Partners Offer Mixed Reviews of New Zayo-RingCentral Alliance

Zayo and RingCentral have announced a collaboration that will see the creation of a flagship offer deemed Zayo UC+ with RingCentral.

The business networking company and unified communications giant have teamed up to bring real-time AI insights, customizable workflows and integrations with enterprise applications such as Salesforce and Microsoft.

Introducing a product the duo says is "designed to boost workforce productivity and elevate customer experiences," the RingCentral alliance is the latest addition to Zayo’s managed communication portfolio.

They have also confirmed that the Zayo UC+ with RingCentral offer "will deliver a comprehensive, cloud-based unified-communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) solution that integrates voice, video, chat, SMS, fax and contact center services into a single, easy-to-manage platform."

More Capabilities for Users of Both Platforms On the Way

Expect the new alliance to equip users of both platforms with more meat on the bones of their solutions.

One of the most beneficial will be RingCentral's AI, which will extend real-time insights and enable what the company calls "intelligent interactions," which it contends will enhance communication efficiency and workforce productivity.

All of this will span more than 20 digital channels with the addition of extending AI summaries and post-call transcriptions. There are some vital integrations expected to play a significant role in the RingCentral-Zayo alliance. Those include Salesforce, Microsoft, Google and Zendesk — not to mention the strength and security of Zayo that will give RingCentral a much-needed boost.

Just last month, RingCentral and Mitel ended the exclusivity of a partnership it had in place for years where it migrated hundreds of thousands of Mitel seats over to RingCentral, paving the way for the RingCentral-Zayo deal to enjoy freshly minted terms and further plaform flexibility.

Partners 'Not Convinced' By The Zayo-RingCentral Alliance

David Smith, founder and principal of InFlow Analysis, says the Zayo-RingCentral alliance will be good for Zayo.

InFlow Analysis' David Smith

"It will allow Zayo to offer a more complete solution to its customers," said Smith. "So, they now have value-added services there to offer, which gives them a potential competitive edge from just being a network infrastructure provider."

For RingCentral, Smith said: "They will get an expanded market reach into Zayo's extensive network and customer base."

But overall, he said, the deal's aim is the potential for increased revenue.

"On the channel partner front, this could present opportunities and challenges," added Smith. "On the one hand, it could lead to increased sales and revenue as channel partners can offer a more comprehensive solution to their customers."

It could, however, require channel partners to invest in training and certification to become proficient in selling and supporting this new solution.

"That may be a steep ramp-up and could indicate that there will be more partnerships along this line forthcoming as providers look to expand their market reach," Smith told Channel Futures.

Jon Arnold is principal analyst at J Arnold & Associates, and chose to focus on Zayo's MSP background and the strengths it adds to the partnership.

Arnold us, “Being one of the largest MSPs, Zayo offers another avenue for rapid growth for RingCentral, especially as their AI-driven UCaaS and CX platforms enhance Zayo’s value proposition with more traditional voice and SIP trunking services.”

Robert DeVita, founder and CEO of Mejeticks and RingCentral partner, says he "isn't convinced."

Mejeticks' Robert DeVita

"This deal is irrelevant to the partner community and it is an SMB deal for customers who are using Zayo and asking them for a handful of UCaaS seats, so I don't see a scenario where I would ever have Zayo resell RingCentral," said DeVita.

On an enterprise level, RingCentral's revenue will outweigh Zayo's revenue and DeVita doesn't recommend that enterprises buy through third parties, believing the deal won't move the needle for either company.

"I would not expect Zayo to contribute anything meaningful to the RingCentral bottom line," he said.

Andy Torres is another RingCentral partner and CEO of Cloud9 Technology Consulting,. She told us she believes the move will enhance Zayo's portfolio since RingCentral is the leading UCaaS platform in the industry with a comprehensive product suite.

"This partnership will bring significant value to Zayo’s customers, allowing them to fully experience its benefits," Torres said.