New York, With a (Avaya) FlareNew York, With a (Avaya) Flare

I can't stress enough that the PowerPoints and PDFs used for briefings can’t do Avaya Flare justice--it has to be seen.

Avaya announced its long-anticipated Flare experience yesterday with an appropriate level of fanfare. The first class launch event was held in a signature building in the trendy Chelsea/Meatpacking District in New York, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. I asked Skip MacAskill Director, Corporate Communications at Avaya why he chose the location. He replied that he was looking for something more exciting, more vibrant than a boring hotel ballroom--a place that was modern, almost futuristic...and in keeping with the vibe of Avaya Flare.

In planning the launch it was also clearly important to be able to show the experience and device, not just from a stage but in an exhibit area. A place where experts were on hand to not only answer questions and demonstrate the software but run backstage and get a device so I could pick it up and play with it, getting a real feel for the weight screen and sound quality. I can't stress enough that the PowerPoints and PDFs used for briefings can’t do Avaya Flare justice--it has to be seen.

As I reviewed the articles that have already been written on the No Jitter site about yesterday's announcements from Avaya, I’m not surprised to see a skeptical – sometimes negative--tone being taken by those who may not have been in New York. In It's the Software, Stupid, for example, Melanie states "Avaya is using the (very awesome) interface to sell a piece of hardware," and "it makes me wonder if Avaya is getting cold feet when it comes to transitioning to a software-centric communications world." I instead clearly walked away with the sense that for Avaya the announcement was NOT about the device, but as Blair states in her blog, about the Flare experience. That said, I have to agree with Melanie that moving Avaya Flare to a computer desktop--and quickly--is a must. While high end video may be great for some, for the many that already have 24 inch flat screens on their desk, it’s about enabling the video and collaborative capabilities.

Being in New York for the event brought additional benefit to the analysts who were invited and able to make the trip on relatively short notice (everything was quite hush hush). Director of Analyst Relations Marijke Shugrue took the opportunity to build a day of content for us with Brett Shockley’s Emerging Products and Technology team--many of whom were behind Avaya Flare. We got the chance to not only ask in-depth questions of some of the development people, but hear (under NDA) about other innovative projects underway.

All in all it was a good day, a great announcement with a tantalizing peek at things to come.