- Infinity adds orchestration and AI on top of existing Aura and Elite voice, with Avaya stating openness as a core principle.
- Staying on older Aura releases leaves the least room for conversational AI.
- Cloud platforms offer the broadest AI ecosystems, from Amazon Lex and Bedrock to Dialogflow CX and Gemini.
- The fastest route to useful AI is reusing existing IVR logic rather than designing every conversation from scratch.
Last updated: October 2026
The Short Answer
Every contact center leader is being asked the same thing by their board: what is our AI plan? For Avaya customers the question has an extra layer. Do you innovate inside Avaya through Infinity, keep Aura or AXP steady while experimenting around the edges, or move to a platform with a different AI ecosystem altogether?
This guide compares the options on innovation, modernization and orchestration, and shows how to keep your choices open as AI moves quickly.
If you want to innovate without changing vendor, Avaya Infinity is the natural route and adds orchestration across channels and systems. If you want the widest choice of AI models, tools and partners, cloud platforms such as Genesys Cloud CX, Amazon Connect and Google CCAI lead. Staying on an older release limits innovation the most.
What Modernization and Orchestration Mean Here
Modernization is replacing touch-tone menus and rigid routing with flows that understand natural speech and adapt to context. Orchestration is coordinating a customer journey across voice, digital channels, AI agents, human agents and back-office systems so the customer never has to repeat themselves.
Option 1: Avaya Infinity
Avaya describes Infinity's orchestration layer as central to the platform, extending beyond the contact center into back-office operations. Avaya's CTO has also said the company is committed to openness. For buyers, the practical step is to test that openness against your own plans. Ask which AI models you can bring, which connectors exist for your CRM and data platforms, and whether agent frameworks and standards such as the Model Context Protocol are supported.
Pros
- AI and orchestration without replacing Aura voice.
- One vendor accountable for the whole stack.
Cons
- Pace of innovation tied to Avaya's roadmap.
- Partner ecosystem smaller than the largest cloud platforms.
Option 2: Stay on Aura or AXP
Aura customers can add some AI around the edges, but conversational self-service and real-time agent assist are hard to attach to VXML and vector-based IVRs. AXP customers have more options because they are already in the cloud, yet they still depend on Avaya's product direction and should compare it carefully with Infinity.
Option 3: Switch to a Cloud Platform
Amazon Connect pairs with Amazon Lex and Amazon Bedrock. Google CCAI is built around Dialogflow CX and Gemini. Genesys Cloud CX offers its own AI tools and a large marketplace of partners. Each lets you combine services from several providers more freely than a single-vendor stack.
| Innovation factor | Avaya Infinity | Stay on Aura | Stay on AXP | Switch to cloud |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conversational self-service | Available | Difficult | Available | Strong |
| Orchestration across channels | Core strength | Limited | Available | Strong |
| Choice of AI providers | Avaya ecosystem | Very limited | Avaya ecosystem | Broad |
| Speed of new features | Avaya roadmap | Slow | Avaya roadmap | Frequent releases |
The Shortcut Most Teams Miss
Whatever platform you choose, the slowest part of an AI program is usually designing conversations from a blank page. Your existing IVR already holds years of knowledge about why customers call and how each case should be handled. Reusing that knowledge gets AI into production faster and safer.
From the field From our delivery work: Aumne ACT reads existing IVR logic and generates conversational flows from it. On one SI-delivered telecom migration, containment rose from 22 percent to 65 percent once those flows went live.
See how much of your current IVR could become conversational AI.
Book a free Aumne assessment.
Conclusion
Innovation is not a single feature you buy. It is the ability to keep adding new capabilities without starting again. Infinity offers that within Avaya, cloud platforms offer it across a wider ecosystem, and staying put offers the least. Choose the path that matches how fast and how freely you want to move.
About the authors
Written by the Aumne AI migration team, who move Avaya, Cisco, Genesys and Nuance estates to Genesys Cloud CX, Amazon Connect and Google Dialogflow CX.
Disclosure: Aumne AI provides a migration platform. Statements about other vendors come from the public sources listed below.
Sources
- 1. VMblog, Reimagining customer engagement with Avaya Infinity, https://vmblog.com/bylines/reimagining-customer-engagement-avaya-infinity-at-the-forefront/
- 2. No Jitter, Avaya CTO David Funck on Building Avaya Infinity, https://www.nojitter.com/contact-centers/avaya-cto-david-funck-on-building-avaya-infinity
- 3. Aumne AI, Cisco UCCE Alternatives in 2026, https://aumne.ai/blog/cisco-ucce-alternatives-cloud-contact-center