www.comms-dealer.com
MARKETWATCH
nt to healthy channel
INDUSTRY COMMENT
‘It’s time for change’
is a phrase often
should they be growing He says that the move associated with political
their business or preparing towards products such as sloganeering, but I believe
it for sale. “When we start VoIP, SIP, LLU and hosted the business community
working with businesses PBX that replace or needs to take heed of
to gear them up to sell, complement traditional this sentiment in order
the business owners often calls, lines and hardware, to have any hope of
comment that the process will present opportunities surviving the challenges
helps them learn things for resellers to retain of economic recession.
about their business that customers for the long- It’s time to think about
they did not previously term. But still believes that building real partnerships
know,” said Billingham. traditional call minutes has with each other, based on
a long way to run yet.
Elizabeth Sparrow
Paul Billingham
a footing that gives smaller
“Deals often fall down businesses the opportunity to grow, while benefitting from
to the sector. It impacts in because something will Billingham believes that the support of a larger company. Companies operating in
two ways: Firstly, channel appear during a transaction the independent comms the same arena traditionally view each other’s operations as
businesses will find it that the owner was not channel has a solid future a competitive threat. CEOs might be forgiven for thinking
harder to seek or retain aware of within the business, and with proper planning they let the competition get too close at the risk of being
lending. Secondly, systems which demonstrates resellers can ‘do a Daisy’. robbed of existing customers, or that larger organisations
businesses are finding that that the business was “The channel is in great getting a sniff of their success might gobble them up as
where previously their not actually ready to sell shape,” he stated. “No one a light snack before moving on to the next acquisition.
customers could easily without better preparation. could have predicted the O-bit Telecom is proposing a radical re-invention of
receive credit to fund The key to any reseller now rise of Opal to challenge the business partnership, based on the idea that both
purchases of new hardware is to focus on keeping costs the incumbent carriers. companies should get the benefit of what they put into
this is no longer the case.” under control, prioritise And nobody would a working relationship. Of course, we get something out
existing customers over have predicted Daisy of it too, but with complete transparency in every aspect
Billingham believes the potential new ones and be having a current market of our business model, we aim to earn the trust of our
recession has tightened up aware of the technological capitalisation of £200 million. commercial partners and ensure that they are comfortable
company practices in the changes in the industry There is a reseller operating with every aspect of the deal we present to them.
channel and given many that may impact on the now that will become the
Elizabeth Sparrow, Sales & Marketing Director, O-bit.
resellers a wake-up call business in the longer term.” next Opal or Daisy.” n
Tel. +44 (0) 1794 514220
www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER SEPTEMBER 2009 15
14-15.indd 2 27/8/09 2:47:03 pm
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