Following the ScanSource acquisition of Intelisys in August, ScanSource have merged services, and added a raft of new cloud partners, to launch ScanSource Cloud Services. Launched at the ScanSource Business Breakthrough Event at Mercedes-Benz World in November, Paul Emery, Vice President of Cloud Services and Solutions, talked UC Today through the changes and additions to empower resellers of the existing and new ScanSource portfolio.
New solutions
New additions include the introduction of leading UCaaS vendors like RingCentral, Gamma and NFON. Paul said the introduction of these solutions allows an agency model filtered down to their partners.
“The agency model allows ScanSource to be the trusted adviser to our resellers. If you’re an AV partner selling something like Polycom, our partners can now ask the question, what about Unified Comms as a Service? Based on requirements, we can narrow it down to a few suppliers for your end user to take a look at. This is very new to what we’ve been doing in the past”. Wholesale style customers that already consume products from ScanSource can continue to do business as usual, just with the additional cloud offerings in their back pocket.
This allows partners to build relationships with, and expose end customers, to leading UCaaS players without having to honour a quarterly commitment of sales.
“If a customer has a UCaaS opportunity, they may not know that their business is primed for CCaaS.”
“We’re now working with vendors like 8×8, TalkDesk and Avaya to introduce these elements for end customers that aren’t aware of the contact centre services on offer”.
Juggling multiple vendors
Rather than ScanSource having to fulfil a quota with each vendor, the view is very much tailoring each customer to their niche requirements. For customers that have global sites or specific integrations, there are some telling signs that a customer will be more suited to a specific solution.
I asked Paul how the pre-sales element would work. Having worked for a vendor reselling multiple solutions, I saw a big challenge in covering all technologies. Reassuringly, ScanSource will be aligned across technologies such as connectivity, unified communications and contact centre. Once a set solution has been suggested, ScanSource can leverage specialist resource direct from the vendor.
Salesforce boost
For Salesforce customers requiring UCaaS and CCaaS integration, ScanSource has recently acquired Canpango. Canpango are silver level Salesforce consultants. This will no doubt offer a huge level of value and give ScanSource resellers an advantage when it comes to dealing with integration into Salesforce.
For a long time, the market has pointed to NewVoiceMedia as the Salesforce option of choice. With the addition of Canpango, resellers can benefit from niche Salesforce experience rather than relying on contact centre experience. ScanSource has identified the acquisition of Canpango as a clear USP when dealing with Salesforce customers.
Zero touch provisioning
Further to the cloud services launch, ScanSource has introduced a zero touch provisioning service. Channel partners can now order handsets and endpoints via their online portal and have them shipped direct to the end customer. This removes the need for handsets to be delivered to partner’s site for configuration – a timely resource for every partner.
ScanSource 2019
Looking to the future, I asked Paul about the video conferencing and collaboration area. With vendors such as LifeSize, BlueJeans, Video and PGi in the video side of the ScanSource portfolio, Paul said there was a lot of uptake with these products and a large amount of integration of video as a service into Microsoft. Paul also sees a huge amount of popularity in huddle rooms, combining on-premises kit like Polycom into cloud video platforms like Videxio, and doesn’t expect this to stop.
As for 2019, Paul reflected on the services ScanSource can now offer. With video and collaboration in high demand right now, he expects a huge amount of uptake from partners in the cloud world as more and more partners drive cloud-first communications.
