On Rad's Radar? - unified communications Archives

The VoIP Market Right Now

2013-04-29T19:14:00Z

"The market for VoIP services has moved well beyond the early adopter stage to mainstream status in many developed countries. SIP trunking and hosted UC continue to heat things up, fueling growth," reports Diane Myers, principal analyst for VoIP, UC, and IMS at Infonetics Research.

According to the study, "Due to continued demand for enterprise cloud-based services, hosted VoIP and Unified Communications (UC) services revenue grew 17% in 2012 from 2011, the most of any segment."

The reality is that SIP Trunking jumped 83% because VoIP is a cheap dial-tone replacement. Replacing PRI's and other voice circuits (POTS, Integrated T1) is the easiest way to ink a deal - we will save you money! Unfortunately, it is also lowering overall revenues.

Premise based systems are not going away any time soon. "Managed IP PBX services, which focus on dedicated enterprise systems, remain the largest business VoIP services segment, and sales grew 9% in 2012."

Dimension Data and Ovum performed a study on UC&C, "Currently, the US results are in broad accord with our global results: most UCC deployments remain premise-based and are managed in-house. However, US respondents are keenly interested in the managed services model for UCC, in which the technology is based on-premises, but is managed by a trusted provider. Strong interest in managed services indicates a shift from the traditional US 'do-it-yourself' approach to enterprise networking and communications. US firms also expressed more willingness to seriously consider the public cloud as a UCC delivery mechanism than their global peers."

Premise is still selling.

Channel Shifts, Moves, Adds and Changes

2013-04-09T21:17:42Z

There is a lot of noise coming out of the channel. Personnel changes left and right and center. Who's leaving, who's joining, who just signed an agreement. Bzzzzzzzz It's just noise for the most part.

Funny that one master agent who fired their VP at Channel Partners and is famous for press releases didn't announce that. Or a hosted provider who pumps out PR like it was printing money didn't announce any of its personnel changes either.

VZ overhauled their channel program. Again. And people will still sign up for the temporary cash and the continued uncertainty.

AT&T launched a Partner Exchange.

Lots of cloud service providers announcing expanded channel resources. well, going from 1 to 2 is a huge expansion.

But seriously, I think most executives have under-estimated how much support the Channel would need to quote and sell cloud services, especially UC.

Solera got into the channel. I remember when they were pitching CALEA boxes.

One big problem for VARs is that not only is selling hardware easier and more comfortable for them, it allows them to cash flow. Sure a VAR may have $2M in revenue but $1.7M of that goes to Tech Data for goods. However, they need the upfront money to continue their business model. It isn't always feasible to shift to a recurring revenue model. The only way to change that is to finance the contract and pay all the commission up-front -- but there is a lot of risk there.

Another problem is channel conflict. NoJitter has a good read about it. Channel Conflict is just one more reason that VARs worry about telecom.

All the moves and changes in the channel means a couple of things - (1) It isn't as easy as anyone thought; (2) a lot of executives think that going channel is a way to get a free sales force (WRONG!); (3) reality hasn't sank in yet.

I am always available for consulting on channel strategy, just give me a call at 813-963-5884.

Is the Channel Too Lazy to Sell Cloud?

2013-03-29T12:31:56Z

Talking with channel managers lately in the Hosted UC space, well, has been depressing to be honest. No one is having fun - or knocking it out of the park. Yes, there are pockets of success - mostly from verticals or niches (surprise!).

So one CM made the comment that channel partners are too lazy to sell cloud. "It is much easier to sell network or a box than it is to sell cloud." There is some truth to that.

VAR's and Inter-connects have a similar business model that is centered around selling a box, installation and support. So cash flow comes from selling the box. They receive a chunk of money upfront. I am not certain that any of them survive off can recurring revenue yet.

To remedy this, some master agencies and vendors are looking to pay some of the commissions upfront, but this requires risk and financing, which devalues their own companies (and makes an exit harder).

From what I have seen and heard, most channel partners - agents, VAR's, Inter-connects - sell Hosted PBX as a third option after all else fails -- and typically sell it as cheap VoIP.

To me, this means that the service providers and the CM's have done a poor job of training and communicating who the target customer is, why they should buy UC/HPBX/Cloud, and what the value proposition is. Am I surprised by this? Not in the least. Why?

