VAR

What Channel Are You Watching?

April 25, 2016

One thing I have noticed: UCaaS sales overall are not accelerating. Gary Kim writes how it is becoming a commodity.

The VoIP services market is up 5% to $73Bn in 2015, says IHS. Residential makes up 62% of that.

Posted in PBX, VAR, channel, hosted uc, sales and selling, smb, telecommunications, unified communications

The Channel Target Cycle

April 8, 2016

In 2006, the shift in targeting went from anyone to a master agent model, where smaller agents rolled up into a larger master agent. The resources were allocated to the masters (and their sub-agents).

In about 2008, the target became VARs. Agents just weren't selling any of the new carriers or new services. Agents weren't selling cloud.

Posted in VAR, agents, channel, master agency

Channel Strategy: A Quick Look

March 21, 2016

Often I hear from channel execs that Agents aren't the future because they aren't moving to selling cloud and managed services fast enough. It is always the MSPs and VARs that will be the partners of the future.

Funny how different vendors are trying different things. Fonality is placing bets on both sides as they announced both a distribution deal with Ingram Micro and an exclusive deal with The (Agent) Alliance.

Posted in PBX, VAR, agents, channel, hosted uc, master agency, msp, sales and selling, unified communications

Change or Die

March 18, 2016

Verizon's VP Janet Schijns gave a presentation about Millennials and the Channel. A majority of the polled Millennials did not know what a Channel Partner was. Change or Die. (I thought when Tiffani Bova left Gartner, we would have heard the last of that message, but alas it is still the drum beating.)

It isn't that most partners do NOT want to change.

Posted in Marketing, VAR, agents, channel, msp

Lessons from the NGC15

December 10, 2015

At the NextGen Cloud Expo yesterday, Tony Hawk was the featured keynote. Not exactly a prized speaker, he did have interesting vignettes about his life. He kept doing the skate-boarding thing even when he was broke and making no money at it. It was his passion - and he eventually made the big payday.

Posted in VAR, cloud computing, colocation, data center, msp

The Monitoring Master Move

November 20, 2015

This week marks the second master agency that has decided to get into monitoring. It seems like a bold move to go from back office sales support to resemble a NOC (network operations center).

In the case of Telarus, they bought the company and are pushing it out to their partners. Telarus has some IT skills in the software space - building and running GeoQuote.

Posted in VAR, managed services, master agency, msp

Juniper is a Cable Pusher

October 6, 2015

Juniper Networks is now pushing its VAR partners into the cable channel, getting them to sell cable services. It is pitched as cable is the cable to connect to the cloud. [see webcast video here] Comcast Business was on the webinar but they pitched their sisters too.

"One of the first integrated programs is the Cable Business Service Program.

Posted in VAR, cableco, channel, telecommunications

Commissions by Common Core Math

April 20, 2015

I listened to a presentation recently that suggested that new telecom agencies are not opening up (or at least not faster than closings and mergers). I was skeptical until this weekend when I was doing referral checks.

One MPLS network is worth a lot more than 3 x 10MB DIA sites. When companies talk about moving up to mid-market, it is primarily that the size of the deal will make it worthwhile.

Posted in VAR, agents, commissions

What Business Model Should the VAR Examine?

March 30, 2015

So many keynotes (and channel strategists) have suggested that for channel partners to be successful going forward they would have to do 3 things:

Perform R&D and develop some IP
Build their own cloud services
Go beyond brokerage to systems integration

Storagecraft writes, "According to a study by CompTIA, four out of 10 IT companies are monitoring the impact cloud computing has on the MSP market before deciding to offer managed services."

"ScanSource CTO Greg Dixon explains why it's imperative for solution providers to build managed services into their product offerings in order to boost recurring revenue and expand their value add." [source]

Let's examine each one.

First, the Duopoly doesn't even do research. They have industry labs (e.g., CableLabs) and vendors that do the research and development.

Posted in VAR, agents, channel, duopoly, sales and selling

A Short Chat with the VAR Advisor

November 18, 2014

Posted in VAR, channel

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