UCaaS solutions are essential for business collaboration in today’s hybrid world and the market continues to expand, writes Gavin Jones, Channel Partners Director, BT Wholesale.
Microsoft Teams now has over 320 million monthly active users and BT Wholesale’s research with Cavell found that 50 per cent of UK small businesses use it every day. And with the Unified Communications market set to be worth an estimated £155.04 billion by 2030, there’s a massive growth opportunity for resellers and MSPs. However, you don’t need to be a UCaaS specialist to support customers. To maximise the opportunity and succeed, resellers and MSPs should find a pathway that enables them to focus on their relationship with customers and leverage the expertise of vendors to support them.
Collaboration between UCaaS providers and channel partners is pivotal to unlocking untapped market potential. To help the channel, UCaaS vendors must refrain from a hands-off approach. Vendors have the product expertise while the channel is closer to the customer. Therefore, they must provide easy to understand content for teams to enhance their knowledge and equip them with the tools and guidance for selling. It’s also important that vendors are use case focused and work closely with partners. This will not only open the door to more business opportunities but ensure a seamless customer journey.
Adding value
In terms of market trends, the pandemic saw a huge uptick in UCaaS solutions as organisations adapted to remote working. And while most businesses have embraced video calls and live document sharing, many often overlook value add features that can make a big difference to ways of working. For example, a fraud management system can block unwanted calls while call analytics software enables employees to focus on their day-to-day activities.
There are a range of platforms and collaborative solutions in the market for channel partners to embrace, and specific use cases are evolving with advances in technology. The potential for them to shake up the current landscape is huge, and success ultimately boils down to a customer focused selling approach over pure product. Resellers and MSPs wanting to gain a competitive advantage in the UCaaS market must also be agile. High level service is a number one priority for most businesses, so resellers need to ensure they are giving customers the communication tools they need to succeed. Resellers and MSPs that can provide tailored and robust solutions with agility will come out on top.
Working together to build the right digital solutions for businesses is critical in this day and age. The most important asset is time – so resellers and MSPs must ensure they are making customers’ lives simpler and easier. That’s why communication and innovation is key.