Vonage Channel Leader: Ericsson's Acquisition Opens Opportunities for Partners
What does this deal mean financially for channel partners?
July 28, 2022
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Channel Futures: What does a combined Ericsson-Vonage partner ecosystem look like?
Vonage’s Jim Regan: Together, Vonage and Ericsson will further accelerate a shared vision of leading and creating technology and services that are changing the world. The combination of our two companies offers exciting new opportunities for customers, partners and team members to capture the next wave of the communications revolution.
Becoming part of the Ericsson family will help Vonage expand its global reach and create more value for our partners by helping to bring communications technology solutions to even more businesses, their employees and customers, worldwide. Together with Ericsson, Vonage and our partners will benefit from even greater opportunities to serve our customers, accelerate our mission and create value for you far exceeding what would otherwise be possible independently.
CF: Will there continue to be two channel chiefs, one representing Ericsson, the other Vonage?
JR: Yes. Vonage will continue to execute on our strategy and growth plans as a wholly owned subsidiary of Ericsson. There will be no changes in the way we work with our partners. We remain focused on creating the best partner experience as we continue to work together to serve our customers.
CF: What will the integration of partner programs look like?
JR: Becoming part of the Ericsson family will help Vonage expand its global reach and create more value for our partners by helping them to bring communications technology solutions to even more businesses, their employees and customers, worldwide.
The combination of our two companies offers exciting new opportunities for customers, partners and team members to capture the next wave of the communications revolution. Ericsson intends to add investment to Vonage’s current business – both in R&D and sales and marketing – to accelerate growth. As we move through integration plans in the future, we will continue to work closely with our partners and keep them informed.
CF: You redesigned the Vonage channel program more than a year ago. How will the acquisition impact those changes? Does Ericsson plan to expand the Vonage partner program?
JR: There will be no changes in the way we work with our partners, and we will remain focused on creating the best partner experience as we continue to work together to serve our customers. Together with Ericsson, Vonage and our partners can benefit from even greater opportunities to serve our customers, accelerate our mission, and create value far exceeding what would otherwise be possible independently.
CF: How will the product line change for partners moving forward (incorporation of 5G, etc.)?
JR: Over time we will determine where our technology synergies come together. Ericsson intends to offer value benefits to the full ecosystem – telecom operators, developers, and businesses – by creating a global platform for open network innovation, built on Ericsson and Vonage’s complementary solutions. We expect to create APIs and comms products that fully leverage 5G delivered over the network in a more secure and robust way. Ericsson will invest in the continued growth of Vonage’s strong business and develop new offerings to create value on top of their network. Utilizing the full capability of 5G will stimulate new use cases, including white-labeling and cross-selling Vonage solutions.
Ericsson intends to offer Vonage’s unified communications and contact center applications to its existing customers. In addition, Ericsson intends to combine its wireless offering with Vonage’s UCaaS application to make it possible for small and medium-sized enterprises to eliminate their fixed networks for cost savings and flexibility.
CF: Are there any personnel changes happening at the Vonage channel, and do you expect any reduction in staff?
JR: With the transaction closed, Vonage is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Ericsson, and the company will continue to operate under its existing name and brand within Ericsson. Vonage’s CEO, Rory Read, is now a member of Ericsson’s executive team, reporting to Börje Ekholm, president and CEO of Ericsson, and Vonage employees will remain within the existing Vonage organization.
CF: Are there any personnel changes happening at the Vonage channel, and do you expect any reduction in staff?
JR: With the transaction closed, Vonage is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Ericsson, and the company will continue to operate under its existing name and brand within Ericsson. Vonage’s CEO, Rory Read, is now a member of Ericsson’s executive team, reporting to Börje Ekholm, president and CEO of Ericsson, and Vonage employees will remain within the existing Vonage organization.
Late last week Swedish telecom-equipment giant Ericsson completed its acquisition of Vonage Holdings Corp. for $6.2 billion.
The deal means Ericsson will provide UCaaS and CCaaS solutions as part of the cloud-based Vonage Communications Platform. It serves more than 120,000 customers and more than 1 million registered developers globally.
Ericsson’s Börje Ekholm
Börje Ekholm is Ericsson’s president and CEO. Last November, when first announcing the acquisition, he said Vonage gives Ericsson a platform to help its customers monetize the investments in its network. This benefits developers and business, Ekholm said.
“Imagine putting the power and capabilities of 5G, the biggest global innovation platform, at the fingertips of developers. Then back it with Vonage’s advanced capabilities in a world of 8 billion connected devices. Today we are making that possible.”
Partner Advantage?
Mejeticks’ Robert DeVita
Robert DeVita is founder and CEO of Mejeticks. From a partner perspective, he doesn’t see any big changes happening quickly.
“I believe Vonage will continue to be run as a standalone business. I see this acquisition as a positive for Vonage as it will bring deeper pockets from Ericsson to help them to continue to accelerate their UCaaS and CCaaS platforms,” DeVita said. “As far as synergies between Vonage and Ericsson, I think this is a wait and see. I’m not fully sold on the 5G play with UCaaS and CCaaS that was mentioned in the initial press release of the acquisition. I do see positive signs on the API development for applications into the Vonage Cloud, but it is too early to tell how beneficial they will be to customers.”
With all this talk of technological advances, there is one outstanding business question, however. What does this deal mean financially for channel partners?
Vonage’s Jim Regan
Jim Regan is channel chief at Vonage. In this Q&A with Channel Futures (see slideshow above), Regan addresses that concern, stating that “Ericsson will invest in the continued growth of Vonage’s strong business and develop new offerings to create value on top of their network.”
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