As one of the biggest UCaaS providers in the world, it's hard to get larger than RingCentral when it comes to discussing the impact of UC on the business world. This global provider of cloud communications has been delivering cost-effective, flexible solutions to the marketplace for many years now, and it's still a popular way to make sure your business is connected in all the right ways.
I sat down for a conversation with Zane Long, the Vice President of Global Channel Sales for RingCentral, to talk about the company's partners, customers, and the future of the brand. Zane is responsible for recruiting, training, and supporting partners that sell on behalf of RingCentral throughout the world.
What Has RingCentral Done to Help Customers and Partners Succeed?
The first thing I asked Zane, is what RingCentral has been doing to make life and business easier for both their partners and their customers. Zane noted that both customers and partners are connected from RingCentral's point of view. He told me: "The way that we go to market is largely through the partner community, and we feel that we benefit from those strong connections that exist between partners and customers. Our customers know our partners as trusted advisors for their business strategy, and they rely on them to deliver the best solutions for UC."
When it comes to UCaaS, RingCentral customers are actively asking their partners for insights into the best technology on the market, because they want to take advantage of the cost savings and efficiency that the cloud can offer.
" Our customers are telling our partners what they want, so there's a great relationship there, and a great chance for us to make sure we give everyone the best experience. Our uniqueness as a brand comes from our incredible UCaaS product, and we know that alongside the product, you need a strategy for customer care and provisioning, and we've done that too."
RingCentral is now closing their enterprise customers rapidly and seeing huge transitions into the cloud base thanks to the deep relationships that their partners have built within a gigantic customer base.
"Our partners accelerate our opportunity to give customers the information they need to make educated decisions."
What Has Been Significant for You in 2017?
It's easy to think of 2017 as a significant year, with so many changes happening in the marketplace. People are re-thinking the way they approach collaboration, and RingCentral is responding to the changes in the market, Zane said:
"We've seen bankruptcies from some of the biggest hardware providers, and I think that could be a sign that customers are making decisions differently today."
Zane went on to comment on the acquisitions that have been particularly significant in the media lately:
"We're seeing some huge consolidations and acquisitions. People are coming together and looking for new ways to change the market and capture what's happening in the marketplace with an end-to-end solution."
What Challenges and Opportunities Do You See in 2018?
With the new year just around the corner, I was interested to find out more about what RingCentral sees as it's biggest challenges and opportunities in the UCaaS space, as one of the market leaders. Zane began by telling me that his biggest concern was the threat of "abundance", the number of customers and partners that want to participate in what’s happening in the UCaaS space.
