3 Top Cloud Communications Opportunities for Channel Partners

Just as plans for returning to offices seemed to be shaping up, things changed again. Some companies have postponed openings with specific dates in mind, while others remain up in the air. Perhaps the one and only certainty is that a hybrid model—that is, “the now of work”–is quickly becoming the status quo.

Until major disruption is behind us, technology providers and channel partners will continue to both face change and be stewards of it. Blair Pleasant, president and principal analyst of COMMfusion and co-founder of BCStrategies, Peter Johnson, chief operating officer at BSB Communications, and I discussed these ideas during a Channel Futures webinar: Rethinking Cloud Communications: How Changing Your Approach Can Change Your Bottom Line.

Here are my three takeaways around top partner opportunities in cloud communications.

During the last year, companies had to react quickly, refine when possible and revise continually. The key to overcoming all the obstacles has been, and still is, unified communication and collaboration enabled by the right technology. Then, no matter what the situation, companies can provide the experience needed to keep employees productive and customers engaged.

An explosion of choice in unified communications as a service (UCaaS) solutions, both for IT partners and their customers, along with evolving models (on prem to hybrid to full cloud solution) has accompanied the workforce shift. And while options are important, they can also be overwhelming. Peter says that’s why BSB is a Mitel exclusive partner. Our solution set allows BSB to work with their customers wherever they are in the communications journey.

2. With an explosion of choice comes opportunity and an ever-increasing importance in the IT partner’s role as a trusted advisor.

In fact, customers are increasingly relying on their IT partners to fully manage their solutions, whether premise-based, in the cloud or both, according to Peter, who notes a rise in support agreements. This reflects Blair’s trend analysis in which she sees successful partners focusing on cloud enablement, business outcomes and customer lifecycle engagement.

I couldn’t agree more, and Mitel’s commitment to a partner-first approach enables success in all these areas. As a technology provider, we stay close but realize partners have the deepest knowledge of their customer environments. They need the right product mix and programs to enhance their expertise even further, while growing their businesses.

3. An integrated customer + employee experience is the key to business success.

The field of contact center as a service (CCaaS) is another growing area for technology providers and their IT partners. Blair pointed out the potential for a high rate of monthly recurring revenue that can come from UCaaS and CCaaS bundles. The opportunity for IT providers comes down to helping their customers deliver a fully integrated experience for their own customers and employees experience.

That customer experience (CX) is a critical competitive differentiator is not a new idea, however, just like the pandemic upended business operations, it also created a new level of customer expectations. From marketing, business development and help desk, everyone in an organization has a role to play.

To have a positive impact, employees need access to the same contact center communications and collaboration capabilities as customer representatives–customer data, applications and so on–to ensure the CX can be consistently replicated. Businesses will depend on technology providers and IT partners to turn technical complexities into seamless user interactions.

Listen to the webinar for helpful insight on communications market trends, opportunities and full details on Mitel’s Partner Programs.

  Dave Silke is CMO, Mitel.

 This guest blog is part of a Channel Futures sponsorship.