Emerging Technologies Council


Emerging Technologies Council 


Join This Council

Emerging Technology Council: 2nd Wednesday or each month at 12:30pm CT 

The Emerging Technologies Council is organized to provide an emphasis on new advances in technology at Avaya and within the Avaya Ecosystem.  

Council members can gain a better understanding of Avaya’s technology direction and provide suggestions and feedback as part of the IAUG Future Needs process. “More voices on our council will give a broader aspect to our feedback to Avaya and could very well drive future directions,” says co-chairs Paul and Nick. Champions from the product management team are on the calls to hear the feedback directly. Your voice is heard.



Chairs:

Tom Lynn
Senior Engineer 2
Nordstrom, Inc.

Tom Lynn has architected voice services and solutions in the telecom sector since 1990 and  been an IAUG member for nearly as long. He's currently responsible for SBC integrations, SIP networking and application integration.  He brings his curiosity and enthusiasm for voice technology and a focus on customer outcomes to each effort. Tom's professional interests are exploring AI opportunities in the voice services domain and providing self service tools to his users. Away from work, Tom enjoys photography and home automation.

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Nick Kwiatkowski 
Manager, Unified Communication, Adj. Professor
Michigan State University

Nick Kwiatkowski is the manager of the Unified Communications team at Michigan State University where he manages the phones, cable television, fiber optics, cellular and 2-way radio systems on campus.  Nick is also an Adjunct Professor in the Media and Information department within the College of Communication Arts and Sciences where he teaches Data Communications, Networking, Cloud Computing and Network Security.  Nick is a frequent presenter at many larger telecom related conferences including IAUG and AHECTA.  Nick is a volunteer at the MEAC at IAUG as well as one of the founders of the Feature Request service. 

Avaya Champion:
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Director Product Management UC Applications
Avaya

Kirk is a highly enthusiastic and motivated technical professional who is driven by customer successes. Currently responsible for the full Avaya UC enterprise application portfolio including Aura, IX Meetings ( Equinox Conferencing ), AADS and Media Server. Proven to be an imaginative problem solver with ability to achieve positive results through innovative, forward thinking, determination and attention to detail. With over two decades of development, new product introduction, hands on deployments, architecture, and recovery experience offers a deep technical understanding for the enterprise market. A customer advocate that is not afraid to go against the grain and earn trusted advisor status to enable digital business transformations in the UC ecosystems for enterprise customers from small to global enterprise organizations. Customers business success is the top priority in every action or conversation.
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Darrell Butler
Avaya Solutions Platform Product Manager
Avaya

Darrell has over 25  years’ experience in Carrier and Enterprise product and service management.  He holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineer degree and is a Certified Lean 6 Sigma Blackbelt. Darrell is responsible for Avaya’s Enterprise UC and CC Premise Solutions.  His involvement with IAUG dates back to 2018, cementing his commitment to the industry's growth and innovation.