Is Avaya the best buyer for Nortel's enterprise business?

Avaya’s bid for Nortel’s enterprise business is now public record, again raising questions about what’s in the best interest of the companies and customers.

Avaya has been rumored to be a buyer since last month, and the rumored price at the time was $500 million, not too far from the $475 million announced this week. Granted, this figure may rise. The details of the arrangement are that Nortel could still entertain better offers from other companies, and the price is low enough that other bidders may pop up.

The deal would strike a blow against any ideas of resurrecting the Bay Networks brand (“ABaya”?), though the idea was suggested late last month. It would also make it difficult for the enterprise network gear that had its genesis in Bay Networks to stand apart from the overarching message of unified communications that either Nortel or Avaya would put forth.

But Tim Greene pointed out that what Avaya is really looking for is customers, and making the purchase would presumably be a shortcut to getting those customers.

Collateral damage in all of this could be Extreme Networks’ longstanding marketing relationship with Avaya. Extreme provided the data networking complement to Avaya’s voice communications expertise, a mission that would be filled by the current Nortel enterprise division.

While the outcome may not be ideal, the time for looking for ideal scenarios is past, and you can see Nortel management now being forced to make hard decisions about the fate of its divisions as time runs out.

Jeff Caruso is site editor at Network World.