Note (October 2026): An earlier version said Avaya phone systems were developed by Bell Labs. Avaya was spun off from Lucent Technologies in 2000, while Bell Labs stayed with Lucent and has belonged to Nokia since 2016.
Avaya phones can suit a company that wants a dependable business phone system with mobility, call center tools and multi-site networking. As of October 2026, Avaya, a private company headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, sells Avaya IP Office for small and mid-sized businesses and Avaya Aura and Avaya Infinity for larger enterprises, mainly through partners.
Key Takeaways
- Avaya Inc. was spun off from Lucent Technologies in 2000; it was never part of Bell Labs.
- Avaya went through Chapter 11 twice (filed January 19, 2017 and February 14, 2023) and emerged on May 1, 2023 as the private company Avaya LLC.
- Avaya describes IP Office as an on-premises system for small and mid-sized businesses, scaling from one site to 150 networked locations and up to 3,000 users.
- Since 2025 Avaya has concentrated on large enterprise customers; its Avaya Experience Platform public cloud contact center service now requires at least 200 agent seats.
- Smaller companies that want a cloud phone system under the Avaya brand are offered Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral.
Getting the right phone system is important for any company. Without a great phone system, you wouldn’t be able to have reliable means of communication between employees and customers. Without good communication, the efficiency and productivity of your company would suffer. This is why you should consider choosing one that is both reliable and innovative.
Why You Should Choose Avaya Phones for Company
Avaya Phone Systems, come from Avaya Inc., a company spun off from Lucent Technologies (the former parent of Bell Labs) in 2000, and are a long-established line of business phone systems. Avaya has long been one of the best-known names in business phone systems, although rankings vary by analyst and no single system is objectively number one. Avaya sells mainly through authorized business partners, and as of October 2026 its lineup spans on-premises systems (Avaya IP Office and Avaya Aura), Avaya Aura Private Cloud and the Avaya Infinity customer experience platform.
You might wonder, why choose Avaya phones? The answer is simply because they could bring a lot of competitive advantages to your company, including:
Increase in your company’s productivity.
You think your company is as productive as it should be? With an Avaya phone system, you would get a reliable and a dependable phone system. Just a single downtime in your company’s network will most likely affect your whole operation. With phones, fax machines, and emails down, your employees will not be able to do anything. Also, your clients will find it hard to commune with you, meaning that you will only waste money, and increase the chance of losing customers. With a phone system like Avaya, you can prevent such things from happening. No phone system can promise zero downtime, so ask your Avaya partner about redundancy, failover and support response times before you buy.
Mobility for staff on the move.
An Avaya phone system is compatible with a multitude of devices, including desk phones, smartphones and computers, giving you access to the system wherever you may go. Using this feature enables you to work on the road with your cell phone. You would be able to answer phone calls and contact your employees through your phone acting as your desk phone, thus providing you and your employees’ mobility with work.
Saves you more money.
Since an Avaya phone system uses a digital line, transferring both data and voice on one line, it eliminates the need for multiple cables. Older setups often kept voice and data on separate lines, for example a phone line alongside a T1 data line. With Avaya, you combine both of these into one line to create a converged network. This saves you money you would have otherwise spent on two lines, while at the same time makes your communication system easier and simpler.
Avaya phone systems offer a call center feature.
With the call center feature included in Avaya phone systems, your customer service experience is greatly enhanced. When your customers call your company, Avaya phones systems automatically enter their information and provide data about the customer in the computer. This gives you and your employees all the necessary information without having to let the customers wait. Avaya phone systems also ensure that the right agent is reached by your customers.
It enables you to have a centralized server.
If your company has multiple locations, Avaya phones systems allows you to connect all phone systems to a central server. This ensures that all information could be accessed at any location, thus making customer experience consistent throughout your company. 🙂
What Is Avaya?
Avaya is an American business communications company headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey. Avaya Inc. was spun off from Lucent Technologies in 2000; Lucent itself had been created from AT&T’s equipment arm in the mid-1990s. Bell Labs, often linked with Avaya’s history, stayed with Lucent, then Alcatel-Lucent from 2006, and has been part of Nokia since 2016.
