A series of snapshot strategic on-stage interviews with figureheads from Comms Vision Platinum sponsors underscored the expanding role of collaboration in the channel, especially evident in a sharper focus on technology partnerships and a more considered approach to reseller and MSP engagement.
The insight session also revealed other key themes including a new clarity of strategic thinking and intent which could signal the evolution of a channel ecosystem characterised by closer working relationships as a route to growth.
Gavin Jones, Channel Director, BT Wholesale, emphasised that partner growth is not simply about pushing out products, but achieved through closer engagement with partners via insight events. He describes these conferences as a new approach to 'working together'. "Partner events enable customers to empower their growth, fuelled by insights into areas such as marketing and proposition building," he stated.
A pipeline of new propositions is also key to future success, especially around UC and collaboration within the context of a fast moving environment. "Much is happening in the market that's driving demand," added Jones. "Connectivity sits under it all. Fibre is growing exponentially and layering on AI with clear uses cases for businesses will be a huge opportunity for the channel."
Jones also noted that BT invests £3.7m a year into its network and is focused on digital integration alongside security, where it has circa 3,000 security experts.
According to John Chester, Director of Wholesale, Fixed, Virgin Media O2 Business, helping partners as early as possible in their journey is key to success. He also noted that this requirement is reflected in the company's approach to partnering which has become more collaborative and selective. "We are deliberate about who we partner with," stated Chester. "We value partners who see beyond the list price of products and services, and partners who are transparent and flexible around planning and commercials in a way that drives mutual value."
The channel is clearly showing a capacity for ongoing strong growth, especially spurred by industry collaborations
Chester also pointed up the future impact of emerging and disruptive technologies on networks, including AI and the metaverse, and the associated increase in data. He noted that many enterprises are already adopting AI and he's witnessed significant use cases for other emerging tech. "Investing in and upgrading our core network will ensure that the underlay is ready as we prepare and support partners for growth," he stated.
Sky Business's approach to partnering is just as crystal clear, based on meaningful and purposeful collaboration which is a key theme in the industry now, explained Damian Saunders, Managing Director. And in a world that's spinning faster than ever, he says business success also hinges on agility and an ability to compete within a 'new set of rules'.
Saunders referred to a world that's 'settling down' now that major elections are over, for example. And he optimistically said that a lack of money in the general ecosystem does not necessarily mean that there can be no winners. "The winners will be characterised by strategies that bundle together easy to discover and simple to consume services that people want," he stated.
Saunders also highlighted Sky Business' mission to demystify existing and emerging technology, and use plain words rather than acronyms that are a help to no-one.
According to Giacom CEO Terry O'Brien the rise in National Insurance paid by employers is also no help to businesses and will impact growth. He noted that the desired outcome of higher taxes on improvements to the NHS etc is commendable, but believes the NI increase introduced during Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves' Budget announcement is damaging to those organisations impacted by the move (it will cost Giacom circa £1m). "There will be consequences for growth across the UK," he stated. "It will be more severe than predicted."
Strength in unity
However, O'Brien believes that the 'power of the channel when coming together' will help to offset the budget's impact. "I believe in the power of this community and see what can be achieved through unity," he added. To prove his point he cited the success of the Big Goal project, which is headline sponsored by Giacom, and has already seen 462 homeless young adults pass through the programme.
The channel is clearly showing a capacity for ongoing strong growth, especially spurred by industry collaborations including ESG efforts as shown by the Big Goal success. Also contributing to the channel's high growth potential is the strategies of major aggregators, believes PXC CEO James Smith.
He says PXC has a strong platform for 'aggressive' growth and claims that the company is the only UK scale aggregator of last mile connectivity. PXC was circa 1,000 partners and according to Smith the firm has a much clearer and differentiated strategic vision. "The market is competitive and we must innovate and be easy to do business with in terms of migrations and product delivery," he stated. "These are among our top priorities."
Smith also drew attention to PXC's new Zoom relationship and that PXC has fully automated the partner end to end journey. "It's about being dynamic and responding to the market," he added. "The channel needs to think innovatively about FTTP and the legacy Ethernet base. Cloud and security are also priority areas for us."
In his business update, Andrew Wilson, Sales Director, CityFibre Business, reported that the altnet has reached four million premises passed, and is half-way towards its eight million premises goal. He said CityFibre's acquisitions strategy is also shaping up and pointed towards multi-gig services as being a game changer in the UK market from an Ethernet perspective. "FTTP is playing a major role," he stated. "The 100 meg Ethernet market is a key opportunity."
Critical plumbing
There is a general consensus among our interviewees that the 'plumbing' plays a pivotal role in supporting ever more sophisticated products and services, and that collaborations are coming thick and fast in the connectivity and tech provider space. But building technology relationships is one thing, their scope and timing is another, according to Will Morey, Managing Director, Pragma (a Gamma business). "Timing is everything and Gamma's portfolio is the strongest it's ever been," he stated, citing especially the breadth of its UCaaS proposition and the strength of tech partnerships with Cisco, Microsoft and Ericsson-LG, as well as new security and IoT propositions.
Importantly, noted Morey, Gamma's modus operandi is both approachable and practical. "It all comes back to a single relationship with Gamma, partner centricity and two-way conversations that explore how the portfolio fits with partners' strategies and growth plans," he added.
Financial and human resource support for ambitious resellers lacking the wherewithal to grow emerges as another key factor, with Paul Gorton, Business Partner Manager, Vodafone Business, explaining how the company invests in resellers as well as its network. "Some partners can't afford to grow and one of our key messages is that we want to invest cash, time and people in them," he stated. "Partners have the USPs for solution selling. As a carrier we invest in the underlying infrastructure and are focused on FTTP, 5G and UC. Partners also need to capitalise on the PSTN shut down, move more into multi-product selling and sell more volume to replace Ethernet circuits."