Avaya and Microsoft announced a strategic partnership to bring Avaya’s Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) to Azure.

Avaya has built its business around cloud-based communications, making it a natural fit to extend those abilities in Azure, one of the leading cloud computing platforms. The company’s OneCloud CPaaS will be integrated with Microsoft Azure Communication Services, including voice, video chat and SMS. Microsoft Teams and Dynamics 365 will also benefit, with OneCloud CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) integrated into both services.

“Avaya and Microsoft are responding to our customers who have asked us to deliver more integrated experiences for Avaya OneCloud Contact Center running in Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365. Together we are providing true integration, spanning not just the contact center application itself but also the underlying communication platforms. Additionally we will be implementing Microsoft’s powerful AI capabilities via Azure Cognitive Services,” said Anthony Bartolo, Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer, Avaya. “Avaya’s market-leading solutions in Cloud Contact Center combined with Microsoft’s presence in cloud collaboration is compelling for existing and new customers alike.”

“The global collaboration with Avaya is an example of how Microsoft, collaborating with other industry leaders, is meeting businesses’ requirements for integrated communications solutions that transform customer and employee experience,” said Scott Van Vliet, Corporate Vice President, Intelligent Conversation and Communications Cloud, Microsoft. “This relationship benefits from the combined strengths of the two companies to connect businesses to their customers via powerful communication experiences across platforms – all with the resiliency, enterprise-grade security and cloud scale of Microsoft Azure.”