Avaya’s recent history matters for buyers because it affects long-term support. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection on January 19, 2017, and again on February 14, 2023, with a restructuring plan already agreed. It emerged on May 1, 2023 as the private company Avaya LLC and is no longer listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Avaya Timeline at a Glance
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2000 | Avaya spun off from Lucent Technologies; listed on the NYSE as AV until 2007 |
| January 19, 2017 | First Chapter 11 filing |
| July 17, 2017 | Extreme Networks completed its purchase of Avaya’s networking business, a deal valued at $100 million |
| November 28, 2017 | Court order gave effect to the restructuring plan; shares later traded as AVYA (2017 to 2023) |
| February 3, 2020 | Avaya and RingCentral announced Avaya Cloud Office |
| February 14, 2023 | Second Chapter 11 filing |
| May 1, 2023 | Emerged from bankruptcy as private company Avaya LLC |
| June 30, 2025 | Deadline for Avaya Experience Platform public cloud customers below 200 agent seats to move off the service |
Avaya Phone System Products Compared
Avaya’s product range has changed since this article first appeared. The table below summarizes the main lines as Avaya describes them on its own products page, as of October 2026.
| Product | Avaya’s description | Typical fit |
|---|---|---|
| Avaya IP Office | Secure, on-premises communications for small and mid-sized businesses; from one site to 150 networked locations and up to 3,000 users | Small and mid-sized companies that want an on-premises system |
| Avaya Aura | Private on-premises solution integrating voice, video and messaging | Large enterprises |
| Avaya Aura Private Cloud | Collaboration environment hosted in a dedicated Microsoft Azure environment | Enterprises wanting Aura without running their own servers |
| Avaya Infinity | Enterprise customer experience (contact center) platform | Large contact centers |
| Avaya Nexus | Mission-critical voice with high resiliency | Organizations where voice outages are unacceptable |
| Avaya Government Cloud | FedRAMP-authorized cloud communications | US public sector |
| Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral | Cloud calling, messaging, video meetings and file sharing running on RingCentral’s platform | Companies that want a hosted (UCaaS) phone system under the Avaya brand |
Is Avaya Still a Good Choice for Small Businesses?
Avaya is now focused mainly on large enterprises, so small businesses should check fit carefully. Industry news site VoIP Review reported in February 2025 that Avaya was prioritizing its top 1,500 clients, following the appointment of Patrick Dennis as CEO in 2024.
The clearest sign of that shift is the Avaya Experience Platform (AXP) public cloud contact center service, which now requires at least 200 agent seats. Organizations below that threshold had until June 30, 2025 to move to another solution or cancel. The same report listed the end of sales for Avaya SIP Trunking and Communications APIs (CPaaS) cloud services on April 28, 2025.
Avaya IP Office is still marketed for small and mid-sized businesses, and Avaya says more than 1 million IP Office systems have been deployed worldwide. A smaller company that already runs IP Office can keep using it, but should confirm the support and upgrade roadmap with its partner before investing further.
How to Choose an Avaya Phone System: Step by Step
- Count users, sites and agents. IP Office covers up to 3,000 users and 150 locations; larger or contact-center-heavy deployments point to Aura or Infinity.
- Decide on on-premises, private cloud or hosted. IP Office and Aura run on your premises, Aura Private Cloud runs in Azure, and Avaya Cloud Office is fully hosted by RingCentral.
- Find an authorized Avaya partner. Avaya sells and supports most systems through business partners, so the partner’s skills matter as much as the product.
- Ask about lifecycle and support dates. Request written end-of-sale and end-of-support dates for every product and phone model you are quoted.
- Compare total cost. Include hardware, licenses, phone handsets, SIP trunks, installation and annual support, then compare against at least two other vendors.
Pros and Cons of Avaya Phones
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Long track record in business telephony and contact centers | Two Chapter 11 restructurings (2017 and 2023) |
| Products for every size, from IP Office to Aura and Infinity | Company focus has shifted toward its largest customers |
| Multi-site networking and centralized management | AXP public cloud now requires at least 200 agent seats |
| On-premises, private cloud and hosted options | Quality of service depends heavily on the reseller partner |
For more background, see how VoIP phone systems work, our checklist of considerations for business VoIP phone system buyers, and a guide to the best business VoIP service providers. If you run customer support lines, our guide to effective contact center management and the list of phone features that call centers use are useful next reads.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Avaya still in business?
Yes. Avaya emerged from its second Chapter 11 restructuring on May 1, 2023 as the private company Avaya LLC and continues to sell IP Office, Aura, Infinity and other products, with its headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey.
Did Bell Labs develop Avaya phones?
No. Avaya was spun off from Lucent Technologies in 2000, but Bell Labs remained with Lucent, later Alcatel-Lucent, and has been owned by Nokia since 2016. Avaya shares a corporate ancestry with Bell Labs through AT&T and Lucent, not ownership.
What is Avaya IP Office?
Avaya IP Office is Avaya’s on-premises communications system for small and mid-sized businesses. Avaya says it scales from a single site to 150 networked locations and up to 3,000 users, with calling, mobility and contact center features.
Does Avaya offer a cloud phone system?
Yes. Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral is a hosted phone and collaboration service, announced on February 3, 2020, that runs on RingCentral’s platform. Larger organizations can also run Avaya Aura in a private Microsoft Azure environment.
Who owns Avaya’s old networking business?
Extreme Networks. Its acquisition of Avaya’s networking business, valued at $100 million, closed on July 17, 2017.
