#preparetowin

Product Portfolio vs Reality
There is a lot to unfold here, so let’s just focus on the core concern. Avaya has, for way too long, claimed they have some CPaaS secret sauce and UC is beneath them. It is not so black and white. Some would argue that it is now a UC+ Application(s) kind of world! There is abundant messaging about some products/solutions that don’t add up. Example? MEDIA PROCESSING CORE. If it is what is claimed in many releases, customers should be tripping over themselves to buy and deploy. Why haven’t they? What is real vs what is promoted? Is Avaya a strategic partner with Microsoft Azure? Then why are the only information sessions with a partner and not with a Microsoft representative, or better, why not hosted by Microsoft? Will Avaya be featured at the next MS Ignite event? How does the relationship with Microsoft compare to the new Google Cloud relationship? These are the MACRO core go-to-market questions that need to be addressed. No one cares about these soundbytes of the week on Media Processing Core or the AI Powered Enterprise Learning Platform if we can’t address the cloud computing partner(s) available to enable the presentation of “Here is a Reliable Roadmap”. There needs to be a CLEAN and CLEAR menu of solutions and products for partners and clients. Not the over the top, “covering all bases” dump of random solutions and products that have been rebranded 5x in 2 years and come with tons of “if/then” disclaimers. Why would a client sign on for a hybrid journey toward cloud if they can’t trust what is real vs spin? GITEX Global has always created anxiety for client teams. Why? Because it is ground-zero for Avaya to present pie-in-the-sky solutions that are either not real, not available in most markets, or won’t work as promoted. Is Avaya COMPOSABLE or COMBUSTiBLE?
RIGHT SIZING CUSTOMER BASE & METRIC FOR DEFINING LOGOS & CLIENTS
– 90,000 Customers? What is the break down of Products/Solutions/Contract Length/Subscription/Cloud. How much revenue does each type drive?
– What is the accurate cumulative attrition since the last time the 90,000 # was updated? Has Avaya ever updated its client numbers since coming out of bankruptcy?
– 1400 Net New Logos? What’s the metric to define a new customer? Employees have been told it is if the client has not transacted with Avaya in 3 years. However, how many of those 1400 “new logos” are included in the 90,000 customer metric? Safe to assume they are already accounted for in the 90,000?
– What is the minimum to qualify to be labeled as a new customer? If they signed a license for a free Spaces Account, does that non-revenue generating customer get tracked as a new logo? Was it these free Spaces clients that were accounted for in the total projected subscription revenue?
– The 400m new client? The reason the market jumped in on the Avaya smoke and mirrors was that it was communicated in earnings calls and trade publication interviews that the new 400m client was just the first in what would be multiple new, similar sized clients joining each quarter. It is time to walk that back? Share how unusual the client situation was and how it is near impossible to replicate that deal? And is that deal still on?
Avaya Culture Attitudes re: Market Perception Concerns
Naturally, there are many in the open market who have opinions about Avaya, whether they are alliance partners, resellers, a long term investor or playing a short. Regardless, they all tend to read a lot of what is coming out of Avaya. It is interesting that when these individuals quote “90k customers in 190 countries” that is ok, yet when they speak critically or present a concern, some Avaya employees ridicule them. It’s also odd that some employees tend to totally disdain market voices as if anyone who follows Avaya is lesser than them and should fall in line with the historical hierarchy of “kiss the ring” culture. We are certain it didn’t take long for you to observe the established culture where posturing to those in charge is priority over talent, skills or execution. Many of us have been impacted. It is easy to be resentful. We would rather be constructive and honest. Is it frustrating that many who lack core technical skills or effective messaging prowess survived when we didn’t? Absolutely. Does dwelling get anyone anywhere? No. We would prefer that our legacy is tied to an organization that resets the culture, fixes the ethical and financial concerns, and regains its position as being customer-centric where it delivers value and solves client problems.
What is Status of 10q, Open Investigation(s), Whistleblower Report, Corrected Earnings for Q3 (possibly Q1 & Q2, too) & 2023 Bonds?
–8/9/22 Earnings Call Comments–
”..my commitment to you is that our team and I will share information in an open, honest, direct and transparent manner. And second, I've always considered Avaya's opportunity for success to be much greater than its past performance.”
–9/27/22 Interview–
**“And so the lender reaction of how in the world can you do this financing on the 12th of July and 16 days later now announced a big miss. So that has created sort of a cascading effect where because we now until we get this settlement with the lenders done or not paying off the near term maturity is not due till June. That then triggers our auditors to say well, then you’d have a going concern qualification and because the Board of Directors through the audit committee initiated investigations given the magnitude of the mess which is a very smart appropriate step for of corporate governance to do, you know our auditors saying, well, we’re not going to issue the queue until the investigations are completed. So you have this swirl that happens around those events. And so what I’ve tried to do is focus the organization on getting this financial upset behind us.”**
This would imply that the investigations are NOT complete. So despite regular comments that the financial concerns are just NOISE, they are REAL until the investigation is complete. Is that correct? We are anticipating the removal of the growing concern and the release of the 10q. As you are well aware, Avaya has burned through all 9-lives on the “just trust us” promise. Facts must be shared.
Thank you for your time. We heard you when you shared that you “read everything”. We appreciate your attention to all communications and your promise to change the culture. God speed. #PreparetoWin