The Velocity of Change and the Customer Experience
Next week many of you will be filling the tradeshow hall at the Cloud Partner Conference and Expo at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston September 16-18th. Channel Managers will be lined up to scan your badge, hand you tchotchkes, and updated flyers of their product offerings. Instead of asking vendors the traditional question of "tell me about your products and foot print," how about asking how they are handling the velocity of change and delivering a quality customer experience?
Maybe we need to be asking if the vendor's business support systems (BSS) can handle and add cloud based offerings to the mix. Additionally, are they positioned to work with and integrate other vendors across different disciplines offerings on an ad hoc basis? Just last week my company was asked to deliver an integrated solution combining an international provider, with both WAN and application optimization, satellite failover, with a security solution. Our partner already manages the desktops, IaaS, and line of business applications. In addition to all of this they are charged with integrating legacy platforms to cloud based applications that are managed in Asia, which is what started this entire process. If the above example looks scary you have a few choices. The first choice being change the way you pick vendors and solutions to represent, partner for the disciplines you lack, or head to the multitude of bars you can find along the Freedom Trail while in Boston to toast your past career.
We are in the middle of the perfect storm. Our customers are demanding virtualization, cloud computing, SaaS, big data, social media, marketing as a service (MaaS), mobile work force automation, and many more solutions all at the same time. The disruptors who have figured out how to deal with this velocity and deliver what the customer wants on demand are winning the game. Uber, who is the largest taxi company in the world, has never owned a vehicle, but gives a better experience than any taxi service. Facebook is the single largest content delivery platform in the world, but does not create any content, and has more than a billion followers. Airbnb will soon be booking more rooms than the world's largest hotel chains, without owning any real estate. With 140 character snippets the Arab Spring was launched via Twitter, what will the next movement look like?
Jim Swoyer of Swoyer Technologies, the creator of the TCA's Certified Telecom Professional (CTP) exam, states that telecom carriers were the original managed service providers. They delivered and managed telecom and datacenters far before the specialized world we are in today. The bones are there, but do the carriers have the infrastructure that can move with velocity? Tricia Wurts, president of Wurts & Associates, a 25-year channel consulting firm, notes that over the past few years, data and communications channels have been merging, competing, and collaborating in a way never before seen in the history of technology sales. Further, these are not the only channels that are selling technology. A number of new "channels" have developed with the maturation of mobile computing, big data and other areas. I believe the winner(s) of the next communications industry movement is yet to be discovered. They will be Uber like and deliver a seamless customer experience, using next breed BSS that can aggregate and integrate the pieces needed to build the ecosystem that customers demand.
Does all this seem way out in the future? You better think again. I know multiple startups and large companies working on solving the formula of handling the velocity of change while delivering an excellent customer experience, which means many of you who are reading this also know others working on the same formula.
Best Regards,
Jeffery Ponts
President
TCA
[note: I am seeing mid-sized companies already planning hybrid solutions of colocation, Rackspace/MS cloud and direct connect WAN. Security is an issue. BC/DR is a consideration. Lots of moving pieces. Not everyone is up to speed on everything -- agents, VARs, network admins are all in a learning phase. And quite frankly, a deer in the headlights phase as things are just changing too fast. Even for carriers who push products out but can't deliver on promises or support customers the way customers expect. This is the largest opportunity in our industry ever. Take advantage of it!]
CenturyLink says "The future state of enterprise IT is going to be far more complex and heterogeneous than today. CenturyLink realizes this and is today rolling out the product updated to give people more choice." C-Link launched new some new services called Bare Metal Servers, AppFog, and WordPress-as-a-Service.
Why formally learn? For one reason, our industry is transforming before our eyes with new products, services, technology, buyers and sales processes. You might need to pick up a few things to stay relevant.
For less than $300 you can take the TCA Certified Telecom Professional course and exam to learn about all things telecom and cable.
You could join CompTIA and gran some certifications in a number of areas.
