UC Today’s own Rob Scott was lucky enough to attend this year’s NEC Reseller Roadshow in London on Wednesday the 6th of September. During that time, he had the chance to not only explore the latest and greatest developments offered by NEC, but also sit down with Andrew Cooper, the sales director for NEC, and Graeme Snowden, the director of the SMB Portfolio for NEC, to discuss the future of the company.
Do You Think The NEC Reseller Roadshow Was Successful Today?
The experience I had at the NEC Reseller Roadshow was one of commercial opportunity and innovation. From the introduction of the latest SL2100 system to the incredible development of things like the iCall system for the healthcare industry, it felt to me that NEC was moving into the future as strong as ever – enjoying continued power in an increasingly competitive and complicated market. I asked Graeme and Andrew whether they felt the same way.
Andrew commented that he believed the event to have been very successful so far, with plenty of additional opportunities to come in the following sessions throughout Glasgow, Dublin, and Manchester.
“The partners reacted very well. We’ve always believed that the partners come first. It’s up to them to choose partnerships that make them feel supported, confident, and ready to innovate around the world. That’s exactly what we want to give the people in our network – that level of ongoing ‘business as usual’ support.”
“Obviously, I can’t predict the future, but I believe that our approach to business, and the fact that we can continue to offer amazing products and seller solutions for our partners at this time, when other peers are struggling with mergers and other concerns, is a sign that NEC are here for the long-haul. We’re still going to be innovating ten, twenty years from now.”
What’s Your Plan for Partners Right Now?
During the roadshow, NEC introduced a number of amazing vertical markets for their partners, including spaces in education, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail. Andrew noted that he was particularly excited about the healthcare “iCall” product that had been developed with IndigoCare:
“We’ve been partners with Indigo for many, many years now. This product has been created from their personal expertise in selling to a particular vertical. They really know it, they understand it, and they’re appealing to a world where healthcare is an ever-growing market.”
Another particularly interesting development, for Graeme specifically, was the “InApps” solution, which he believes will remove a lot of the pain and discomfort associated with setting up partner systems. “Most of our resellers are finding it really easy to sell with us. They don’t need a great deal of support with the basic systems because they’re very comfortable and confident with the products. With InApps, we’re trying to push people towards a new space of potential profitability, and we’re offering the support they need to take that next step.”
Andrew said: “It’s become about more than just selling telephony systems – it’s about selling value. We’re creating full systems for our resellers, including marketing stories that they can use to take products to their customers.”
So, Your Focus Is On Making Partner Life Easier?
One particularly bold claim that NEC made at the Reseller event, was that partners would be able to deploy the solution in 21 minutes. I wanted to learn more about this comment, and dive a little deeper with Andrew and Graeme. Graeme told me:
“We’ve invested a lot of money and time into the PC program – the 21-minute promise. We know you can deploy in 21 minutes. There’s very little training, and you can install what you need easily. One basic configuration and the phone is ready to go. Even the “InApp” solutions can be set up in five or ten minutes – it’s all faster than ever – simpler than ever. “
While the applications and extras aren’t included in the 21-minute promise, the point that NEC is making is that core installation for the PBX couldn’t be simpler. What the business is doing is giving their customers more time to focus on adding the apps and personalising the solution for their own needs. Andrew said:
“It’s just about trying to make life easier for our partners and resellers. NEC is an indirect business. That means we know that if we want to be successful, we need to make our partners successful. If they don’t sell. We don’t sell. So, everything we do, we put our partner and user at the front-end of our decision making. We know that price comes down to not just the price of the product, but the training time, installation, reliability, ease of use – everything.”
NEC is offering their customers something that no big cloud-based deployment could. They’re focusing on “what” the customer gets, rather than how it’s being delivered, and that’s a key differentiator right now.
“We’re seeing discussions with end-users come down to things like high-availability and simplicity – but these are things we’ve offered for years as default. As times are changing, NEC is the brand that resellers can rely on to keep quality and stability consistent, alongside constant innovation.”