For one, many cloud companies have too many executives from the CLEC world where it has always been about Arbitrage - "Let me save you money!" And, let's face it, CLECs know nothing about marketing or positioning or branding - and neither do most cloud providers.

The other big problem is that most of these companies are enamored with their technology - as if the market gives a crap about their technology. People have iPhones and tablets and a bazillion apps. You think your tech is cooler than that??

This was a problem that ISP's had too. All techies that just like to be techies. The reason that 8x8 has grown is because some where along the way they switched from being a tech company to being a sales and marketing company. Most cloud providers are not there yet.

It is also very challenging to sell cloud services, especially UC, with its myriad pieces and components. What channel partner is going to remember all the stuff about your UC product and about the other 10-12 services that he also offers???? Um, not very many.

The flip side to this is that most cloud providers don't really sell direct. They dapple in it because it is expensive. However, if you haven't sold it, you don't know how to train or coach others to sell it either. You don't have the sales process and questions in place as tools for the channel partners.

There is another challenge right now: sales sizes are too small to cash flow for the provider or for the channel partner - so that will grind things to a halt sooner rather than later.

My CM pal also mentioned that partners don't want to explain all the features of HPBX/UC, do an ROI or TCO, check the WAN and LAN, etc. It is far quicker to just sell network or a box - and move on.

The reason that UC is stuck is because it is not exactly like what people have now. So there is training and education needed to the customer and her employees (as well as to the channel partners). This could be fixed IF the channel would actually eat the dog food. Not many channel partners actually use cloud services. If you drink the kool-aid how do you sell it to someone else? (Sales is about the transfer of emotion - if the partner isn't excited about your product, why would the customer be?)

There are a number of reasons that UC isn't selling. (Another is too many providers that all look the same.) As my brother tells me, "But, bro, Lync is selling!" Sure as part of Office 365 or to Fortune 100. And mid-sized businesses with more than 250 employees are buying UC, but are they buying it from the channel or from one of the top carriers?

Another trend is that smaller, unknown cloud providers are losing deals to better known companies - like Comcast, EarthLink, etc. WHy? Trust factor. Brand is a trust factor. So it comes back to marketing.

So is the channel too lazy to sell cloud? Or have the cloud providers just done a really poor job of picking partners and/or marketing?

BTW, there are certainly channel partners selling cloud, but they are dedicated to doing so. They drink teh cloud kool-aid.

The UC Space Right Now

2013-03-26T14:09:48Z

I was chatting with another industry blogger recently. We were discussing how there are a lot of VoIP Providers out there. I estimate it at over a thousand. However, I don't see the Hosted PBX space making huge strides. Before VoiceCon, the numbers showed that premise based PBX units were the stagnant -- not decreasing.

My associate says, "Everyone has a similar platform and features; sales are predicated on relationships and lacking that price. Key system emulation is big for VSB" (very small business = less than 10 employees).

In Icarus Deception, Seth Godin describes the marketplace changes that we are living in with the decline of the Industrial Age. Godin says that we live in the Internet fueled Age of Abundance.

"We do have an abundance of choice, an abundance of connection, and an abundance of access to knowledge. We know more people, have access to more resources, and can leverage our skills more quickly and at a higher level than ever before. This abundance leads to two races. The race to the bottom is the Internet-fueled challenge to lower prices, find cheaper labor, and deliver more for less. The other race is the race to the top: the opportunity to be the one they can't live without, to be the linchpin we would miss if he didn't show up. The race to the top focuses on delivering more for more. It embraces the weird passions of those with the resources to make choices, and it rewards originality, remarkability, and art." [Seth Godin]

So why isn't UC selling?

People suck at selling it. Companies suck at marketing it. Companies stink at deploying it.

I know that is harsh, but how many businesses ask for UC? Um, none. They want a cheap phone system and their smartphones.

If Apple made a UC platform, everyone would buy it. Why? It would be user friendly. It would be a little different from all the rest. It would be branded and marketed well.

No one even does anything cool with the IP Phones! Those full color screens on those tiny computers that run XML and have numerous soft buttons that are useless.

The Broadcore Connect UC bundle includes voice, video, messaging, conferencing and mobility solutions with various connectivity options. How is that any different than XO's or any other Broadsoft BroadCloud BroadOne?

