tell the contractors [Avaya] when to come. The ability to build based off of what your particular needs are drives a lot of value.”
Avaya as the benevolent landlord rings true when it comes to cloud solutions. Avaya is aware that cloud solutions aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. So, being able to pick and choose for your business needs offers customization and value.
“One size fits all doesn’t fit all with the subscription you give to each user. One size doesn’t even fit all in terms of solutions. A lot of customers that I’ve talked to recently are looking at blending public and private together to create a hybrid solution,” says Forcum.
While making a custom solution is ideal for some businesses, it will take more time and consulting. But considering how long it takes to create a hybrid solution, Avaya discovering your business needs, and utilizing Avaya expertise is worth it.
“It takes more consultation because we really have to find out what are you trying to achieve. [We ask you] ‘How do you want us to build this?’ And then we go out and build it. So it’s a little bit slower. You do need a little bit more handholding. But it all depends on where you are in that journey. We can act as the GPS. You tell us the destination you’re trying to get to. We’re going to show you the different routes and then we’re going to go and help you avoid traffic jams along the way and help you get where you’re trying to get to,” says Forcum.
You can hear the rest of the conversation on the Steve Forcum episode of IAUG Insider Podcast. Click below to listen to the episode and go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe today.
