MicroCorp, BCM One Prep for 'Fireside Chat' at #CPExpo

**Editor’s Note: Click here for a list of 20 top UCaaS providers offering products and services via channel partners.**

The ability to accurately predict the future is a skill desired by all; unfortunately, predictions rarely come to fruition, unless they are backed by significant knowledge, research and experience.

While no partner has a magic crystal ball to reveal what is likely to happen in the coming months, they might be able to take advantage of the insights offered by leading industry CEOs during the education session titled “CEO Fireside Chat,” part of the Business of the Channel conference track at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, April 17-20, in Las Vegas.

John Cunningham, CEO of BCM One, and Karin Fields, CEO/COO of MicroCorp, will participate in the session with moderator Art Wittmann of Channel Partners/Channel Futures.

In this brief Q&A, Fields gives a sneak peek of what the future might hold and what she plans to share with attendees.

Channel Partners/Channel Futures: What does the near future hold for the cloud services market and the channel that supports them?

Karin Fields: More and more customers are looking to take parts of their business to the cloud, whether it’s their voice services through a UCaaS offering or moving into AWS or Azure. As they do this, it creates lots of opportunities for the channel. End users want the channel to help them understand all the options.

Karin Fields

Karin Fields

CP/CF: What technologies are poised to accelerate in 2018?

KF: UCaaS – companies don’t want just a hosted-voice solution. They want a fully integrated communications solution that looks at every way they interact with their customers.

CP/CF: What technologies and services will fall by the wayside?

KF: Who still needs a telephone on their desk? Desk phones are likely to start disappearing from desks for a multitude of reasons.

CP: What are your most optimistic predictions for the future?

KF: I think the big winners are going to be the niche players that offer a more personalized experience.

CP: What do you hope the audience takes away from the session?

KF: This is an exciting time in our industry. Channel partners don’t have to be the experts; they have to be the resource to get their customers to the experts. They’re the general practitioners helping their customers get to the right specialist.