Everyone is offering a bundle - ANPI, VoIP Innovations, everyone! It's worse than the allergy aisle at the pharmacy!

"Successful organizations have realized that they are no longer in the business of coining slogans, running catchy ads, and optimizing their supply chains to cut costs." - Seth Godin

What Did I Miss?

2013-03-26T12:55:58Z

After making the news for supposedly canceling tele-working (which they only did for 200 distracted employees), Yahoo is not acquiring. First, Y! bought Jybe, a social recommendation site. Now, "Yahoo announced it is snagging the mobile news reader Summly, created by 15-year-old Nick D'Aloisio," according to the USA Today. Now 17, Nick gets $30 million from Yahoo.

Oracle bought Tekelec, which was known for its Class 4/5 TDM switch in the day, but is now referred to as a signaling company. (Huh?) On the heels of its purchase of Acme Packet, I have to wonder what Oracle sees in the telecom industry that I am missing. Consolidation and bankruptcies are coming. There is too much debt, too much disappearing revenue, and too many companies that do the same thing. There are a thousand VoIP providers out there who could buy a telecom package from oracle IF they had more than 300 customers and any profitable revenue. Unfortunately, most of the VoIP companies can only take orders and not sell. It has become a whore's game of how low can you go - in LD, international, termination, toll-free, and POTS line replacement. It will be interesting to see if these purchases end up being Oracle's Palm.

Global Capacity came out of bankruptcy with a new owner, Pivotal Investment; a new PR firm, iMiller; and new marketing spin in the One Marketplace. Netwolves, UNSI and EarthLink have joined the platform either to sell circuits or to extend their reach for MPLS.

The FCC released its wireless study that Congress requires but doesn't read. ARPU has been steady from 2009-2011 but voice revenue is dropping as data revenue increases. Is the wireless industry competitive? The report doesn't say. What do you think?

Broadsoft released UC-One, its IMS FMC offering. Basically, after signing up 400+ customers, it now has to sell deeper into each account, because there are no more new accounts. So all you BSFT customers, start selling IMS and FMC vis UC-One. Leslie says so.

Broadsoft also blogged that UC demand was outpacing supply, which makes me laugh. On the street, where sales are actually made, customers are seeing 2-4 quotes for phone service. No one is asking for UC, but that doesn't mean unified comms isn't being quoted and sold. Why would the analyst say that? One, he might not be watching enough service providers to see sales growing. Many of the VoIP companies are private and don't do PR or report numbers to anyone, so how would any analyst know the size fo the market, revenues, sales, seats sold, etc.? Two, UC is being quoted but not being purchased - due to poor sales skills or customer sticker shock or the fact that Premise PBX are still selling. Finally, it could be that UC only works with integration. So if the customer isn't using the 3 or 4 applications that integrate with the UC platform, it won't be a good fit (or will require big dollar integration). There are number of reasons why UC sales look dim. A lot of it is education to the customer and to the sales teams, but also a lot of businesses just want fast Internet, a smartphone and cheap dial-tone.

Sprint will start carrying Mitel's hosted PBX solutions as part of its broader Cloud Wholesale Services portfolio.

VoIP in 2013

2013-01-17T17:26:10Z

It's January and people are still making predictions about 2013. Dave Michels wrote a nice piece about the history of Level3's 3Tone service, which I was pretty familiar with due to four of my clients rushing into the void to sign up - just as Level3 was aborted the service. I view this move by Level3 as one reason that I don't see Jim Crowe as the visionary others do.

Today, we see VoIP Innovations rolling out a complete wholesale private label VoIP service. It might be too late for another entrant in the space, but I think the wholesale Origination/Termination space is flat with low margins, so it's a pivot towards higher margin and new prospects.

Most predictions about VoIP center on two things - mobile and video - just like they have for the last few years. If you really want business VoIP to take off, you need more inter-connection, in order for HD Voice and Fax over IP to work across NNI's. Remember the VoIP Peering Fabric?

According to Frost, "Approximately 42 percent of non-cloud unified communications users intend to deploy hosted phone systems in the future." Well, seeing as how the Hosted PBX market is still smaller than Centrex that didn't require much of a crystal ball. As the RBOCs delete copper, Centrex will die too. (Seems strange that they would be so quick to get rid of POTS and Centrex service since the margins on those are big.) Most of that Centrex business should convert to Hosted UC systems. The only thing stopping this conversion is the sales teams of the cloud comm companies. If ever you were going to invest in your sales teams, NOW IS THE TIME!

