Avaya AXP: Complete Guide and Better Alternatives for 2025
The Avaya Experience Portal (AXP) has been a significant player in the contact center solutions market, but recent changes—including the discontinuation of certain Avaya services—have left many organizations searching for alternatives.
In recent news, Avaya has announced updates regarding product depreciation, service discontinuations, and policy changes that impact current and prospective customers.
With Avaya's new 200-seat minimum requirement taking effect in 2025, businesses need to understand what Avaya offers and explore more flexible, cost-effective solutions. As a reminder, the upcoming discontinuation of specific Avaya services means customers should review their options and prepare for transitions before support ends.
At Comstice, we understand the challenges organizations face with these industry changes. That's why we've developed a superior alternative that addresses the key limitations of Avaya's approach. Our secure on-premises deployment solution offers advanced features including real-time sentiment analysis, intelligent agent assistance, and comprehensive omnichannel support—all without restrictive minimum seat requirements. We believe every organization, regardless of size, deserves access to cutting-edge contact center technology that prioritizes security, flexibility, and innovation. Comstice represents the next generation of customer experience solutions, designed specifically for the modern enterprise.
Introduction to Customer Experience Solutions
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, delivering exceptional customer experiences is essential for business success. The Avaya Experience Platform (AXP) stands out as a comprehensive enterprise CX solution, purpose-built to meet the evolving needs of both businesses and their customers. As a trusted partner for large, complex organizations, Avaya empowers companies to accelerate their digital transformation with confidence, leveraging proven Avaya technologies.
The Avaya Experience Platform is designed to provide seamless customer engagement across every touchpoint, from voice and digital channels to advanced self-service options. By unifying customer and employee interactions, AXP enables businesses to enhance their customer experience management, streamline operations, and boost overall satisfaction. With a focus on high availability and disaster recovery, the platform ensures business continuity and reliability, while centralized management tools simplify administration for IT teams. For organizations seeking to deliver consistent, seamless experiences, Avaya Experience Platform offers the stability, scalability, and innovation required to meet today’s customer expectations.
History and Evolution of Avaya Experience Portal
The Avaya Experience Platform (AXP) has continually evolved to address the changing landscape of customer engagement and digital communications. In recent years, Avaya has announced significant updates to its cloud services and media integration offerings, reflecting a strategic focus on large enterprise customers and advanced digital capabilities.
Effective June 30, 2025, Avaya will discontinue delivery and support for AXP service bundles that include Avaya Voice Recording (AVR), marking a shift in how the company approaches voice and media management. The AXP Voice Only and All Media bundles featuring AVR will no longer be available for new or renewal purchases after March 3, 2025. Additionally, Avaya is removing third-party messaging integration with X (formerly Twitter) from its AXP Social Media Direct Channels feature as of March 1, 2025. These changes underscore Avaya’s commitment to refining its digital and cloud services, focusing on robust, scalable solutions that combine on-premises solutions with cloud services to support the diverse needs of modern enterprises. By adapting its offerings, Avaya aims to provide customers with advanced, future-ready tools for managing digital media and delivering superior customer experiences.
What is the Avaya Experience Portal?
Avaya Experience Portal is a cloud-based contact center platform that provides a single point of coordination for automated voice, self-service, and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) applications. The platform, also known as AXP, combines web services and IP telephony to create comprehensive CX solutions for enterprises.
The Avaya Experience Platform serves as a unified platform that connects customer and employee touchpoints with 360-degree visibility, convenient co-browsing, and easy CRM integrations. It’s designed to help organizations modernize their contact center operations while maintaining their existing infrastructure investments, allowing them to seamlessly integrate their existing systems with Avaya's cloud services.
How Does AXP Work?
Avaya Experience Platform AXP operates as a browser-based application through which contact center agents handle inbound customer interactions. The system provides several core functionalities:
The platform supports multiple communication channels, including voice, email, social media, and web chat, while maximizing contact center performance and productivity. AXP voice capabilities are integrated with advanced features, such as Unified Customer Journey, although these incur additional charges through the advanced feature bundle.
Avaya Experience Platform (AEP) utilizes a Media Processing Platform (MPP) media server that provides automation functionality for voice processing, speech recognition, and text-to-speech capabilities. This allows organizations to create sophisticated self-service applications that can handle routine customer inquiries without requiring human intervention.
