Avaya Acquires Sweden-Based Audio Collaboration Specialist

Konftel, based in Umea, Sweden, with a U.S. office in Chicago, makes a variety of audio conferencing products including desktop conferencing phones and large auditorium audio systems. It is perhaps best known for OmniSound, a sound quality and clarity technology that works over a number of different communications standards, including Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), which is the backbone of Avaya's UC and collaboration platforms.

"The acquisition of Konftel represents a logical step in Avaya's drive to lead in business collaboration," said Alan Baratz, senior vice president and president, Global Communications Solutions at Avaya, in a statement. "Konftel's audio conferencing product portfolio and its OmniSound technology will be key elements of our continued innovation in audio and video solutions, including our recently announced Avaya Flare Experience."

In an interview with CRN last fall, Avaya CEO Kevin Kennedy said that Avaya would continue to look for acquisition targets, but focus more on "technology fill-ins" and not on the grander scale of its $915 million acquisition of Nortel's former enterprise business in late 2009.

"I would say there are places in the conferencing space, the video space and software communications that have niches, and where we could become inspired to make a small tuck-in at some point," Kennedy told CRN at the time. "But the emphasis is on acceleration, not strain."