Why? People are not buying the same way as they did 4 years ago. The services being sold are not the same as 4 years ago. However, the sales people ARE the same as 4 years ago!!! Get the disconnect???

Will the mobility piece be a hurdle for some Cloud Comm companies? Maybe. I think that the SP (service provider) that can sufficiently integrate their MVNO with Hosted Exchange and their Hosted PBX offering will have an advantage. I would say be a big winner but to win, that SP would need a great sales team and other elements of the organization at the peak of its game (billing, customer service, deployment, on-boarding).

Congrats to Vidtel for scooping up Alex Doyle as VP of Marketing. Doyle had a long run at Broadsoft before a short stint at Polycom. Expect big things at Vidtel, a video conferencing company that doesn't rely on hardware as a crutch.

On that note, ACT Conferencing, one of the leading conferencing service providers in the US, is announcing a partnership with Vidtel to deliver cloud-based video conferencing. ACT will be a channel partner of Vidtel selling the Vidtel MeetMe service. Just an example of the ongoing shift in video conferencing towards cloud applications (from hardware).

One last trend I am seeing is that a lot of SP's are leaning heavy on the channel for sales in 2013 - FreedomIQ, Vidtel, Panterra and EarthLink among them. [Note: ELNK just laid off 15% of its workforce.] How effective that will be depends on a number of factors that not all these companies have figured out yet. The glaring hole in that strategy is that if you have issues - with the service, the channel program, tech support - the channel will abandon you. Even if you fix the problems, you have to regain the trust you lost. It's a tough road.

I think 2013 is a year of opportunity for any cloud services. I just don't know who the winners will be.

The Pivot to Attractiveness

2013-01-17T17:06:51Z

I spoke with Mike Cassidy at SUTUS this week. SUTUS is finally seeing success after years of trying to find its niche in the SMB PBX space. SUTUS had a couple of pivots along the way - and usually a new CEO to go with each pivot.

Now they are on the path to success due to stumbling upon a vertical.

When you are in a hyper-competitive market like SMB phone systems or better yet Hosted PBX, you have two choices: you can chase everyone as a potential customer or you can tell a better story to attract the right customer to you.

Most of the Hosted PBX space spends dollars and days chasing low hanging fruit instead of compiling a database of good clients within one or two verticals.

What is so special about a vertical? At least three things. Less competition, more word-of-mouth, and you learn the inside language to provide valuable, specific benefits to the vertical.

I hate to say that VZ was the first one to take a step in that direction by launching VCE with Google Apps integration but the fact is: it's true.

The Cloud Comm Alliance has a meeting come up in Tampa Bay on Feb. 4. I hope that I will hear a couple of stories about a pivot or two where these service providers have decided to attack a vertical to hack some growth like SUTUS did.

It's About Stats and Studies

2012-12-04T16:34:50Z

Here is a collection of some stats and studies for your reading pleasure.

(1)

Mary Meeker's 2012 Presentation On The State Of The Web is a good read despite being heavily mobile. She spends quite a few slides pointing out how SO many industries have been disrupted side-swiped by technology, especially Internet enabled apps.

(2)

"The worldwide Ethernet switch market, which had grown in large part due to the adoption of 10 Gigabit Ethernet technology in the data center, contracted in the third quarter, with revenue dropping 4.4 percent, according to analysts with IDC." [eweek]

(3)

Survey Finds 'Death of the Landline' as Most Disruptive Force to US-based Communication Services. I would have to agree. That copper plant impacts a lot of telecom.

(4)

"According to a recent market study made by Infonetics Research, the third quarter of 2012 saw a few positive changes in the leading business PBX telephony systems. Cisco was found to be the leading PBX business phone system vendor (for the 5th straight quarter), followed closely behind by Avaya." [source]

"the high roller in the Unified Comminications (UC) market is Mcrosoft, with a rise in revenues of approximately 40% over second quarter profits." You have to read it carefully. It's just about revenue growth. Diane Myers continues: “UC applications have been a real sweet spot. The demand for tools that aid employee productivity and flexibility is fueling growth in this segment, and Microsoft’s Lync has been the primary beneficiary, enjoying over 40% sequential growth in the third quarter.”

