IDGNS: What was the hardest thing to unlearn when you left Cisco and ended up at Avaya?

Giancarlo: I was pleasantly surprised with the level of satisfaction of the customers with the Avaya product. I would say, however, that I was surprised [Avaya was] relatively -- and significantly -- inefficient in its operations. There were many things I couldn't take for granted here in terms of effectiveness and efficiency, and that's been what we've been spending a lot of our time on.

IDGNS: So at Cisco, you could take efficiency for granted?

Giancarlo: Well, we worked at it every day, but it was at a very high level. And in this case, efficiency and effectiveness is something that we have to put a lot of focus and attention on.

IDGNS: Do you mean that there are too many layers of management?