Avaya and RingCentral have announced that they will be providing Avaya customers with a range of new tools and solutions, including a new hybrid offering.
Announced at Avaya Engage – the company’s flagship event – the hybrid solution will combine RingCentral’s AI-powered cloud business communications capabilities with Avaya’s Aura platform.
The solution promises users of both Avaya Aura and Avaya Cloud Office (ACO) the ability to "seamlessly" collaborate with each other, as well as allowing Avaya enterprise customers the option to use either Aura or ACO for call control functionality.
The companies also outlined the ability to combine existing Avaya solutions with RingCentral’s video calling, messaging, and RingSense AI features as an example of the "additional value" that the hybrid solution brings.
In discussing the potential of current and future collaborations between the two companies, Alan Masarek, Avaya CEO, said:
Our expanded partnership with RingCentral enhances communications and collaboration experiences for our global customers. This integration further demonstrates our commitment to innovation without disruption. We are empowering our customers to operate where and how they want – on-prem, private cloud, or public cloud – without missing a beat.
So, let’s take a look at some of the other innovations that the partnership expansion will bring about.
Increased RingSense AI Availability
While the new hybrid solution was the major takeaway from the announcement, the companies also revealed a number of additional advancements and added features.
Chief among these was the increased availability of RingSense AI. Having already been accessible to ACO customers as part of the new partnership, it will now also be included with the Avaya Aura integration.
The solution, which is generally integrated throughout RingCentral's suite, is designed to boost individual productivity and foster business collaboration.
With core capabilities that include live transcriptions, closed captioning, video summaries, and video highlights, the solution streamlines processes, saving employees time on manual tasks and allowing them to concentrate on more valuable aspects of their interactions.
The wider availability of the tool clearly caught the attention of Zeus Kerravala, Founder and Principal Analyst at ZK Research, who commented:
RingCentral customers are using RingSense AI to transform customer interactions, and soon, Avaya's massive Aura customer base can enjoy the benefits of RingSense AI as well while continuing to take advantage of the bulletproof reliability of Avaya's private cloud solution.
Microsoft Teams Integration
Expected to be available by late June 2024, the new partnership will also involve an enhanced integration of ACO phone capabilities with Microsoft Teams, utilizing direct routing and the RingCentral for Microsoft Teams embedded app.
This integration allows Microsoft 365 customers to incorporate RingCentral's reliable 99.999% uptime and comprehensive cloud PBX features into their Microsoft Teams environment.
Updated Avaya Experience Platform Public Cloud Integration
And the integrations don’t stop with Microsoft. The Avaya Experience Platform (AXP) public cloud contact center will also be integrated within ACO – offering customers a unified experience in communications and contact center operations.
