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www.comms-dealer.com Echoes of a voice distie
Household name Rocom may have passed into recent history but its spirit lives on, according to Alex Lister, General Manager of Communications for Micro-P’s Convergence Division. Although unlikely to be christened ‘New Rocom’, Micro-P is aiming to pick up the mantle as a major player in the comms space.
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T distributor Micro-P boasts a 30-year stretch in its core markets and has now found a big voice in the comms space. Bringing on board key staff with telecoms experience was instrumental for the development and success of its converged voice and data strategy, and heading up the comms division is former Rocom Operations Director Alex Lister. “It’s just over a year ago since I joined and we’ve accomplished a great deal,” he said. “Our first year of trading in communications has been a great success.”
Turning over £500-plus million and part of the DCC group, Micro-P has always been a strong distributor of IT and data products and has a growing presence in the mobile market. The obvious next step was to acquire a deep understanding of the communications channel. “From the moment I started talking to Micro-P I felt at home,” added Lister. “And I was fortunate to have strong relationships with my old suppliers so when the time came to discuss my plans at Micro-P they were more than willing to come on board. It was also important that we had a core base of peripheral products as well as PBX. With Plantronics, BT, Samsung and NEC on board to name a few, over the past 12 months we have increased our product portfolio significantly.”
Also pivotal was the formation of a communications team made up of key individuals with experience in the voice arena. “Many are ex- Rocom people so they know their stuff, and I have worked with them
over the past few years,” noted Lister. “That also makes our team stronger. Kelly Maynard and Andy Clark spearhead the PBX sales operation and work closely with our resellers in voice and data.”
Technical support is a big factor resellers consider when selecting a distributor, and John Bird, with a 14 year stint at Rocom under his belt, has played a key role in developing the Micro-P Technical Support team. “Our Technical Support team consists of engineers who have proven experience of ‘getting their hands dirty’, having installed and maintained a variety of PBX systems over the last two decades,” commented Bird.
These developments add up to a bullet proof ‘super distribution model’ encompassing all product sectors, claims Lister. “The distributor must add value to the reseller, be it pre-sales expertise, post-sales technical support, bespoke training, demonstration support, sales training etc,” he enthused. “A proactive, flexible, focused distributor will help grow a resellers’ business. All distributors excel at getting a box from A to B, but it is only those at the very top that have the experience and skill sets to back up customers on site and ensure they complete their installations within the allotted time scales.”
Former Rocom figureheads John Bird (left) with Alex Lister
A readily available pool of experienced hands-on engineers also enables Micro-P to diagnose and respond to support requests in minutes, well within its two hour SLA period. “Rather than just reading from the manual we’ll replicate and test issues in house with our lab systems and work out solutions to technical problems,” noted Bird. “I have always believed that technical support is the fulcrum to the distribution model. It is essential to adopt flexible working practices, especially when problems do occur and the occasional site visit is required as part of the escalation process. Flexibility also allows us to use other conduits to deliver support to our resellers.”
Micro-P’s bespoke Technical Support Portal offers 24/7/365 day access to technical information which is updated within minutes of new information being released by the system manufacturers. “Furthermore, updates to customer queries are automatically emailed to the reseller, allowing them to have up to the minute status updates of their support ticket,” added Bird. “Micro-P also has specialist teams concentrating on vertical markets and experienced
I have always believed that technical support is the fulcrum to the distribution model
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teams dedicated to product sets – such as networking, components, server, audio visual – all backed up by on-site support via a white labelled engineering team, who will survey, project manage, install and maintain the solutions.”
Training is another area of focus and a particular speciality of Bird. Lister noted: “John has a proven background with product training, having presented a variety of product courses during his career, including product specific, accredited technical courses for established manufacturers such as NEC, Samsung and Panasonic.”
In line with the priority given to training, Micro-P has presented a bespoke Samsung Technical Update course to its resellers in partnership with Samsung’s own support team. “I identified that resellers were not aware of the latest product features and were struggling to install new applications,” said Bird. “Our bespoke course has filled the knowledge gap and the feedback has been reassuring. Similar courses across a variety of products are in the pipeline, to be presented both in the classroom and online via webcast.”
Lister points to more initiatives on the horizon. “We have a clear vision and fantastic plans to grow and work with existing and new resellers in voice and data,” he said.
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