UCaaS has exploded exponentially in popularity over the past two years, with many businesses clamouring for the technology.
Such is the insatiable appetite for UCaaS that many managed service providers and resellers have introduced UC into their own portfolios or have expanded what they previously offered. However, it can be a challenge for resellers and MSPs – especially those entering the space for the first time – to figure out which is the right vendor for them to team up with.
They must consider what the vendor offers in terms of benefits and incentives? What their support is like? Do they have a direct sales unit? What is their reputation as a partner?
Will Morey, Director and Co-Founder of Pragma, a channel-only service provider that has built their UCaaS service offering using the Ericsson-LG iPECS platform, said that the top factor that resellers should take into account when choosing a new partner is the technology proposition.
“The technology proposition is paramount; what can they actually deliver to their end customers to enable them to be successful and to utilise technology to the best effect in their business,” he told UC Today.
“The vendor’s roadmap and innovation are key; those different aspects of where the technology can really add tangible value to an organisation who adopts it and integrates it into all of their business processes in their business.
“That always has to be the number one consideration for a reseller when selecting a service provider partner because their job is to take best of breed technology into an organisation and enable that organisation to get value from it.”
The second most important factor is to investigate what type of business model they operate, such as whether they have a direct sales unit that actively competes with channel partners. Ideally, they should stick with channel-centric vendors, Morey advised.
“For example, Ericsson-LG Enterprise is a channel-only business, and that means an incredible amount to a partner because it’s saying that when a big deal comes along, we’re not going to jump over you and take it directly, we do every single dollar of business globally through our partner community, and that’s an incredibly strong part of the proposition,” he explained.
Other factors to consider in choosing the most appropriate UCaaS service provider are their brand and industry heritage, their reliability and resiliency as a partner, WebRTC, Collaboration, CRM, and vertical market integrations, Add-ins, value adds and ARPU drivers, and support.
Ericsson-LG Enterprise’s differentiation in an increasingly crowded UCaaS market is that its broad portfolio that caters to all types of client requirements.
Ahed Alkhatib, VP of Global Sales and Marketing, added that Ericsson-LG offers a “holistic solution to partners who are entering the UCaaS market, or who want to expand their services.
“We’re an end-to-end solution provider delivering the platform, endpoints and applications integrated to deliver the best user experience which differentiates us from many of our competitors in the market,” he stated.
“From a reseller’s perspective, we are a channel-only model and we are committed to the success of our partners.”
