Provider to reseller to end user: the channel model is simple, right?
Well, it used to be.
Today, the telco game is changing and the major carriers are beginning to blur the lines between wholesale and retail.
And that means Value Added Resellers and Managed Service Providers who rely on the channel model must adapt if they want to survive.
Whilst these sands may be shifting in the communications services market, one simple truth prevails: end user organisations always want the best functionality at the best price.
To meet that demand, some major carriers have started to reconfigure their go-to-market strategies to serve their enterprise customers more directly, while others are attaching an increasingly high value to reseller relationships.
This is creating an opportunity for operators and channel partners willing to partner with agile vendors to find a way to capitalize on the wholesale route to market.
“Customers are changing the way they want products to be delivered,” says Isabelle Paradis, Founder and President of international technology strategists Hot Telecom, which works closely with one of those vendors – Canada-based global provider of telco billing, cloud PBX platforms and CPaaS, PortaOne.
“Enterprise customers want more of a retail experience. Everything in one click; like Amazon.
“Less and less differentiation now exists between enterprise and wholesale solutions and, with this blurring of the lines, wholesalers have an opportunity to address the enterprise market directly.
“That means it’s more of a ‘wholetail’ experience.
“However. Wholesalers often lack the specialist vertical experience and the geographical proximity to the enterprise customer, as well as the ability to add a security, real-time information or support wrap to their services required to succeed in this segment.
“That means carriers who choose a partner able to provide these capabilities will be best-placed to address the evolving wholetail market.”
For telecommunications software developers like PortaOne – which is well tuned-in to this digital evolution – supporting resellers is a top priority.
Making money on minutes has become a challenge so many see opportunity in building and retailing a niche, margin-rich solution which sets them apart.
PortaOne’s open architecture and access to the source code can swiftly provide an affordable, agile and function-rich platform upon which to do just that.
“Traditionally, the CSP was always the most important customer for us, but now it’s the channel,” says Enzo Viscito, Managing Director of PortaOne’s UCaaS division.
“And, because there is so much choice for channel organisations, it means we have to up our game.
Viscito notes that the key to PortaOne success in this changing landscape has always been to understand what is happening downstream so they can help their reseller partners respond to market demands.
“It’s about creating an awareness of how the market is changing; and then helping those partners increase revenue and profitability,” he says.
But the ‘wholetail’ evolution doesn’t only have a ‘go to market’ impact.
Wholesalers seeking to become more efficient and profitable may seek to cut costs and reduce risk.
And cutting costs can mean reducing investment in innovation.
“A race to becoming the cheapest benefits no-one in the long run,” says Viscito.
“If innovation suffers, the solutions on offer to end-user organisations will be less able to respond to technological change.
“What organisations do want are solutions that work and that come with highly reliable levels of service. And, of course, billing accuracy.
“Our hosted PBX platform and combined billing system are both managed via the same user portal, which makes us a unique one-stop shop.
“We also give our customers access to our source code so they can make their own customisations.
“As a result, our channel customers are able to maximise the new ‘wholetail’ model opportunities.”
Hot Telecom’s Paradis has some words of comfort too.
“A complete consolidation of the wholesale and retail market is unlikely,” she says.
“Whilst the big carriers may get there first, not many will be able to make the entire jump.”
But, she adds, there are certainly some interesting times ahead.
“Having an awareness of that evolving landscape and partnering with an organisation that is thinking ahead will ensure channel organisations are in the best possible place to maximise the opportunities”
- To learn more about how partnering with PortaOne can help your organisation maximise the ‘wholetail’ opportunity, visit www.portaone.com