Key Features of Avaya Experience Portal
Core Capabilties
Avaya Experience Portal offers several essential features for contact center operations:
- Automated Voice Services: The platform provides comprehensive IVR capabilities with support for VoiceXML and CCXML processing
- Self-Service Applications: Organizations can design and deploy interactive self-service solutions that reduce agent workload
- Multi-Channel Support: AXP service bundles include voice, email, social media, and web chat functionality
- CRM Integration: The platform offers easy integration with existing customer relationship management systems
- Real-Time Analytics: Built-in reporting and analytics capabilities provide insights into contact center performance
Advanced Features
For organizations requiring more sophisticated functionality, Experience Portal includes:
- Third Party Messaging Integration: Support for SMS, WhatsApp, and other messaging platforms
- AI-Powered Capabilities: Integration with artificial intelligence for enhanced customer interactions
- Workflow Automation: Orchestration tools for creating complex customer journey flows
- Speech Recognition: Advanced speech processing capabilities for natural language interactions
Portal Pricing Structure
Understanding Portal pricing is crucial for organizations evaluating the platform. The current pricing structure includes several tiers:
Customers can use a combination of different subscription bundles or media types, but must ensure they meet the minimum seat requirement when combining these options.
Public Cloud Pricing
AXP Public Cloud pricing is based on named users over a three-year term, with pricing shown for 200-399 users:
- Digital Plan: $35 per user per month - includes digital-only contact center capabilities
- Voice Plan: $60 per user per month - adds voice functionality to digital features
- All Media Plan: $89 per user per month - comprehensive omnichannel solution
On-Premises Options
For organizations preferring on-premises deployment:
- AXP Essentials: $119 per user per month - basic on-premise functionality
- AXP Advanced: $169 per user per month - includes advanced AI features and analytics
The 200-Seat Minimum Challenge
One of the most significant changes affecting Avaya Experience Portal customers is the implementation of a 200-seat minimum requirement. Effective June 30, 2025, Avaya will enforce a monthly minimum commitment of 200 seats for AXP cloud service subscriptions. Customers should review the required actions to ensure compliance with the new policy, such as evaluating current seat usage and consulting legal notices or additional resources for further guidance.
This change impacts a substantial portion of the market, as approximately 70% of contact centers operate with fewer than 200 agents. Organizations below this threshold face several challenges and should take action regarding their subscriptions to address potential cost increases, service adjustments, or migration needs.
Impact on Small and Medium Businesses
The 200-seat minimum requirement effectively excludes small and medium-sized businesses from Experience Portal public cloud customer services. These organizations must either:
- Scale up to meet the minimum requirement (often financially unfeasible)
- Migrate to alternative solutions
- Work with Avaya channel partners (if available)
Limited Support Options
AXP public cloud customers with fewer than 200 seats will be transitioned to channel partners, but partner availability and support quality may vary significantly across different regions and market segments.
Migration and Support Options
Avaya recognizes the importance of supporting customers through transitions and is dedicated to ensuring a smooth migration process with minimal disruption. For public cloud customers with fewer than 200 seats, Avaya offers flexible options to address the new minimum seat requirement. Customers can choose to cancel their subscription at no additional cost by providing written notice before June 30, 2025, or they may modify their subscription to meet the 200-seat threshold if their business needs allow.
For those seeking a more tailored environment, Avaya encourages migration to the AXP Private Cloud, which delivers a secure, private cloud experience for unified communications and collaboration. To facilitate seamless customer migration, Avaya has partnered with certified BYOC-Standard providers such as BT, Maintel, and Sabio, ensuring reliable connectivity and support. Throughout the transition, Avaya will honor all enhanced warranty, post-warranty, and service contracts according to existing terms, providing customers with the assurance of continued support and service continuity. This commitment to seamless migration helps organizations adapt to changes while maintaining the high standards of service and reliability they expect from Avaya.
Security and Compliance
Security and compliance are foundational pillars of the Avaya Experience Platform (AXP), ensuring that customer data is protected and that businesses can meet stringent industry requirements. The Avaya Experience Platform offers a secure and adaptable deployment environment, supporting both cloud services and on-premises solutions to address diverse business needs. Avaya’s AXP private cloud options are designed to safeguard data privacy and maintain compliance with industry standards, giving organizations confidence in the integrity of their customer journeys.
