A Few Minutes with Rod Sagarsee, President, International Avaya Users Group (IAUG)

by Ray Horak, Technology Editor, Telecom Reseller

Avaya announced in July 2009 the acquisition of Nortel Enterprise Solutions, thereby significantly strengthening its position of leadership in the voice, data and government systems business. Avaya wasted no time merging the two companies, with the acquisition officially declared complete on December 18. The impact on the telecom ecosystem was profound. Just over a month later (January 19, 2010) the roadmap for the new Avaya was unveiled with great fanfare. (Read about the roadmap), There were not necessarily a lot of surprises, but a ton of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) evaporated instantly. A lot of important details remained, of course, one of which was the integration of the two separate and equally intensely loyal user communities. That now has been accomplished, as well, with the recent unveiling of the International Avaya Users Group (IAUG) and the announcement of the inaugural Board of Directors.

I recently had the great pleasure of interviewing Rod Sagarsee, the first President of the IAUG. I thought you might enjoy sitting in on that conversation, so to speak.

Rod Sagarsee, IAUG's first President

Horak: Rod, it is a real pleasure to meet you. I assume that congratulations are in order. That said and in consideration of the magnitude of the challenges before you, would condolences be more appropriate?

Sagarsee: Congratulations, definitely, and thank you very much. I just returned from a long road trip, working on the transition process as we merge the three groups and emerge stronger, still. Although I was not a member of the official transition team, I have seen the results of their excellent work. I returned from that trip excited and enthusiastic about the future of the IAUG.

Horak: Can you tell us a little about yourself, how you became involved in the formal user community and what led to your candidacy for president of the IAUG?

Sagarsee: I am the CIO of a large law firm headquartered in downtown Chicago. Some 6 years ago, we had some major decisions to make with respect to migrating towards VoIP and UC. Access had to be 24/7/365 and support had to match. Nothing less was acceptable. Hardphones had to give way to softphones and mobility was a must. I considered Avaya, of course. I heard of the International Alliance of Avaya Users (InAAU), attended a conference and sat in on a panel presentation at which I got direct answers that saved our firm over 6 figures on recurring costs associated with VoIP. That experience had a real impact on me. I was sold on the value of a user group and, ultimately, became sold on Avaya as a communications solution.

Horak: Why did you decide to serve as the first president of the IAUG? That has to be a real challenge.

Sagarsee: It may sound idealistic, but I really want to make a contribution. In some ways I want to pay back for all I gained from my InAAU membership. In some ways I want to pay forward, so that others can benefit as I did, but from participation in this new unified organization. Sure, it’s a great challenge, but at the same time a great opportunity to participate in building a strong, independent organization that will yield benefits to thousands of users for many years to come.

Horak: What is the mission of the new IAUG?

Sagarsee: I see three main missions: Education, Networking and Advocacy. First, to educate and inform members in all areas of communications technology, with an emphasis on the Avaya solution portfolio. Second, to serve as a platform for a peer-to-peer network that encourages members to share solutions and solve common problems. Third, to act as an advocate on behalf of our members to drive Avaya and its partners’ product and service solutions.

Horak: The various predecessor associations comprised a national/international organization with regional chapters and local chapters. How will the new IAUG be structured with respect to governance, participation, etc.?

Sagarsee: I just returned from the inaugural meeting of the new board of directors, so we are still putting the structure in place. That said, I assure you that everyone will have a voice. The needs of the international community will differ from those of the North American members, but our goal is to address the needs of each. Anyone and everyone will have our attention and support. The IAUG will be all-inclusive. We must all work together to further our common interests.

Horak: What is the current membership of the IAUG and what are the demographics?

With 6,000 members, the IAUG serves Avaya and Heritage Nortel end users.

Sagarsee: The current membership of users is about 6,000 strong in 80 plus chapters, making us the largest technology association in the world. Whether Avaya Blue or Avaya Red, we are all in this together now. The goal is to increase that membership significantly. Every Avaya end user organization should be a member of this organization. The benefits of membership are compelling. The over-reaching IAUG goal is to contribute in a meaningful way to the success of the membership. Associate membership will be open to product and service providers and will offer improved access to membership, sponsorship opportunities.

Horak: How will the IAUG be new and different from the previous associations? What will be preserved?

Sagarsee: The IAUG will take the best from all three organizations and add our own unique ideas. This is an opportunity to refocus, re-align, re-energize and re-commit.

There will be strong emphasis on local and regional level training, career development, vertical issues and solutions. We will make sure that individual voices are heard.

Horak: I note that there are 2 Board members who previously served on the Board of the INNUA, 2 who previously served on the Board of the InAAU and 2 who previously served on the Board of Insight 100. That seems like a reasonable balance.

Sagarsee: There also are some new members—fresh faces. Combined with the experienced members of the transition board, we believe the composition of the new board will yield a balanced view. We look forward to a great future.

Horak: Many companies are experiencing economic challenges. How is the IAUG going to help these members?

Sagarsee: Avaya has made it clear that it will support heritage solutions for the foreseeable future, in the context of long-term transition. Avaya has stated it will make sure to integrate heritage systems into future solutions. We take them at their word and will support heritage system users at every opportunity. Again, whether Avaya Red or Avaya Blue, there will be no outsiders. We are all Avaya now. These are exciting and challenging times.  There has never been a greater need for a strong and supportive users group—that is exactly what we have in mind for the IAUG.

The IAUG 2011 Annual Conference, our inaugural event, is scheduled for May 22-26 in Las Vegas. I encourage all current members to attend. I also encourage prospective members and Avaya customers to join us there.

More at iaug.org.