Speed is an important factor in digital transformation, but successful companies need to tackle the change at a pace they can sustain and not try to change everything overnight, says Avaya’s VP Cloud & Service Sales.
“Some organizations might want to take their transformation slowly while others might have the scope to be more aggressive,” said Ian Purdell-Lewis in a recent interview. “Any company, regardless of where it is in its journey, should probably give a subscription program a close look as a way of controlling its pace.”
The subscription business model, pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, only hit the IT sector in the mid-2000s, but it has transformed the way companies do business and how their offerings are consumed. Many organizations subscribe to multiple services, attracted by the flexibility they offer.
The subscription “story” now touches almost every industry, with companies in consumer services, financial services, healthcare, education, and even manufacturing evolving into – or beginning life as – a recurring revenue-based subscription provider.
IDC predicted a few years ago that by 2020, the creation of digitally-enhanced products, services, and experiences would be central to their future success of half the top global firms. The digital economy has arrived, and businesses are trying to do things today that will enable them to best serve their customers in the future.
Avaya created its IX Subscription Program to address a number of customer needs in the cloud era. “Customers are looking to move to the next generation,” said Purdell-Lewis. “They want all the new functionality, flex, predictability, and the freedom to innovate.”
Avaya understands that cloud is streamlining the way tech is acquired. It also knows the kinds of questions customers have on their minds regarding technology and transformation, including:
- How do we lower our business risk while increasing our operational agility?
- How do we streamline and optimize our purchasing process?
- How do we achieve more flexibility to add new services and users?
Purdell-Lewis sees speed as a major reason why Avaya’s IX Subscription Program works. “The program enables us to transition our customers at a pace that works best for them,” said Purdell-Lewis. “It allows them to improve their control over operations. They become more efficient as a result, and can transition however quickly or slowly they wish.”
The benefits of Avaya’s IX Subscription include:
- Software – always the latest software, automatically updated
- Support – 24/7 assurance that solutions are close to hand
- Agility – no large capital outlays, consume-as-required services
- Flex – ability to add services, users, devices as needed
- Predictability – fixed costs, no matter what happens
- Focus – free of contracts, dedicate more time to business
The true value of IX Subscription in the flexibility it gives organizations, says Purdell-Lewis. “Flexibility is at the top of the list of benefits,” he said. “Our customers can ‘burst’ up or scale down, and can even flex up to 20 per cent over their number of subscribed users at no extra cost. Flex in the program means flex in the ways our customers run their operations.”
“The predictability is very attractive to companies that in the past may have found the costs associated with keeping their technology up-to- date uneven and unpredictable. Our IX Subscription, which includes upgrade entitlement, gives companies peace of mind. That means no more guessing.”
Avaya’s IX Subscription Program can be an important next step in companies’ move to the cloud or in their overall digital transformation.
“We can meet our customers wherever they are on their journey,” said Purdell-Lewis. “Some might not be prepared to move everything over to cloud just yet; these enterprises will pay just for what they need now, scaling up and down as the situation demands. This phased approach of gradual movement, or steps taken over a period of time, is working well for many of our customers.”
