consultancy sell
economic circumstances. However, an out-of-the-box solution is giving resellers the opportunity to offset declining revenues on typical PBXs with the opportunity to upsell, improve and increase their margins with a superior UC offering, observed Smith. “In terms of growth markets we have seen significant success within the professional services industry. This is thriving at the moment. Organisations recognise the benefits that UC can bring to their employees, along with the increase in productivity and collaboration for the business.”
Hosted and IP PBX Rob PickeringMM
considerably more expensive. Secondly, the functionality of an IP PBX is typically higher compared to hosted bundles. This is because it’s not as reliant upon the quality of bandwidth provided, although this is improving all the time. It is these two key factors that should be at the forefront of resellers’ mind when looking to secure a deal from a rival championing hosted solutions.”
In the SMB market UC uptake is still relatively low, mainly because of the
platforms should be seen as complementary rather than competing technologies. That’s the view of Paul Burn, Head of Systems Sales at Nimans, who noted that meeting the needs of customers should always be the number one priority. “There are arguments good and bad in both camps but it’s vital for a reseller to have the choice,” he said. “Some companies are still nervous about a reliance on data infrastructure in a hosted environment. There’s more features available on an IP PBX, and more flexibility. Hosted can also work well but if an organisation has many applications the costs can soon escalate. Bandwidth is key in a hosted environment.
“At the end of the day in many ways the product is irrelevant. The only criteria is what the customer wants to happen in their business and how technology can help make that happen. It’s about identifying their needs now and also in the future, and then using
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“Depending on which hosting vendor you go with, it’s not always a given that functionality is greater than with an on-premise solution. There’s also a security discussion to be had within the functionality remit as the level of control you have over your own system versus a hosted environment is greater. These are just some examples of why it’s critical that the reseller takes on a consultancy role up front and gets to the root of what is driving the discussion in the first place.
“Avaya is focusing on providing holistic solutions that give partners the opportunity to move into adjacent sectors such as video and data networking. These are especially buoyant markets given current trends in the technology sector. The proliferation of tablets and smartphones is widespread, for example, and mobile video is on the rise. As a result, end users are directing more and more spend towards desktop and mobile related IT projects.”
technology to match their needs, not making them match the technology.”
It’s important for the reseller to find out why the end user is considering a hosted solution. If it’s a capex versus opex concern, for example, then financing options are often available to support with ongoing cost management. “If functional reasons are driving the decision making process, then that’s also important to know as it sets the reseller up to have the right conversations,” commented Claire Macland, Vice President, EMEA channels and go to market, Avaya.
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www.blabbermouthmarketing.co.uk COMMS DEALER JULY 2013 51
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