intY Taps Zoom, 8x8, Masergy for Master Agent Business Debut in UK&I

ScanSource’s cloud distribution business, intY, on Tuesday launched a master agent practice in the UK and Ireland.

intY launches with eight vendors: Zoom, 8×8, RingCentral, SCB Global, LogMeIn, Evolve IP, Masergy and Aryaka.

intY’s Marcus Ollenbuttel

“We’ve seen growth of the master agent business in Europe,” said Marcus Ollenbuttel, SVP, digital distribution, intY. “We’ve also seen the shift away from traditional agents being ex-telecom people, and more into an MSP play.”

Up to its acquisition by ScanSource in 2019, intY’s business was built around Microsoft, Symantec and Acronis. For the past 18 months, it has been adding solution areas around productivity, infrastructure, cybersecurity and communications.

intY’s master agent vendors are a mixture of UCaaS, CCaaS, connectivity and communications players.

“We don’t want to overwhelm our MSPs,” said Ollenbuttel. “We have other vendors in our stable, but we don’t want to go mad giving them lots and lots. We want to enable them with the right vendors.

“A lot of the solutions that we’re launching are Microsoft-centric. So MSPs already selling these solutions can extend [them] and get keep more share of their customers revenue.

“But also, we recognise that a lot of them are Microsoft houses. They may not have the knowledge of the other vendors and technologies. Obviously, the agency model provides that great facility that the vendor does all sales. They can sell into those different areas without knowing the technology in-depth and how to sell it, and how to support it. They have that recurring cheque coming in that bolsters their P&L without serious amounts of work to do so.”

Replicating U.S. Success

The master agent model is well-established in North America but is now gaining traction in Europe. The firm now hopes to replicate the success of fellow ScanSource distributor, Intelisys, in the U.S.

“In the UK, we’ve got a lot of resellers who like the vanity of the revenue. But they don’t always think about the sanity of the margin. A lot of them think that owning the customer means they have to do everything for them. It’s always on their paper.

“I think people are realising they can still own that relationship, or work with different vendors by adopting this model, and still get there. That’s one of the big reasons why it’s now starting to take off,” said Ollenbuttel.

He also said the role of the agent is changing. There is a move away from telecoms agents to “a more consultative trusted adviser.”  In addition, the MSP is picking up that role … to find solutions that meet their customers’ needs.

With most of intY’s business in the UK&I, there are no current plans to extend the launch into Europe.