Expanded DataXoom Channel Program Addresses 'Mobile-First World'

**Editor’s Note: Click here for a list of February’s important channel-program changes you should know.**

Mobility hasn’t been a big play in the channel, and that needs to change.

So says mobility provider DataXoom, which has expanded its channel program with the hope of increasing opportunities for recurring revenue.

DataXoom, which has wholesale agreements with major U.S. carriers, is rolling out a mobile application for its sales partners as part of its “mobile-first initiative.”

It’s no secret that mobility continues to rise. A recent Cisco forecast found that mobile data traffic grew 74 percent in 2015. But DataXoom’s co-founder, Rob Chamberlin, told Channel Partners that players in the mobility sphere haven’t been particularly channel-friendly.

“It’s a mobile-first world,” he said. “We’re obviously a mobile company, so we feel that it’s quite important, but that’s not really what partners are experiencing.”

Chamberlin said there are a few reasons for that disconnect: in some cases, because it couldn’t be monetized or was hampered by difficult engagement processes with retail carriers. But another problem is different priorities that channel partners and carriers have.{ad}

“A channel partner might have an equipment sale where they’re making margin, and then they would like to add on mobility to add margin to the sale. Sometimes if a retail carrier is involved, they might unwind the hardware sale because they want to subsidize the equipment to get the activations right.”

One of DataXoom’s strategies has been to avoid restrictive rules of engagement and to simplify its offering.

“We offer a solution that is not widely available to retail customers, so channel partners look at what we do as a competitive advantage when they’re quoting products or services,” he said.

The idea is to get past the strategy of a one-time sale Chamberlin likens to a “SWAT team operation,” in which the partner sells a set of hardware and leaves.

“That’s great, but it’s not a terrific long-term model,” he said. “Everybody’s looking for that service revenue and that recurring revenue.”

He pointed to one of DataXoom’s partners as an example. It’s an Apple reseller that offers iPads.

“They probably have about a half-billion iPad sales with their customers,” he said. “They’ve never had the ability to sell mobility. Imagine the revenue they’ve left on the table.”