Let’s get this out of the way: yes, our political leaders are a circus, our version of Football is not the “beautiful game” that yours is, and yes, our tipping culture is bonkers (my favourite English word). However, America still dominates tech innovation, especially AI, and software. Sales and product innovation thrive in the United States. We have many faults as a nation, but complacency is not one of them. There is still truth to the saying “America is where innovation ignites, pioneers lead, and the future is seen first”. My job here is to share my insights on the trends and activities creating value in the Channel Stateside.
It’s February as I write this column; it’s conference season, which means analysts are spewing the same jargon about cloud comms. Last year was all about AI. This year? Customer experience. There is still significant chatter about AI, but no killer use cases have yet emerged (more on that in future posts). So, when there’s no intelligence to sell, pivot to “experience.’ High on the agenda for many is the re[1]emergence of the SMB and its importance to the channel.
The conference floors are buzzing, and one phrase echoes: “How do we maintain margins and improve ARPU?” The usual answers are vertical integration, value-added, and niche markets. The telecom equivalent of telling a struggling restaurant owner to “just go viral on TikTok.”
Enterprise becomes less appealing
Enterprise telecom wins headlines. A 1,000-seat deal gets a press release, LinkedIn chest-thumping, and TCV (Total Contract Value) talk. Reality check: most of that revenue is mythical. Delayed deployments, churn, and operational chaos eat away at the fairy tale.
Meanwhile, SMBs— companies with fewer than 500 employees—make up 90% of businesses globally. The U.S. average payroll? 12 employees. The UK? Closer to 6. That means the real money isn’t in 500-seat deals. It’s in 6-12 seat deals at scale.
SMB Reality Check
Most providers screw up by applying enterprise playbooks to SMB. Here’s why that’s a disaster:
1. Friction kills.
SMBs aren’t running tech projects— they need plug-and-play solutions that deliver ROI now. No patience for long sales cycles or integrations. If it’s not simple, it’s not selling.
2. No IT department, no DevOps.
An enterprise throws a squad of engineers at CRM-VoIP integration. SMBs? They cross their fingers. Providers (or partners) need to do the heavy lifting: professional services, automation, and actual support.
3. Margin is simple math.
Cloud services are complex, but the business model is not. Pour volume in at the top, control costs, automate like hell, and print cash. The best operators remove friction everywhere—templated deployments, APIs that actually work, and zero manual processes.
4. Support makes or breaks deals.
A chatbot that loops customers into oblivion? That’s how you lose business. SMBs want a human who can fix problems fast. Providers investing in real customer support—not AI apologies—are winning loyalty, referrals, and upsells.
5. Flexibility beats branding.
SMBs don’t care if their provider is a household name. They care about cost, usability, and actual customer service. Big brands ignoring this are losing to customer-obsessed challengers. Don’t give up margin for a tech brand, nobody cares.
Stop Chasing Enterprise Clout
Enterprise obsession is vanity. SMBs offer predictable, scalable, profitable revenue— if you execute correctly. Most providers? They don’t have the mindset, model, or efficiency to make it work. The winners in 2025 won’t be those posting a 5,000-seat win on LinkedIn. It will be those stacking hundreds of 12-seat deals, as that’s where the real money lies.
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Peter Radizeski Biography
Peter Radizeski is a veteran of the US Telecoms Channel based in the Sunshine State of Florida. He has assisted numerous prominent service providers across the United States in growing their businesses by offering guidance on sales training, marketing, channel development, and business strategy. He is a reliable source of knowledge about the telecom industry. His candid and straightforward Channel Playbook Blog is essential reading for industry insiders, and he is a sought-after speaker and moderator at industry events.