"Revenue is declining at a faster rate than shipments: for the first time, the average revenue per PBX line slipped below $200." This is globally in the whole IP-PBX space.

(5)

Frost & Sullivan's new report "North American VoIP Access and SIP Trunking Services Market 2012: Broader Market Acceptance Drives Robust Growth" to their offering. This couldn't be more obvious. SIP Trunking and VoIP are growing. No kidding. The PSTN is closing and copper is clipping. Cable Voice is all VoIP, even the PRI's. Try to buy a TDM PRI sometime, Frost & Sullivan. Oh, and there was consolidation in this space in 2011. See what I mean?

(6)

Garrett Smith on the video conferencing market.

(7)

Lastly, a beautiful infographic from GigaOm on the state of the US Broadband market!

Microsoft Lync in my Opinion

2012-11-28T14:48:12Z

Have you been hearing buzz about Microsoft Lync? Microsoft is spending millions on marketing it - and I hear that the Fortune 100 have deployed it but in limited roles.

My brother works for a Microsoft integrator who has 135K seats deployed. I'm not even sure what that means, because Lync isn't being used exclusively as a landline or PBX replacement. It has many uses and not all of them are apparent. For example, it is can be deployed just for Presence and IM/chat. It can also be used for a conference bridge (like in the Office 365 bundle - does that constitute a seat?).

Sure, it CAN be deployed as a voice replacement BUT you still have to have SIP trunking from a voice provider. (Lync is not a dialtone provider; that will come from the SIP Provider.) Lync will act like a PBX in this setting.

Remember that Lync is the 3rd edition of Microsoft's Office Communicator Server. IMO, MS has not decided what they want from it yet.

Skype, mobile apps, messenger, Presence, PBX, conferencing -- it is all very cludgy. By that I mean, it isn't straightforward; it isn't user friendly.

My fears lie in the fact that Microsoft can't make a product that doesn't have to be patched every day due to too much bloated code and too many unnecessary features. And Lync has a lot of features. (Adobe is giving it a run for its money in patching Flash though.) Then by the time the user has a stable operating system (like XP SP3), Microsoft rolls out a new one - and we start all over again (from unstable and what many would call beta!)

My brother likens Lync to Sharepoint. Once people know what it can do... Well, more like, once it is thrust upon the users.

When you try to be something to everyone, you end up lost.

Three Big Jumps This Weekend

2012-10-15T18:06:09Z

The biggest jump over the weekend was Red Bull Stratos: "Felix Baumgartner captured the attention of the web on Sunday when he jumped from a capsule 128,000 feet above Earth and landed safely on the ground in New Mexico." [via Huffpro] Not only did Baumgartner break the speed of sound, but YouTube broke the streaming barrier previously set at the Olympics. 8M people watched globally as Baumgarter jumped from the stratosphere.

Another big jump was Japanese mobile operator, Softbank, plunking down $20.1 Billion for a 70% stake in Sprint. Sprint needed the cash to reverse its course in 4G build-out issues with WiMax and Clearwire. PCMag has a good analysis of the deal. I think that if Hesse gets to stick around as CEO this money won't mean jack! "Believe it or not, Sprint is still trying to deal with the aftermath of its 2006 merger with Nextel, network-wise."

Increasingly, it is a global telecom world. "Britain's Vodafone owns part of Verizon. T-Mobile is owned by a German company. AT&T owns part of Mexico's America Movil, which in turn owns parts of lots of other carriers." VZ just announced plans to spend in Asia. Level3 has been expanding internationally (which still hasn't helped their bottom line).

The third big jump was VZ into SMB Hosted PBX. I say this because it looks like VZ is doing things differently than others. For example, they aren't talking about cost savings. That right their is a huge jump for VoIP players. (Are the rest of you watching?) "Verizon Introduces ‘Virtual Communications Express’ to Accelerate Productivity for SMB - Now Companies Can More Simply and Cost-Effectively Employ Advanced Collaboration Tools to Speed Decision-Making and Enhance Customer Service." The other piece that marks a departure is that VZ's VCE works with Google Apps!!! VZ does notice that 5 million small businesses use Google Apps - and it doesn't hurt that many of those businesses use Android phones on the VZW network.

