8x8: New Arrow Deal Is First UC Integrator Partnership

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

By Edward Gately

Arrow Electronics is following up a pair of distribution deals it signed with vendors last week with news that it subsidiary, Arrow Systems Integration, has partnered with 8×8 to add the VoIP, cloud-based UC and contact-center provider’s complete suite of products and services to its portfolio for partners to sell.

Arrow SI already provides UC and contact-center offerings, along with voice and data technologies, network security, services and support.

Enzo Signore, 8×8’s chief marketing officer, tells Channel Partners this is his company’s first agreement with an established UC integrator.

“With 8×8, Arrow SI will be able to expand their cloud business,” he said. “It will further broaden the outreach so we can go after a larger percentage of businesses … looking for reliable, secure cloud communications solutions.”

Arrow SI will now offer its customers 8×8’s combination of global cloud communications services and products, including 8×8 Virtual Office telephony, UC and virtual contact-center services, along with analytics and reporting tools, in a single, consolidated invoice.

“We are developing a joint go-to-market plan, reaching out to both existing as well as new customers who are looking for the breadth of offerings we can provide,” Signore said.

8×8’s cloud communications portfolio includes telephony and contact-center offerings internally over a single cloud platform, and externally with third-party CRM offerings such as Zendesk, NetSuite, Salesforce, Zoho, Microsoft Dynamics and Microsoft Lync.

“Many channel partners are sitting on large installed bases of customers that are looking for ways to effectively modernize their communications,” said Jim Burton, founder and CEO of CT Link, and UC strategies consultant. “Arrow SI will now be able to address the needs of many such customers that need the security, reliability and full communications cloud suite that 8×8 provides.”

When deployed in conjunction with 8×8’s analytics and reporting tools, businesses can get historical information associated with the services, extensions and devices in their communications network, enabling improvements in areas such as workgroup-collaboration performance, sales-campaign effectiveness, customer-experience management and staffing requirements.

“The communications capabilities and accompanying business benefits 8×8’s solutions are providing its customers are transformative,” said Michael Bevilaqua, Arrow SI’s president. “We are looking forward to introducing these solutions to customers who are looking to modernize their infrastructure with a cloud-based deployment.”

Last week, 8×8 unveiled its Virtual Office Enterprise Suite, a new bundle of services, features and professional-support capabilities aimed at helping midmarket and enterprise customers simplify the selection of and accelerate their deployment of end-to-end cloud communications offerings.