A new chapter for Mitel: Further accelerating customers’ digital transformations

Looking back on the eight years I’ve been at Mitel, I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished. From being the first company to virtualize voice and UC solutions, to driving market consolidation, to now offering digital transformation tools that provide the best choices for taking the global business communications market to the cloud, Mitel has achieved so much. As we enter the next phase of our business transformation, having successfully closed on our acquisition by Searchlight Capital Partners, I want to share my thoughts on what our customers can expect of Mitel. 

First, our job today is the same as it was yesterday: to deliver seamless communications and collaboration solutions – UC and UCaaS – and a top-notch customer experience to businesses around the world. We have the same strategy, the same portfolio and are being led by the same team, so customers and partners can expect very minimal business impacts or operational changes. 

Second, the time my team and I used to spend on tasks related to operating as a public company has been eliminated. Now, that time is spent focused on strategy and execution and with customers and partners. The change is already obvious in my calendar and my daily to-do list—I am spending more time with our customers and partners every week and driving execution and acceleration of our strategy. 

Third, discussions about how and when we make investments are significantly different. Being a disciplined and financially well-run organization will always be a priority, but now decisions are overwhelmingly about getting customers what they need faster and delivering results sooner. I can do that because I don’t have to consider whether to make investments versus deliver on quarter results; we can accelerate investments where it makes sense strategically. 

I spoke in a recent blog post about the validation I’ve been feeling from the market regarding our strategy and direction. That validation extends to the decision to become a private company with much greater operational flexibility and control of the business. The pace at which companies around the world are moving their business communications to the cloud is accelerating. I’m excited that Mitel is in a position to move as fast as needed to usher our customers through this digital transformation.