"Companies using Google Apps for Business can download a Virtual Communications Express application from the Google Apps Marketplace, which will allow users to make calls -- with one click -- from Gmail, GChat and Google Calendar. Individuals can also see if other Google Apps users are available to join a call instantly."

"A Verizon-certified phone and an Internet connection, from any broadband provider, are all that any company needs to experience Virtual Communications Express’ benefits of enhanced productivity through real-time collaboration with co-workers, customers and business partners. In addition, administrators can authorize and instantly manage the various features available to individuals through a dedicated online tool."

Another winner here is Broadsoft. VZ is using Cisco in Enterprise UC, but BSFT for SMB. That's a huge sigh of relief from Maryland.

Another jump was in patent trolling lawsuits. "Based on our sample, lawsuits filed by patent monetizers have increased from 22% of the cases filed five years ago to almost 40% of the cases filed in the most recent year. In addition, of the five parties in the sample who filed the greatest number of lawsuits during the period studied, four were monetizers and only one was an operating company."

Finally, we have had metering of mobile and cable broadband, but now comes the Piracy Police. From Torrent Freak:

"A set of leaked internal AT&T training documents obtained by TorrentFreak reveal that the Internet provider will start sending out anti-piracy warning notices to its subscribers on November 28. Customers whose accounts are repeatedly flagged for alleged copyright infringements will have their access to frequently visited websites blocked, until they complete an online copyright course."

Mobile Apps Are Not News

2012-10-03T13:44:57Z

Received yet another handful of press releases centered around mobility. Mainly it was about a new Android or iPhone app for UC. This is NOT news! Seriously. The desk phone is being replaced by mobile devices for knowledge workers and sales people. If you don't have a mobile app - that is news, because you will be extinct soon.

Really, the dude at Apple that has to approve all the iOS apps for the store must be thinking, "What? Another freaking VoIP app for the iPad? Aren't a thousand enough?"

Some Moves That May Seem Like News

2012-10-02T04:17:34Z

Who is going 100G? Both XO and Spread Networks announced its deployment of 100G technology. The surprise? Bright House Networks announced that it will extend its relationship with Fujitsu and utilize that vendor for 100G in its metro network.

Comcast is going after E-Rate business - through the channel! They will be trying to hit the ILEC's in the breadbasket with this move. The RBOCs are most vulnerable here since neither ATT nor VZ allow agents to sell e-rate.

Comcast hits its 20th state with Business VoiceEdge, its Broadsoft based cloud-based voice and unified communications solution, in California. Competitors need to pay attention, since Comcast sells inexpensive Hosted PBX on its own network -- read No QoS issues!

TelePacific has made its SmartVoice PRI, SIP and business-line services available on a nationwide basis.

EarthLink already has an MVNO deal with Sprint from Deltacom. Now ELNK has a wholesale agreement with Clearwire for "high-speed fixed and mobile broadband service to consumers."

FairPoint taps marketing exec Barbara Dondiego as new CMO. Not picking on Dondiego - and don't know her - but she hasn't worked at any successful telcos - DeltaCom, WilTel, and MacLeod - so BK or bought.

MetTel hits 100K seats of Broadsoft. This makes them 5th by my calculations: Comcast has about 300K; 8x8 has about 210K; M5/Shoretel Sky has about 140K; and West IP has about 100K approximately.

TiVo settled with VZ for $250M over patent dispute over DVR software. VZ TV is now at 4.5 million subs - and will pay monthly licensing fees for those subs to TiVo. VZ also "agreed to pay CloudTV developer ActiveVideo more than $260 million over the video-on-demand feature." This has something to do with the VZ-Redbox video streaming lab test.

6 SEO Myths by INC

Larry Lisser is prepping for another awesome StartupCamp Comms at ITEXPO this week, but still put out a blog post. Note that Evolve IP bought IPiphany and Nuance scooped up Ditech - for the Phonetag service.

Twilio has new money and a new CMO. Oh, and a deal with ATT.

Strategic Thinking Necessary for SPs

2012-09-26T20:45:09Z

Strategic Thinking is needed for service providers to get through the upheaval of the next couple of years. The last couple of years have been all belt tightening and cost cutting -- to the point that service delivery, sales and customer support have suffered greatly.

