AppSmart Partnership Solidifies Heavy LiveVox Channel Investment

Contact center provider LiveVox has continued is channel expansion by signing a partnership with AppSmart.

LiveVox and the B2B technology marketplace provider signed an agreement that will let AppSmart channel partners sell LiveVox’s omnichannel contact center offerings. Partners deepen their portfolio, while LiveVox enlarges its sales footprint.

Renee Bergeron, AppSmart’s senior vice president and general manager, said AppSmart advisers can offer a holistic contact center solution with LiveVox instead of mixing and matching.

AppSmart’s Renee Bergeron

“Digital transformation (DX) initiatives have been a focus for organizations across all industries for the better part of the last five to 10 years. LiveVox’s cloud-based, omnichannel approach to customer service and engagement provides those within our marketplace with the tools to be successful in this new, increasing digital work environment,” Bergeron said.

AppSmart says that more than 5,500 technology adviser partners use its marketplace. In addition, AppSmart notes that 100,000 business customers reside in its ecosystem.

“AppSmart is the leading marketplace for B2B technology services and solutions with an expansive ecosystem of advisers and businesses that will help LiveVox continue to scale and expand our customer-base with the digital transformation tailwinds we are currently experiencing,” LiveVox chief revenue officer Erik Fowler said.

LiveVox’s Erik Fowler

LiveVox and the Channel

LiveVox has significantly increased its channel funding in the last year. The company hired Dan DeLozier this summer as its area vice president of channels and alliances, and launched a channel program. It also hired Nextiva alum MeiLee Langley as senior director of channel marketing.

“This agreement is another crucial step in our continued commitment to channel growth — including hiring leading industry veterans and aligning ourselves with premier partners,” Fowler said

The company’s third-quarter financial results show that LiveVox spent $48.8 million on sales and marketing expenses, which include SPIFFs and channel commissions in the first nine months of 2021. That was an increase of 56% from the first nine months of 2020 ($21.7 million). The vast majority of its third-quarter sales and marketing increase came from personnel investment, according to the filing.

“We believe it is important to continue investing in sales and marketing to continue to generate revenue growth, and we expect sales and marketing expenses to increase in absolute dollars and fluctuate as a percentage of revenue as we continue to support our growth initiatives,” the company wrote in its Form 10-Q report.

LiveVox in July announced that it had completed its plans to go public through a business combination agreement with Crescient Acquisition Corp.

AppSmart

The San Francisco-based company continues to put together a diverse supplier list. Earlier this month AppSmart announced a partnership with security provider Sophos. It also recently teamed up with cloud identity management solutions provider Okta and added the Dropbox product suite to its marketplace.

Chief marketing officer Adam Christensen said his team hopes their channel partners can function as a one-stop shop for their customers’ needs.

AppSmart’s Adam Christensen

“As businesses continue to turn to various forms of technology to solve problems, I think the industry is kind of siloed into SaaS, UCaaS or networking connectivity,” Christensen told Channel Futures at this month’s Channel Partners Conference & Expo. “More and more I think there’s so much opportunity across those silos. As we look at the different types of solutions, it needs a different kind of bundling. I think we can bring those types of cross-sector, cross-industry bundles together on behalf of the adviser, so they can provide a more holistic solution.”