There are a couple of online academies like Udemy and SkillShare, where you can learn skills like coding or how to be a freelancer or marketing. And you can teach courses on these platforms. Good way to be seen as The Expert.
Road Shows and Expos. The Wearable Tech Expo in Vegas, CP Expo in Boston and the various carrier and master agency road show are just a few of the places to learn about new tech.
For example, TelePacific holds partner events throughout its territory. (I spoke at one of them.)
Another example, "CenturyLink is going on tour to the IT community about the emerging cloud services trends that are affecting IT departments inside businesses via a multi-city tour that will feature industry analysts and the telco's customers." (You might be able to interact with buyers there, but register those deals during a bio break!)
Finally, vendors provide training. Maybe not always good training, but training nonetheless. Online and live, there are a number of opportunities to grab some education. Netwolves has some good stuff on their security offerings. Masergy has managed security training for partners. RapidScale has a cloud university.
You aren't spending your time on learning -- you are investing in your career, business and future. Best way to handle it is with an appointment for 30 minutes to an hour in your calendar every week. Or at least read 20 minutes per day- perhaps my book (available on your kindle).
"Training takes time. But it's the best lifelong investment a person can make." #gitomer
]]>This wasn't recorded, but there are plans to hold another one which will be recorded. Pay attention to the TCA.
Also, Channel Vision magazine will be running a multi-part series on Channel Management written by me starting next issue. Subscribe to Channel Vision magazine here. The series of articles will lead into the CVX Expo in Anaheim California in October, where Bullseye's Tim Basa and I will be doing a few live, interactive sessions on channel management.
If you can't wait that long, you can get surf over to my site to invest in a training module based on a presentation I gave in October.
]]>COLOTRAQ rented out Drai's Beach Club - probably the best party at a show I have been to in a long time. Not crowded (because the space was so big with an inside and a huge pool area). Not too loud. Plenty of places to sit and talk with people.
The party over-shadowed the announcement that COLOTRAQ launched a cloud based sales tool (portal) that will enable agents and clients to dynamically research, compare and purchase Data Center Infrastructure (DCI).
It might be the circle of influence right now at the show: data centers. Coresite, IPR Secure, QTS, Cologix, ViaWest TelePacific -- I have more business cards from data centers on my desk than any other sector of telecom. (It could be that COLOTRAQ and GCN are colo-centric agencies or it is just where the growth is now.)
The Hosted VoIP guys were partying, especially the Simple Signal guys (who got bought by Vonage). 8x8 and Star2Star had their own parties - AND sponsored master agent parties at the show. Is big spending back?
NTT owns a lot of stuff - Verio, Dimension Data, e-shelter (data center) and Arkadin (UC). The UC part was a big part of the NTT event - and both NTT and Arkadin had a booth.
HE has a partner program. You can sell a Gig Port for pennies and buy a happy meal each month almost.
International was trying to take a stage with Tata, NTT, Airtel, MAXfocus as well as 3 Canadian companies present - Exinda, Facilis and Shaw.
There were over 200 booths at the show -- bigger than last Vegas show, which shocked and awed me because I thought the show was sliding into obscurity by chasing VARs and cloud all day.
There wasn't much talk about any cable mergers - Charter-BrightHouse or Comcast-TWC. Weird. But many wondered what Hosted VoIP companies get bought next.
Lots of personnel changes -- as always. Ruth Morford landed at Telarus. Lots of other musical chairs but it seemed like much of it was master agencies, who seem to be going through changes as they try to figure out VARs, margins, shift to cloud, etc.
The TCA launched version 4.0 of the Certified Telecom Pro certification program which merged the cable cert into the original program. Now it is all one exam with 5.5 hours of on-demand training!
The TCA also had their two events: a big turn out at the Channel Chief Summit on Sunday afternoon and about 65 people in the room for the Channel Managers Best Practices Forum. Look for more of this from TCA going forward.
On a similar note: Women in the Channel has grown to almost 200 members! They had a huge event on Sunday evening, where they honored their co-founder and outgoing President, Nancy Ridge (who definitely deserves huge props).
