Another local Avaya partner is CCNA. Its operations director, Craig Sims, told ARN that the Chapter 11 filing is a concerning move for CCNA, but it will be business as usual for the time being, as it has not seen any direct effect on the business so far.
“It’s very hard to sell new solutions when it comes to companies in Chapter 11," Sims said. "The uncertainty around Avaya and its ownership structure makes it hard to sell a new solution into new customer bases. Our customers are obviously keen to know what’s happening with Avaya going forward.
“We’ve got some customers moving ahead with Avaya solutions, while some other customers are asking questions and evaluating things at the moment. But if Avaya has some capital to keep the US part of its business running while it is in Chapter 11, it would help. We will see how that pans out over the next month,” he added.
Westcon-Comstor A/NZ vice-president and managing director, Dave Rosenberg, told ARN that, as a distributor of Avaya’s solutions, business will continue between both companies and that there is no change to their operations.
“We are still distributing Avaya. Avaya is a longstanding global partner, so we are well-engaged with it.
“With the industry changing, any partner which is having difficulty is concerning; however it is important to note that along with Chapter 11 come protections. Going forward, we will need to work with it as we do with any partner where the circumstances change on what this means to our business,” he said.
An Avaya A/NZ spokesperson mirrored the sentiment of its partners, saying that business will continue in the local region.
“Avaya A/NZ’s position is the outcomes of several significant agreements with organisations including (but not limited to) major government departments and Tier 1 banks, and continues to work closely with partners to deliver on market demands.”
In addition, the spokesperson mentioned that Avaya A/NZ is in “on track for 2017” with a “strong pipeline supplementing existing momentum” under the continued leadership of Peter Chidiac, who was appointed managing director in August 2016.
