Avaya has appointed Hatem Hariri as MD for Africa in an effort to drive growth on the continent.
Hariri was previously MD for North, West, East and Central Africa and he will report directly to Mohammed Areff, VP, Middle East, Africa and Turkey.
As Avaya helps customers in Africa progress on their digital transformation journey, Hariri will focus on delivering engagement solutions that enable deep and broad connections between customers that lead to better business outcomes.
Hariri's immediate goals with his team are to engage with Avaya's customers and identify key business challenges they face so that the team is able to deliver solutions specific to those needs.
One of Avaya's key objectives is to ensure it has a strong and solid partner community across Africa that delivers a business model that places the customer first, and is built around delivering value-based services, in comparison to price-based competitive advantages, he says.
"We are bringing in a number of programmes to enhance and expand our channel and one of the them, which is unique globally, is really not a certification, but rather a programmes that will enable network engineers across Africa to learn the new software-defined networking technology that will enable this community to help their organisations and customers digitally transform with minimal effort."
Mohammed Areff, vice president, Middle East, Africa and Turkey at Avaya, says under Hatem's leadership Africa has been a strong engine of growth for Avaya, and this appointment will allow him to increase his focus on the region, developing accounts, growing sales and helping customers achieve their business goals.
By driving a 'customer-first' approach in his team, Hatem will help Avaya continue to deliver the innovative solutions the market is looking for, adds Areff.
Hariri believes this is an exciting time for the Africa technology market and Avaya with companies looking to transform their business with digitally driven engagement and networking solutions.
"Avaya has built up a strong presence in key industry verticals, including service providers, banking, education and government, and the market is recognising that we are bringing innovative and outcome-focused solutions that deliver business transformation."
Africa is such a diverse and exciting market with plenty of opportunities not only to do business, but also to leverage technology to enhance people's lives, says Hariri.
This continent is the highest growing region for Avaya and is fuelled with innovative ideas that require vendors and partners to work together to make them a reality, he adds.
"My job is primarily to ensure that Avaya solutions and services are customised to deliver on the needs of the different markets in Africa, and to ensure that we as a team continue our journey of transformation into a software and services company that is driven by defining and delivering the different business outcomes that our customers across the continent require."
Hariri was previously general manager for Nortel in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He has an electrical, telecommunications engineering and project management degree from Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal University of Canada.
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