]]>Canadian and UK companies reached out for consulting in 2014. Opportunities in LATAM also peaked on the horizon. But most of the attention was right here in the USA. Looks like service providers want to be able to take advantage of the boom.
Despite a plethora of shows, it seemed like the energy at most of the shows was pretty upbeat - especially shows not in Vegas.
Shows did seem to have a problem keeping attendees corralled. For some attendees, shows are a time of respite and play as well as work. The format for shows hasn't changed much in 20 years -- maybe it is time that they do. Trade show budget dollars are at a higher premium than ever.
Being a presenter at Comptel in Dallas for Comptel TV was different. I've never done that much video before but the crew they put together was fantastic and made it easy for me. Thanks to Beka Publishing for getting me that gig.
It seemed as if carriers are easier to deal with this year than in the last couple of years. At least the ones that I dealt with - primarily ACC Business, AT&T and tw telecom.
It seems that most people have heard of Hosted PBX by now. We are passed the phase of having to explaining it from scratch. Yeah! Only took 11 years. But don't forget that you still need to educate your prospects on the on-boarding, outcomes, and why you are different than the alternatives (like BSFT, Asterisk, Avaya, premise PBX, Cisco, Lync, Mitel, et al).
It looks like mainstream marketers understand that content is king and social media can't be ignored. That didn't take long. Google's many algorithm changes probably helped push that along. When your website disappears from page 1 and 2, someone has to find an answer - and fast!
It was the year of the App. If you had a messaging app this year, you were worth a lot of moola (at least for a short while.)
Thanks to all the breaches to iCloud, retail, banks and Sony, security should become a good space to be in during 2015. But then that's only if the attitude about security changes from "it's one department's problem" to "security is everyone's business". Breaches come with a tremendously high cost - agains ask Sony, Target, TJ Maxx, Home Depot.
No natural disasters in 2014. No Sandy's or Katrina's. That's good - but that also means that the anti-global warming folks can say, "See?! It's fine." While Glacier Park in the US melts. It also means selling BR/BC will be harder since folks have a short memory.
The TCA rolled out a cable certification and Comcast required it of its agents. That's a big deal for the TCA and the channel.Many master agencies - like COLOTRAQ and Microcorp - celebrated big this year due to important milestones. COLOTRAQ hit 15! Microcorp hit 28 with a new President and a party in NOLA! TBI and Intelysis also hit milestones of commission numbers.
Women in the Channel had a big year of growth with extra events and large attendance numbers!
]]>Lately there are a number of resources popping up for the MSP. These are just a few.
There are other associations for channel partners. CompTIA for IT training and certs. There is also the Cloud Services Community. Both have alliances with the TCA. I did a webinar for CSC a couple of years ago. With their re-boot last month, the website is new and they are looking for bloggers.
I am sure there are others, but these are the places I know to network online, educate yourself and get certifications. Join up. Be Active. Learn & Grow.
There is an association for master agencies that basically does volume buying. That group is the Agent Alliance. They have a new executive board.
And one plug for a webinar I am doing on 10/10/14 at Noon ET: 3 Secrets for Channel Manager Success - register here.
]]>TCA President Jeff Ponts writes, "We have expanded our relationship with Cloud Partners, and have signed strategic relationships with CompTIA, and the Baptie Group to meet our goals." The main goal of TCA is education of the channel - all segments of the channel.
"The cornerstone of the TCA has always been the Certified Telecom Professional (CTP) exam. It was rolled out in 2010 and is now on its third revision to meet our industry's expanding role in supporting our members. The next step in the program's evolution, started in 2013 when Jim Swoyer, the program manager, began working directly with the cable industry giants, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Charter to develop the latest module named the Certified Cable Professional (CCP) exam. Comcast and Time Warner Cable are so motivated to raise the bar of professionalism that they announced in February that all partners must pass the CTP/CCP to sell their services. To kick off the drive we have a coordinated contest that all Master Agents, Alliance Groups, and non vendor members of the TCA can take advantage on behalf of their Partners. Download the details here!
