Avaya and HP (NYSE: HPQ) Enterprise Services (ES) today announced a multi-year agreement to offer cloud-based unified communications and contact center technology, and management solutions for enterprises.

Together, the companies will sell a combined portfolio of Unified Communications-as-a-Service, Contact Center-as-a-Service, and infrastructure modernization services. Combining HP's expertise in services delivery with Avaya's strong unified communications and contact center portfolio will create one of the most advanced solutions in the industry, including mobile applications, software, and networking for unified communications and customer experience management. These as-a-Service solutions will be delivered with the same standard of care that puts Avaya services above industry benchmarks[1] with the added benefit of HP's industry leading cloud capabilities.

The Avaya-HP agreement addresses growing global demand for comprehensive, secure, reliable business collaboration solutions, delivered as a service. HP ES will resell the as-a-Service offerings and in parallel, Avaya has the benefit of increased scale enabled by HP's highly flexible deployment models to quickly reach more customers and help simplify and transform business communications. Avaya will also apply its market leading communication and collaboration products to help HP improve the efficiency and performance of its contact center operations.

As part of the agreement, the HP ES Business Process Services organization will assume service delivery of a significant portion of Avaya Private Cloud Services[2] (APCS), including a limited transfer of APCS employees and contractors to HP ES. These services will be integrated into HP ES's existing Mobility and Workplace and Business Process Services practices and partner eco-systems to deliver private and hybrid cloud-based unified communications and contact center solutions to existing and future customers. Sales contracts, service level agreements, and overall client experience will remain with Avaya. HP ES will augment and amplify APCS by extending services to more customers, in more markets, with the speed and service performance needed to help grow demand for cloud-based solutions. 

This agreement marks another major step in Avaya's transformation to a software and services company. HP Helion solutions will become a cornerstone of Avaya's cloud offerings deployed in HP's global infrastructure.