The cloud is one of the most exciting new developments in the communications and collaboration industry. Not only does it offer quick access to some of the latest innovations in the industry, but the cloud also gives businesses the opportunity to scale their services up and down at a moment’s notice.
However, there are challenges to the cloud too, not just for the enterprise that needs to digitally transform, but for the reseller and service partner. Resellers need to discover a new way of selling cloud that really speaks to their target audience and supports their bottom line. Fortunately, industry leaders like VanillaIP are ready to help.
VanillaIP offers real-time integrated communication solutions in the cloud, ready to empower the modern workforce and the reseller community. We spoke to Sales and Marketing Director for Uboss and VanillaIP, Iain Sinnott, to learn about the new solution.
VanillaIP’s New Cloud Purchasing Model
Iain told me that the new cloud purchasing model started off with VanillaIP talking to prospective partners about their methodologies and thought processes. “Part of what holds the cloud back is the commercial model that comes from some of the vendors of the services. These vendors need a contracted solution with a large capital purchase. However, I don’t believe that aligns with the true principles of cloud.”
VanillaIP feels that if resellers are going to engage people fully, they need those individuals to share their beliefs. According to Sinnott, resellers need to be able to build a belief structure that their customers can buy into. “In order to deliver the cloud to businesses, we (the vendors) need to take away the fear of trying something new and different. If we can do that, we take away the risk of getting involved in the cloud space.”
The new cloud purchasing model replaces the traditional sales process by looking at a goal that a business wants to achieve, or a challenge that they need to overcome. The cloud solution can then be implemented, with the reseller teaching people how to use the products to reach their targets. “At a specific point in the project, we’d measure the outcomes, and if they’re not as we’d hoped, we take the system out and re-design. You end up with a true relationship for each customer that way, without the risk.”
Iain noted that the commercial element change is important too. Because Uboss can simply turn features off and on at the press of a button, resellers can enter this strategy without a complex and arduous process.
Communication Services Continue to Evolve
Iain told me that they reached this point in their journey by asking how many businesses are currently evolving their communication services with things like more flexibility for staff, improved management of inbound calls, and so on. Unfortunately, he found that the answer was still a very small number.
“We’re seeing a big difference in the growth of people who are using a pure cloud model, compared to people who just add cloud into the mix. This new solution is a joint management product that delivers productivity and returns. It’s important for resellers to ask if they’re in the business of revolutionising the productivity of UK companies, or whether they’re just replacing old telephony with new telephony.”
According to Sinnott, today’s resellers aren’t just entrepreneurs looking for ways to move stuff, they’re people who are contributing to building a new world.
“We need to make that process risk free, to ensure that people can move at the same speed as us”
Partner Success
Sinnott said “Usually, partners want the simplicity and reassurance of having contracted revenues; phone-on-desk telephony is less risky overall. However, what we’re looking at is putting the innovation layer on top.”
Iain told me that VanillaIP wants to give businesses access to the innovations that transform their business. This can include mobility that helps people to work at different times and in different places and tracking that allows for in-depth analytics into customer journeys. “These are the things that make businesses stand out. Freemium products can get you into that process, and then you don’t need hunters to go and find the client anymore. All you need is someone who can nurture a customer into a long-term asset.”
Sinnott told us that if instead constantly marketing products, resellers can market something that they believe, then they don’t have to spend their lives trying to constantly close deals.
“We need to make sure that resellers are selling something that can deliver a real solution, because that’s what’s going to bring a sustainable revenue into their routine”
For VanillaIP, cloud is a method of consumption that allows users to trial new technology with limited risk and elicit positive outcomes. “For us, it’s all about helping resellers move into a new environment, supporting the partner to adopt a full cloud-delivery product, and delivering rewards that relate to the challenges that the reseller has.”