Two new people have been added to the board. I would like to thank both Nancy Ridge, Telecom Brokers and Evan Gillman, Transit Broker, for joining the TCA Board to carry on the good work. I'd also like to take a moment to thank Jeff Ponts, Dave Wallace and Nick Enger for not only taking over the reins from the co-founders, but blazing a trail.
And of course none of it would be possible without the support of the vendor members, including the latest one - ViaWest.
]]>The TCA (Technology Channel Association) has had a certificate program for agents for over three years which is vendor neutral. The Certified Telecom Professional program is being revised by the TCA and its partner, Jim Swoyer. The TCA is also rolling out the first cable cert - the Certified Cable Professional.
Technology Channel Association revises the Certification Program
]]>This morning I was thinking: If I started out today (instead of 1999), it would be a little harder. Back in 1999, BellSouth paid out good commissions. I was selling wholesale DSL coupled with ATM circuits and DIA. The commissions were good enough that I could take care of my clients very well. Hand hold them. Manage the project. Fix bills. Help escalate repair. All of that without any worry because I was being paid well to do it.
Fast forward to today, not so much. 8x8's ARPU is $250. Cbeyond's cloud services ARPU is about $210. Cbeyond's T1 revenue is $653. T1's are as low as $199. Broadband is free with three cereal box tops. At even 15% commission, it would take a LOT of sales to bring in enough revenue to survive. A lot of transactions every week.
And none of these services turn up quick. Sure, T1 and EoC can be done in less than 30 days, but porting of numbers is still a PITA. The copper stuff (T1, EoC, xDSL) should be easy, but with ILECs wanted out of the union game - I mean, copper space - finding good copper can be a challenge. Then there is the inside conduit work to complete the job. Building out fiber can take longer than 6 months (and is never sooner than 120 days). An agent has to wait a LONG time to get paid. And get paid not a lot.
Even the price of bandwidth has come down so low that selling GigE ports of Internet isn't a one per month and you can breathe. It's one per week and you better get hustling Charlie!
And if you want repeat customers, you still have to stay on top of the install, provisioning, deployment, billing and repair -- or they go directly to the carrier, who upgrades them or changes the plan and POOF! you no longer get compensated. It's fun now.
As Cbeyond reported in Q3, cloud revenue is not selling fast enough to replace TDM revenue. I understand that EarthLink has a similar problem. And that problem is with the carrier!!!! Now shrink that to the Channel Partner - and imagine what the day-to-day is like! Yikes!!!
]]>This was my last TCA Channel Chief Summit. Five years after co-founding this non-profit trade association for channel partners with Dany Bouchedid of COLOTRAQ, Ian Kieninger of AVANT (but then at CDW) and quite a few others, the last of the founders leave the Board. We left it in capable hands with Jeff Ponts of Datatel as president and Dave Wallace of Aligned taking my VP slot. Black Box, CDW and PCG are all new faces on the Board who seem eager to take TCA to the next level - and they have Mark from WTG to help them, as WTG, since Vince Bradley helped found TCA, has been a big proponent of TCA (and it shows. Thanks Vince!)
All of the founders worked hard - as did each Board member since - but this organziation would not have gotten going without Dany's efforts especially in the beginning. It has been a pleasure working with him these last long 5 years!
]]>In retail, we have a couple of examples of similar companies - Borders and B&N, CompUSA and Best Buy - one is surviving (not thriving) and the other one BK'ed. Why? Poor Leadership. The executives can blame it on Amazon or whatever, but the CEO and his chums on the board are supposed to figure out the strategy for competitive success and execute on it.
Xerox, Blackberry, Microsoft, the entertainment industry have all blinked and missed opportunity. For some of these companies, it is because they are too big to be nimble and flexible. For others, it is because the current way they make money is enough (until it isn't).