Google Says Mobile Operators Have To Think About Service Delivery, Not Data Plans - "meaning they have to go beyond monthly subscription fees and add value to the types of services OTT players, content providers and others are currently driving."

In an ITEXPO panel about Hosted versus Premise, the panelists were discussing business drivers such as BYOD, Security, lack of skills, and integration of BPI (business process improvement) as reasons that businesses are moving to UC&C (unified communications and collaboration).

Beyond just what product will you (try to)sell, service providers have to think about what their customers need and will pay for -- as well as can you sell it?

After the sale, can you Integrate it, On-board the customers, and support them? These will be three integral factors in customer retention - a metric that is becoming more significant as the revenue pools flatten.

Gary Kim headlines that SP's are becoming irrelevant. "At some level, it is hard to argue with the notion that what people "want" is the applications and services the Internet provides, and not "broadband access" as such."

3G, 4G, cable, DSL, wi-fi, satellite, fixed wireless - consumers couldn't care less. They just want reliable broadband to enable them to hit the Internet for the apps that they want like Facebook and Amazon and itunes.

Security, BYOD, and Managed IT are not pipe related, but are ways that service providers can add value to their base. At the end of the day, the SP's have to offer more value than OTT players or more value than just dumb pipe if they want to stay relevant.

Selling VoIP and UC via Channel Partners

2012-09-21T21:38:05Z

One of my ITEXPO panels is on 2 PM on Thursday about Selling VoIP and UC via Channel Partners with Chad Krantz from Broadvox; Joel Maloff from Phone.com; and Joe Schurman from Evangelyze Communications.

VoIP services are clearly in the process of replacing traditional TDM and LEC services, yet the sales approach may be very different. This session will focus on the sales of VoIP services via indirect channels such as sales agents and partners. It will also differentiate between selling to larger or smaller organizations as well as sales of complete unified communications solutions, SIP trunking, and hosted PBX. The target audiences will include prospective sales partners as well as service providers looking to enhance their market distribution models.

Offices Are Moving to the Cloud

2012-08-23T18:15:37Z

On the TCA agent member webinar today, premiere vendors M5/Shoretel and Alteva presented on Hosted UC.

Both companies expressed that Hosted UC is ultimately about simplicity for the user, especially the salespeople. Guy Yasika of Alteva mentioned that worlers don't want to be "Fighting the tool". Dan Hoffman of M5 talked about a Brilliantly Simple Experience. Cloud is really about UX - the user experience - and meeting their demands for tools, apps, data where they need them. Hoffman mentioned that the idea of the office is changing, well, actually it is going away. Amnesty International and Newspapers/Media companies are examples of clients that don't have (or want to have) offices for employees. Hosted UC is all about mobility.

In sales management, CRM is important for forecasting and other reasons. The hardest part of CRM is getting the sales team to actually use it and enter current data. Hoffman explained that Voice is still the closer. When Hosted UC is integrated with CRM, the manager can check the dashboard to see that the "hot" prospect has not been on the phone with an account person in 3 weeks. The manager knows this won't close without a phone call. When Hosted UC is connected to CRM, management can get the same metrics from other departments that they have been able to get from call centers. Call analytics can improve forecasting.

Both speakers emphasized that this is not a cost savings tool in the traditional sense. There isn't a savings off the bill, but there is a savings in employee time and productivity. We live in "Internet time" and the market's expectations of response time is getting shorter. Presence is a tool that can help shorter the wait time.

Who benefits the most from cloud? Knowledge workers.

Is premise cheaper? In terms of dollars yes. Yasika noted that IP-PBX's now run on servers, which will not have a ten year shelf life like the legacy phone systems. The software on that server will need to be patched and upgraded during a five year term. The hardware may give out. The number of moves, adds and changes happening in a business office have increased. These are hidden costs that the premise PBX owner won't consider. The other consideration is how you manage remote workers with a premise based solution. All of that is handled for you by a Hosted solution. This is something that agents should mention in the discussion.

Desk phones are in danger, too. Mobility and virtual offices are heading into mainstream. I get that as Tampa Bay has seen co-working spaces sprout up and I am writing this from a co-working space in New Haven in a conference room I rented for a couple of hours. Although I would have liked a desk phone since my Android re-booted 3x during the webinar.