It’s been a season full of energy, travel, and connection for Team Aura. From Kansas City to London, Dallas to Chicago, our teams have been everywhere. Taking the stage at major conferences, sponsoring industry gatherings, reconnecting with partners, and celebrating the people who make Aura what it is.
We’ve learned a lot, shared even more, and been reminded how important it is to balance cutting-edge innovation with real human connection. Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to lately.
Our journey kicked off in Dallas at the AVANT Special Forces Summit 2025, a powerhouse gathering for Trusted Advisors across the AVANT ecosystem. Tony Parish, Shannon Hoeg, and Jack Condron were onsite, joining three packed days of learning, networking, and collaboration.
Now in our second year as part of the AVANT Communications vendor family, this event felt like both a reunion and a chance to make new connections. We heard first-hand from advisors about the challenges their customers are facing – balancing modern tools like Microsoft Teams with the systems they’ve relied on for years. The recurring theme was clear: enterprises want flexibility and modernization, but not at the cost of stability.
That’s where hybrid becomes not just an option, but the smart way forward. Our conversations in Dallas focused on showing Trusted Advisors how to simplify hybrid journeys for their customers, integrating Avaya and Teams, reducing risk, and delivering business outcomes without the disruption of a full rip-and-replace approach.
And true to AVANT’s culture, the learning extended far beyond the formal sessions. The hallway conversations, and the informal catch-ups made this summit a highlight for us, and a reminder that strong ecosystems are built on both strategy and relationships.
In tandem with Dallas, Aura was in Europe for Luware Tech Vision in London, where Jonathan Harris and Joel Heasman joined Nimbus partners to explore the future of Microsoft Teams–native Contact Center and customer engagement.
The agenda covered everything from Luware’s product roadmap to Microsoft’s evolving vision for Teams and Copilot, alongside technical deep dives from Luware’s own experts. But what stood out most was the sense of direction: Teams is rapidly becoming the central hub for both employee and customer experience, and success will come down to how well it is integrated and adopted.
The event gave us plenty of ideas to take back to our own projects, and the conversations with partners underscored the value of working side by side with peers who share the same mission.
From London we crossed back to the US for the first-ever IAUG Converge, hosted in Kansas City. Aura was proud to be part of this inaugural event as a Gold Partner, supporting a milestone gathering for the Avaya user community.
At Booth 311, our team met with hundreds of attendees to talk about how Aura helps enterprises modernize “the hybrid way” with Avaya and Microsoft Teams. Those conversations echoed what we’ve been hearing across the industry: customers are hungry for clear, low-risk roadmaps to hybrid success.
That theme carried into Tony Parish’s session, “Integrate to Migrate – A Real-World Journey to Hybrid Success with Avaya & Microsoft Teams”. Drawing on a real-world case study, Tony showed how a global enterprise was able to consolidate PSTN across multiple regions, integrate Teams alongside Avaya, support legacy systems still critical to operations, and achieve all this while keeping downtime to a minimum. It was a practical, relatable roadmap that struck a chord with attendees.
Of course, IAUG Converge was as much about connections as it was about content. We enjoyed a fantastic Monday night dinner with our friends at Intlx, followed by Tuesday’s unforgettable party hosted by Gage. These moments reminded us that partnerships are strengthened not just in keynote halls but also over meals, laughter, and shared experiences.
It hasn’t all been airports, booths, and breakout sessions at Aura. We also made time to celebrate our people.
In the UK, the team gathered for Aura’s Summer Party and took on pétanque, the French spin on boules. What began as a bit of lighthearted fun quickly turned into a fiercely competitive showdown. The surprise champion was Tony Parish, who revealed a hidden talent and walked away with the trophy, proving that experience still counts for something. The day was full of sunshine, laughter, friendly banter, and more than a few questionable throwing techniques.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, our US team came together in Chicago. The weather tried to interfere with a rain shower, but it didn’t dampen the spirit. The team enjoyed a scenic boat ride followed by dinner and plenty of laughs – the perfect way to celebrate a growing team and a big year ahead. It was a chance to pause, reflect, and simply enjoy being together outside the day-to-day.
Both celebrations reminded us why team culture matters. They keep us connected, energized, and ready to take on the next challenge together.
From Dallas to London, Kansas City to Chicago, the past few months have been packed with ideas, inspiration, and momentum. We’ve come away energized by the conversations we’ve had, the people we’ve met, and the opportunities ahead.
Next up is Part 3 of our ‘Integrate to Migrate’ webinar series on October 21st. If you joined our IAUG session, this is the follow-up you’ve been waiting for. And if you couldn’t make it, this webinar is your chance to unlock the path to hybrid success – and we’ll help you get there.
Stay tuned for more updates, and if you see Team Aura out and about, don’t forget to say hello!