Avaya sees huge potential in Indian mkt

Avaya, the $4.37 billion provider of business communication solutions with its headquarters in Santa Clara, is looking at the Indian market in a big way.

“India has been a great investment,” says Gary E Barnett, SVP and GM for Engagement Solutions, Avaya.

The company has its largest Research & Development (R&D) base, comprising of its offices in Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad, in the country. India contributes to over 25 per cent of the company’s R&D operations.
 
“A lot of our new development happens in India. Every offering in our product portfolio has had some sort of contribution from India,” he said.

Vast resource
However, the focus here is more on new development, he says. The company recently acquired Novasoft, for its Hyderabad office. “One of the reasons we invest in R&D in India is not just because of its vast resource base in R&D, but also because the market in India offers immense potential and opportunity,” he says.

The speed of technology adoption and the shift to digitisation in the country, provide ample space for development of new and sustainable technology. “Since everybody is talking that language, it makes it that much easier for us to present and deploy our solutions,” says Satish Murthy, R&D Senior Director for Avaya, Bengaluru.

India has leapfrogged in adopting technology, which presents it with unique challenges of its own, said Murthy. However, the demand here in terms of speed, simplicity, efficiency and reach are elementary across all markets. This combination, coupled with the government’s initiatives of Digital India and Smart Cities, makes India a key market.

“Right now, there is a sense of urgency in India. However, solutions have got to be secure and reliable,” he said, adding that this is what makes India a market full of potential.

“If a solution can work in India, then it can work anywhere. You can also think of it as the ‘India-first approach’,” Barnett says. The company believes in taking an approach wherein their solutions are dictated by consumer requirements. “Educate us about your problem, and then we will work to develop a solution for it,” he adds.

The company anticipates a $10.9-billion contact centre cloud market, a $61.9-billion unified communications cloud market, and a $12-billion cloud services market across its global growth markets theatre by 2019.

The company is all set for its annual event Avaya Techathon 2015 to be held across Bengaluru, Pune, and Gurgaon, this month. The theme of the event is ‘Smart Everything’.