In an ever-more saturated industry like unified communications, it's crucial for companies to find unique ways of engaging their customers through differentiated selling points. As experts in the world of telecommunications, Ericsson-LG Enterprise knows what it takes to get ahead of the marketplace, and we spoke to Ahed Alkhatib, Vice President for Global Sales and Marketing in the company to learn more about how they've worked with Pragma to really inspire their UK clients.
Ahed has been in the industry for many years with stints at Lucent/Avaya, Nortel and now Ericsson-LG Enterprise where he has been for the past 12 years in his most current role as VP of Global Sales of the Enterprise Business Division.
Tell Us About Ericsson-LG Enterprise
Alkhatib told me that the company was founded in 1969, which means that the company has taken part in numerous transformations throughout the years.
"We were involved with a number of major first deployments, both in Korea and around the world. From being the first Keyphone in Korea to developing video and multi-media technology, we've always been on the cutting edge."
Ericsson-LG Enterprise is dominant in their home market of Korea and active in 60 markets worldwide with a strong position in the SMB segment in Australia, South Africa, Israel and the UK. "Internationally, we are making good progress driving into the SME and mid-market enterprise however it is the SMB segment where we enjoy most of our success due in large part to our channel focused go-to-market strategy. We conservatively estimate that we have around 10 million global extensions - but it's hard to provide a solid number with certainty given that we some systems in operation for 20, or 30 years!"
One of the things that sets Ericsson-LG Enterprise apart is the fact that it cultivates strong partnerships with the carriers and technology distributors in the countries where it has its market-leading positioning. For instance, in the UK, the brand has been able to significantly increase market share through their collaboration with Pragma as a distribution partner.
What Makes the Company Special?
According to Alkhatib, one of the most unique features of Ericsson-LG Enterprise is the special relationship they are able to forge with their partners with its foundation based on their go-to-market “channel-based” model. "We really empower and leverage the capabilities of our local channel partners and structured the business model to drive mutual success.
Ahed told me that the company also provides opportunities for partners to voice their feedback on the company’s product strategy and local market information in order to remain competitive.
"We have this mutually respectful relationship, leveraging each other’s strengths based on trust and loyalty which I think makes us unique and increases our chance of success."
Alkhatib also noted that placing the customer at the centre of decisions related to product strategy is also critical in differentiating the company. As an example, Ahed highlighted that the feature parity of the Ericsson-LG Enterprise cloud solution with the on-premises solutions provides a seamless journey to the cloud for existing customers. "We have also taken into consideration the importance of the value chain in the go-to-market with our products, providing four layers of administrative domains that allow us to wholesale (white label) on a deeper level. It's allows for a variety of business models that respects the partner experience and value."
What's more, Ericsson-LG Enterprise offers a full end-to-end ecosystem. "We own the cloud platform, the endpoints, and the applications. Because we have both the cloud and on-premises solution, we can offer a consistent experience regardless of how our customers want it delivered."
What's Your Go-to-Market Strategy for the UK?
The UK marketplace has been a fantastic location for Ericsson-LG Enterprise in recent times. "We've seen significant year-on-year growth, particularly since establishing our partnership with Pragma. Right now, our market share is growing both in the legacy on-premises and emerging cloud segments. We've got a huge installed base that we're leveraging, we are recruiting new partners and winning back partners who became inactive in the past."