With robust security features, including advanced encryption and access controls, AXP enables businesses to protect sensitive information while delivering exceptional customer service. The platform’s compliance measures are continually updated to reflect evolving regulatory landscapes, ensuring that companies remain aligned with best practices and legal obligations. By prioritizing security and compliance, Avaya empowers businesses to focus on enhancing CX and driving growth, knowing that their data and operations are in safe hands.
Common Questions About Avaya Experience Portal
What is Avaya AXP?
AXP (Avaya Experience Platform) is a cloud-based contact center solution that provides omnichannel customer experience capabilities. It combines voice, digital, and AI technologies in a unified platform designed for enterprise-scale operations.
How does Avaya Experience Portal compare to competitors?
While Avaya Experience Portal offers comprehensive features, it faces strong competition from more flexible, cloud-native solutions. Key differentiators include pricing models, deployment options, and minimum seat requirements that may not suit all organizations.
What are the limitations of Experience Portal?
The primary limitations include the 200-seat minimum requirement, complex pricing structure, and limited flexibility for smaller organizations. Additionally, some users report challenges with system stability and support responsiveness.
Comstice: A Superior Alternative to Avaya Experience Portal
While Avaya Experience Portal serves large enterprises well, many organizations require more flexible, secure, and feature-rich solutions. Comstice offers a compelling alternative that addresses the key limitations of this service by providing additional innovative on-premises solutions for seamless migration. All the Comstice solutions are designed to be run on-premises or in the customer's private cloud, ensuring customers benefit from advanced, upgrade-ready services and a smooth transition experience.
On-Premises Security and Control
Unlike Avaya Experience Platform, which is limited to cloud-only deployment in the US, Comstice provides on-premises hosting options that give organizations complete control over their contact center infrastructure. This approach offers several advantages:
- Enhanced Security: Comstice utilizes encrypted connections, single sign-on authentication, and IP whitelisting features to ensure secure remote agent access. The solution has been validated through partnerships with DDoS testing companies to verify robust security measures.
- Data Sovereignty: Organizations can maintain complete control over their customer data and ensure compliance with industry-specific regulations without relying on third-party cloud infrastructure.
Advanced Feature Set
Comstice goes beyond traditional contact center functionality to provide innovative capabilities that the Avaya Experience Portal lacks:
- Real-Time Sentiment Analysis: Advanced AI-powered sentiment analysis provides agents with immediate insights into customer emotions and satisfaction levels during interactions.
- Intelligent Agent Assistance: The platform provides agents with details about the top 10 common subjects for incoming calls, along with suggested resolutions, significantly improving first-call resolution rates.
- Comprehensive Channel Support: Comstice offers native integration with SMS, WhatsApp, and web chat features, providing true omnichannel capabilities without additional licensing fees.
Flexible Deployment and Scalability
Unlike Avaya Portal with its 200-seat minimum requirement, Comstice scales to meet organizations of any size. Whether you need support for 10 agents or 1,000, the platform adapts to your specific requirements without forcing unnecessary capacity purchases.
Superior Monitoring and Management
Comstice includes advanced monitoring capabilities that surpass Avaya Experience Portal offerings:
- Silent Monitoring: Supervisors can listen to agent calls in real-time without customer awareness, enabling immediate coaching opportunities.
- Barge and Intercept: When necessary, supervisors can join conversations or take over calls to ensure optimal call experience.
- Comprehensive Analytics: Detailed reporting and analytics provide insights into agent performance, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency.
Making the Right Choice for Your Organization
As organizations evaluate contact center solutions in 2025, the limitations of Avaya Experience Portal become increasingly apparent. The 200-seat minimum requirement, limited deployment options, and complex pricing structure make the service unsuitable for many businesses.
Comstice represents the future of contact center technology, offering the flexibility, security, and advanced features that modern organizations require. With on-premises deployment options, comprehensive security measures, and innovative AI-powered capabilities, Comstice provides a superior alternative to Avaya Experience Platform.
For organizations currently using Experience Portal or considering contact center solutions, Comstice offers a path forward that doesn't compromise on functionality, security, or cost-effectiveness. The platform's ability to scale with your business, combined with its advanced feature set and robust security measures, makes it the ideal choice for organizations seeking a reliable, future-proof contact center solution.