Paul Gibbs is telco, man and boy.
Twenty plus years ago, he was a 19-year-old newcomer: his vision, ambition and ferocious work ethic inherited from his entrepreneurial parents.
Like many of his contemporaries, he had a natural skillset perfectly suited to capitalising on the opportunities of a sector with seemingly limitless potential to change the world.
Today, he and those contemporaries find themselves leading some of the most disruptive and dynamic businesses; leveraging innovative technologies, products and solutions that are doing just that.
A year ago – post its acquisition by Southern Communications Group – Paul was asked to help reinvent UK-based hosted telephony provider MyPhones.
Cue: a potent coming together of those naturally-inherited commercial instincts plus an infectious passion for people – qualities that are now at the heart of the rebooted organisation’s fresh and eye-catching new commercial proposition, as well as its culture.
“We’ve rebranded, overhauled our partner portal and launched a new commercial offering,” says Gibbs.
“But it’s more than just the things people can actually see. It feels like a much more fundamental change has occurred here”
“It feels like we are viewing our partners through a different lens. We’re connecting more with their own business models, their own customer requirements and their customers’ end-user challenges.
“Yes, it’s about our products and the way we price and deliver them; but it also has to be more about people, trust and the mutually-beneficial nature of relationships.
“To me, that’s the essence of the channel. It can be a weird beast. You have to know the way it functions and be constantly tuned-in to all of the various dynamics that are at play.
“It’s a place where your own success depends on the success of others. In that sense, it’s a very collaborative and relationships-driven space. I think that’s why I’ve always loved it so much.”
In terms of the whole digital transformation thing, Gibbs undoubtedly knows his onions.
But it seems like there are a few more layers to him than just understanding the technologies, the delivery or the commercials.
So, why are those more ethereal sensitivities important?
Well, in the context of doing business, they are indicative of the kind of values that are likely to characterise a Gibbs commercial partnership.
They suggest that high levels of credibility, empathy and trust will exist and that real, meaningful relationships are just as key to success as all of the other, more measurable performance indicators.
“We get really close to our customers,” says Gibbs. “Obviously, increased scale will always make personalisation more challenging, but we get as close to bespoke as we possibly can.
“I’m passionate about ensuring that all of our customers have the opportunity to achieve margin on every component of a contract so that our relationship is fair and equitable”
“It feels like those kind of values are in my DNA but ensuring that they sit front and centre in the MyPhones culture is my number one priority.”
As wells as Gibbs’ infectious new ethos, the new-look MyPhones also has a bunch of new products too; from call bundling to leasable lifetime licences, plus a recently-launched Hardware–as–a–Service offering (complete with those aforementioned opportunities to make margin on the handset, the router, the switch etc.)
It’s a post-pandemic strategy which Gibbs believes will continue to fuel those mutually-beneficial partnerships well into the future.
“COVID has of course changed everything,” he says. “There has been and will continue to be a huge move to the cloud. Remote working, hot desking, and increasingly unfit–for–purpose on-premise PBXs are all simultaneous challenges AND opportunities.
“Businesses and their end users in pretty much every vertical must adapt to an entirely different environment now. We are working really hard at understanding that new environment so that we can help our channel partners respond.”
There it is again – that irresistible mix of commerciality and culture…
To find out more about MyPhones’ new-look offering go to www.myphones.com