Samsung is like Napster in a way. Samsung took a gamble on patent infringement but it paid off. Sure, it cost them $1B but they leaped into second place for just $1B! Napster disrupted the music industry with its copyright infringement. The industry hasn't been the same since. You can't put the genie back in the lamp!
In telecom, we are at a similar point. Why all the consolidation and M&A? As margins get squeezed, the only way to keep the plates spinning is to increase scale (size) and cut costs to the bone. In telecom, those plates include a lot of debt but also the two competing networks - PSTN and IP.
The acquisitions of cloud and IT services is due to 3 things:
I spent a lot of slides on mindset because that is what has to change first in order for Agents (and the rest of the telecom industry) to Play Bigger! Or at least to decide to make the shift with the vendors from TDM to Cloud. Come be a Net-Head!
One last point: The channel HAS to move the revenue needle on cloud in order for the indirect sales channel to survive!
No joke. If the Channel keeps selling what it has always sold, it won't survive, because the vendor/carriers/providers have a new set of metrics and it isn't TDM - it's cloud.
]]>The TCA added 17 more members at the CPExpo in Orlando as the TCA closes in on 550 members - about 200 of whom have signed up to get certified as a CTP.
The US Secretary of Defense announced that Cyber-attacks could threaten US infrastructure. The DoD is working on a response. It is a constant game of cat and mouse - and the mouse is a fixed target.
SaaS company, Workday, IPO'ed today with a 70% bump to rake in $637M. "The company has not turned a profit." And revenue last year was $134M. That cloud buzz is a hit with investors.
"Integra Telecom today announced that investment funds affiliated with Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. have acquired a significant equity stake in the company."
Virtual Communications Express is VZ's Broadsoft based SMB Hosted PBX offering that has some integration with Google Apps and a dashboard. I know someone who is exhausted and glad it launched!
An inside look at the Sprint-Softbank negotiations. Customers? No a worry in those rooms.
Master Agency, Intelsys, blogs about the huge opportunity in sales that agents have. "Conservatively we believe the US addressable market share for the telecom services channel of which we are all part is $100 billion annually, or $8.3 billion in monthly spend. This excludes most of the Fortune 1000 on the high end, and the SOHO/consumer segment on the low end.... , Intelisys Sales Partners will own about 0.2% of the addressable net billed market share." The numbers say we need more volume to move the needle.
]]>CompTIA has many certificates including a cloud one. Other organizations are putting together certificate programs - some for revenue, some because it will take a lot of education to move the needle on cloud revenue sold via the channel.
One of the reason for the need for certification is the change in telecom. For years, telecom was TDM. A PRI was a PRI, a standard with just two configurations available. Everyone knew what they were getting. Today, it is a miss-mash of TDM and IP - and a lot of grey area in the middle. If you are running a fax server, for example, a PRI that is actually a SIP Trunk with PRI signaling in the IAD is just not going to cut it. Some companies don't even know that is what they are delivering until it is turned up - and doesn't work! Then the real mess begins.
SLA's are all over the map, but are a feature that appear on many RFP's.
Certificates are about education. A certified professional is someone who takes pride in his (or her) business and understands that it takes ongoing education to do the job well.
]]>Parallels sells through a wide range of partners - LEC, ISV, VAR, MSP, Cable, VAD (see diagram). It provides an easy way for SMB clients to by cloud services through the APS system, which through API's provides for deployment and activation form some 300+ cloud service providers, including TCA's own Alteva.
One thing that Zanni said was that Integration would be a factor in cloud service sales. That will be a problem for carriers. VZ bought Terremark for this. EarthLink has acquired a couple of MSP's for this. NTT grabbed Centerstance to add to its customer solutions portfolio.
The TalkingCloud 100 is filled with Google Apps Integrators. For the cloud to work for the business, there will be integration, deployment and on-boarding help needed. This is becoming a sector by itself.
Evolve IP just snagged IPiphany, a managed IT provider in Chicago.
In the end it will all be about the UX - the user experience. That is the battle to win.
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