Panasonic has entered the cloud market following a link up with Radius Communications that sees the vendor offering cloud PBX and cloud contact centre services to the UK and Ireland. We got the story from Bob Mercer, Panasonic's Network Communications Group Manager.
Radius Communications has developed a bespoke cloud service - called storm - for Panasonic which is fully interoperable and works in conjunction with Panasonic's hardware, including its latest range of SIP handsets as well as the vendor's on premise PBX systems. The solution has been designed to enable Panasonic's distributors to take cloud PBX services and hybrid deployments using Panasonic CPE to their traditional SME customer base, as well as secure new business with larger PBX and advanced contact centre deployments. storm also offers inbound-outbound call routing through the cloud.
This storm cloud service is now ready for launch in the UK with a further launch in Ireland planned for later this year. Panasonic manufactures over 300,000 PBXs a year and the move is a response to declining demand for in-situ PBXs and the growing trend for cloud telephony, noted Mercer. "Though Panasonic remains committed to the development of customer premise systems, the rapid expansion of the cloud segment of the PBX market has shown us that there is increasing demand for hosted alternatives," he said. "storm is our response to this demand, and will offer our customers the same enterprise grade features that they have come to expect from our range of PBX systems."
The storm proposition represents a new addition to the Panasonic product family and a decisive move for the organisation as it seeks to expand its range of communications services. Users of the new storm services will be able to use the platform as a standalone PBX replacement from the cloud or as part of a hybrid deployment alongside existing Panasonic equipment.
"We feel the system is flexible so that users of the new storm services will be able to use the platform as a standalone end-to-end PBX replacement, or as part of a hybrid deployment alongside existing Panasonic equipment," said Mercer. "So as a simple example a user may choose to add inbound-outbound call service routing to an existing PBX solution through the cloud as a start point, then upgrade the whole estate to a hosted solution at a later date.
"Our core focus on providing PBX systems has not changed and we have new products scheduled for later this year which will continue to meet the needs of our channel partners, but the rapid expansion of the cloud segment of the PBX market has shown us that there is increasing demand for hosted alternatives. Our channel strategy is unchanged, and our key distribution partners will be central in assisting to market, sell and support the product to the reseller community."
Mercer has witnessed first hand Panasonic PBXs being replaced by rival cloud solutions. "This has been frustrating to say the least," he commented. "We can't stop the trend towards cloud so we needed to find the right answer. We took time in building our partnership as it was important that we found the correct product and the right partner to ensure that our customers could remain loyal to Panasonic and benefit from selling a Panasonic-led hosted offering."
The launch of storm is also a response to Panasonic resellers who have been asking for a cloud solution. "We have some dedicated resellers who, like the end users, were keen to remain loyal to Panasonic but could see that they risked losing business by doing so. The response from resellers, so far, has been great, so hopefully they see it as worth the wait," added Mercer.
Once the concept of cloud storage and cloud computing was proven, it was only a matter of time before telephony followed suit. The pace of change is surprising, but it's a way of saving money and that has been a huge driver for most businesses over the last five years. "The biggest problem with current cloud solutions is that they do not offer all the features that customers are familiar with on a PBX, but this is where the storm product comes into its own by faithfully replicating all PBX functionality," added Mercer.
"Our strategy is to work closely with our resellers, particularly those with an IT skill set, and to build with them initially, then roll out to the broader market," commented Mercer. "Training is the key to understanding the product and to making the sale. In partnership with Radius we have put all the tools in place to ensure success for our partners."
Several UK resellers have now contracted to use the new storm services, and Mercer is excited about the platform's prospects for 2014. He added: "Panasonic is performing well at this time and the move to a more B2B focused model will only benefit our channel partners. And our objectives are clear in the cloud collaboration model. We know the forecasts show the traditional PBX market in EMEA to be declining by around 10-12 per cent every year in favour of hosted, so we aim to fill this gap."•