Avtex Solutions LLC

Avtex Solutions LLC (Avtex) was founded in the 1970s as a voice processing company handling the integration of telecommunications and data communications. The growth of computer telephony, IP communications and multi-channel interactions provided opportunities for Avtex to develop strategic partnerships with Interactive Intelligence and Microsoft. Avtex became a strong representative of customer interaction software, as well as business process tools, including SharePoint and CRM Dynamics. In 2008 the Pohlad family of Minneapolis, Minn., acquired the business, launching new partnerships that would accelerate Avtex into the growing digital age. In 2010, Avtex acquired Convergent and later merged with Inetium in 2011.

The company has since developed strategic relationships with a diverse network of companies to help create integrated digital solutions for businesses. Avtex focuses on optimizing clients’ interactions with respective customers, employees, partners and prospects through the use of communication and collaboration technologies.

Over the years, Avtex has emerged as a leading one-stop shop for technology-enabled business solutions that help businesses organize, manage and develop important relationships. The team works closely with clients as partners in order to improve customer experience.

“Often, clients approach us requesting a specific engagement such as installing a new customer relationship management [CRM] system, upgrading their contact center platforms or improving their website’s usability,” says Bob Azman, chief experience officer for Avtex. “While we have the capabilities to address each of these areas, as well as many more through our 360-degree integrated approach, we encourage our clients to take a step back and assess the overall state of their customer experience.”

Customized full-service solutions

Avtex caters to a diverse client base of large businesses. The company has worked with Fortune 100 companies and customers, including major household names, such as American Family Insurance, Target, 3M, General Mills and Exxon Mobile. The business has also worked with several local and state governments. Utilizing a diverse selection of software solutions and technology know-how Avtex builds a fully integrated customer experience platform that helps to improve communication between clients and the people served.

“Each of our clients has unique needs and customer requirements, but what seems to be common is the need to establish a consistent customer experience across all of the touch points that a customer has with our client’s products and services,” says Azman. “We initially suggest our clients complete an assessment of their customer experience using several different approaches that we have found to be effective in identifying critical gaps in the experience. These approaches include journey mapping; customer experience optimization sessions; internal process assessments and the like.”

“Each of our clients has unique needs and customer requirements, but what seems to be common is the need to establish a consistent customer experience across all of the touch points that a customer has with our client’s products and services.” – Bob Azman, chief experience officer, Avtex

Avtex identifies and recommends solutions to address a client’s most complex customer challenges and opportunities. The team then designs innovative systems, approaching the challenges with the focus on a client’s most pressing needs. Avtex’s staff comes armed with broad experience, offering more to customers than other technological consulting firms. With these combined capabilities, the company is able to build all-encompassing solutions that address each facet of a customer’s business.

Evolving with technology

The company’s in-house consultants systematically address each aspect of a customer’s technological and business needs. Together, the team works to provide an inclusive system that contains components such as portals, unified communications, contact center, CRM and custom application development.

Avtex also has a team of design consultants who focus on user experience for both internal applications and public-facing digital platforms such as corporate websites. Avtex’s specialized consultants get involved as needed, based on the results of each completed assessment. Each of these consultants works directly with the client on specific customer experience improvements that drive measurable results.

Avtex has developed strong partnerships with a number of major technology companies, including Sitecore, ComputerTalk and Sonus to name a few. The team has built a decades-long relationship with Microsoft and is one of the firm’s largest strategic partners in the United States. Through the partnership, Avtex is able to offer setup, custom integration and ongoing support for systems such as SharePoint, Lync, Office 365 and Dynamics CRM among others. In the late 1990s, the company first partnered with Interactive Intelligence, a company that provides diverse customer interaction services for contact centers.

By the end of 2013, Avtex had become Interactive Intelligence’s largest worldwide partner. Avtex has been recognized as an Interactive Intelligence Platinum Elite Partner eight years in a row and recently won the Vision Award for developing innovative solutions that utilize the Interactive Intelligence platform. In 2014, Avtex was recognized as the Interactive Intelligence Partner of the Year. Furthermore, Avtex has also developed its own intellectual property designed to provide new and innovative ways to optimize client interactions.

These components combined offer Avtex a strategic advantage in the market. While many clients put off making technological upgrades throughout the recession, business is picking up in the recovery. “As companies gradually emerge from the recession, a market driver is the need to replace aging legacy systems,” Azman explains. “This will drive continued demand for many of the solutions provided by our team. The demand for clients wanting to improve their customer experience seems to be accelerating based on the research we’ve read. For example, Forrester reports that 80 percent of companies would like to use CX as a form of differentiation. This seems to be across all types of organizations in a variety of industries and markets. From our perspective the future for the types of integrated customer experience solutions that we provide seems bright.”

The company’s experience and expertise in service technology put Avtex leaps and bounds ahead of other technological service providers and consultants. In the coming years, Azman and his team are looking ahead to a strong period of growth. Avtex Solutions LLC will continue to levy strong relationships with both clients and strategic partners to grow and develop end-to-end integrated technology solutions across a broad market.