Dive Brief:

• Extreme Networks Inc. said it has finalized its acquisition of Avaya, Inc.'s networking business on Monday, according to a press release. The acquisition includes Avaya customers, personnel and technology assets.

• Avaya filed for Chapter 11 restructuring in January and has been working to transform itself from a hardware company to a software and services company.

• Earlier this month, Avaya filed court papers seeking an additional 60 days to file its bankruptcy restructuring plan, according to Reuters.

Dive Insight:

Avaya, which offers internet telephony, wireless data communications and customer relationship software, was born in more hardware-dependent days. But as businesses moved from hardware-based computing to cloud-based computing, Avaya ended up behind.

The company is working to catch up, but can’t do so under its current operating model. Offloading its wired, WLAN and Fabric technology will allow Avaya to focus on its core Unified Communications and Contact Center solutions business.

Avaya hopes the changes will help get it back to a place where it can compete against startups and others that adapted to change faster. 

As Avaya works to restructure, it serves as an example of how the corporate communications/collaboration space has evolved over the years and how companies that provide those services have had to react quickly or risk an uncertain future.

For Extreme Networks, the purchase should help the company as it works to grow its enterprise networking business.