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I was wondering whether there are any limits placed on Avaya end users who want to switch to a different service. Does anyone know? Are Avaya business partners allowed to compete with Avaya? Can someone email me the standard contract that end users enter into with Avaya?
Thanks!

As an Avaya Business Partner, if a customer has a maintenance agreement with Avaya and they ask us to do work for them we must defer to Avaya. After the maintenance agreement runs out the customer is free to do as they wish.

We wouldn't have the contract the customer signs with Avaya. I do know that if they obtain equipment or service from an unauthorized source the agreement is voided. I don't know what the monetary or legal ramifications are when that happens.

My advice to you would be to wait until their service agreement expires.

-Hal

I have some signts that have Avaya maintenance (not for long to the price), and a BP does all the upgrades and sells me all the hardware.

I have a maintenance service agreement directly with Avaya. I buy hardware from an authorized business partner without any issues. The business partner though will not touch my maintenance until my contract is finished with Avaya. The BP will then resign my maintenance when available at a much lower price then Avaya directly.

I think as long as I'm dealing with an authorized BP, I should be able to have either the BP or Avaya Direct come out to do the install, upgrade or maintenance. Just my thought.

David99

I received your email and will fax you a copy of my Avaya Maintenance Contract tomorrow.

Rhonda

Not to sound rude, but this is just another reason why my interconnect has chosen not to sign a contract to be a business partner! Since we specialize in the small Partner and Merlin size market, we can get our equipment from over 100 sources at prices below BP pricing, and NO ONE EVER from any manufacture can order us not to solicite business from anyone who call us. Why would any pro competitive American business want to have to turn a prospect away? I guess to each their own. But not this telephone guy. Lots of Luck

I think it's more on the customer not to solicit another vendor while under contract, after all what is a contract for? I see nothing wrong with that, matter of fact our own customer contract (which has nothing to do with Avaya) stipulates that the warranty will be voided and service discontinued if anything is done to the system by other than us.

Even if I wasn't a BP I would consider it unethical to solicit a customer that had a standing contract with another vendor. You wouldn't want it done to you, don't do it to someone else. Let it expire then make your bid.

As for getting equipment below BP pricing, I would say probably not but then you don't know what you are getting either since it's gray market. I have seen equipment with the serial numbers removed because wherever it came from was afraid they were going to be tracked down. How much is that stuff worth?

-Hal

So what about the customers who were sold off to Expanets because Avaya didn't want small business customers, endured the Expanets nightmare and are now back with Avaya at $$$$$ per hour and are being serviced by a company that didn't want small business? Seems like those customers have a right to be upset.

Maybe so but that doesn't change the fact that they signed the contract of their own free will. If they don't like the way they are treated they certainly have the right to look elsewhere after the contract expires.

-Hal

My company would be considered a "large business" Many Definity's throughout the county. And as a large business I get lots of calls from Interconnects trying to sell me stuff. My first question is always "are you and Avaya Business Parter?" If the answer is no, I am not interested in anything they have to offer.