Selling large business and enterprise telephone solutions

Mark Shane Sales Manager at ICON believes that many good resellers hit a glass ceiling when they try to compete in the large business or enterprise market space.  Typically they are excluded from bid lists because they don’t have a PBX solution which is significantly different from that offered by the established resellers in the space or, if they do, they cannot demonstrate a track record of integrating this with other vendors product into a Unified Communications (UC) solution which includes features such as voice recording, instant messaging, and personal status.

The key says Mark is to leapfrog the competition with a complete all in one UC solution such as the Wave IP and to back this up with a track record which shows competence in installation and support. 

The integrated UC features of the Wave solution included as standard in the box means the reseller does not need to have skills in integrating solutions from different vendors.  This in-the-box functionality means faster and easier installs, single vendor training and support, and guaranteed interoperability.



“In short” says Mark “Wave IP is the ideal solution for a reseller looking to move up into the large business or enterprise space.  It is a highly scaleable and highly functional UC IP-PBX for both the small and large business.  Master this solution in the SME space and you have the skills and the track record to compete in all markets” 



The Wave IP range offers solutions for the small business with as few than 10 employees to solutions for an enterprise with hundreds of employees.  It is ideally suited to the Channel Partner wanting a versatile solution to cover both the SME and large business.  Wave IP is designed to be a versatile multi market space solution.



Wave IP 500



Most of all it is a solution which is cutting edge and comes with built in future proofing.  The newest Wave IP platform, Wave 2 comes as software upgrade for the Wave IP 2500 and Wave IP 500 and sets a new standard for Unified Communications (UC) solutions.   Wave 2 packs even more UC features into the Wave IP box including Mobile Extensions, Instant Messaging, Integrated Softphone, and Personal status.   These features and many more are standard on all new Wave solutions but are available as a software upgrade for subscription customers with earlier versions of Wave IP 2500 and Wave IP 500.

Selling into the SMB market

There are a large number of small businesses wanting a telephone solution.  Reaching these opportunities is difficult for some vendors.  However, some such as TalkSwitch and Vertical Communications have solutions that are easy to sell and install.

Mark Shane, Sales manager at ICON reviews the opportunities for the vendor and channel reseller and the tactics for selling into this profitable segment of the market.

The inhibiting factors to sucessfull selling in the small business market : The bottom end of the market is far from homogenous.  The inhibiting factors, features and motivations change quite dramatically from one niche to the next.  For clarity it is sometimes convenient to think of the small business product market as splitting into 3:   basic small business systems, value small business systems and professional small business systems. 

The difference between these is not to do with the number of extensions but more to do with the size and characteristics of the small business. 

To break into any of these the Channel Partner needs to understand the dynamics and motivations in the individual markets.

Basic small business systems  -   These are the real low end of the small business market.  Small businesses in this market look for and buy a simple no thrills basic telephone system. Usually low price, these systems offer little more than the ability to take, make and switch calls.  The low price means low margin for the reseller with often not much more than £20-30 made on each sale. 

To “crack” this market and survive on the meagre pickings per sale means being able to generate volume sales, offer little or no after sales technical product support and looking to make profit from upselling installation and other services.

Value small business systems:  These systems offer exceptional “bang for your buck” for the small business in terms of cost per feature.  The best, such as the TalkSwitch distributed by ICON, offer performance and features comparable to those found on many enterprise phone systems but are priced for the small business market. 

Small businesses buying these solutions want more than the make, take and switch functionality of the basic system.  Passive sales (order taking) are usually from the more informed small business. To break into this market and actively sell the product the Channel Partner needs to take a more solutions sales approach. The opportunity for the Channel partner is to upsell the small business from a basic to a value small business system.  The advantages are increased profit per sale. 

The inhibiting factor in this market is lack of awareness and understanding of the contribution communications can make to business.  Developing demand for the TalkSwitch genre of products means promoting the business benefits first.  Traditionally something which resellers in the small business market do not do well.  

Professional small business systems:  These are the top end small business systems targeted at the small business which recognises the importance of communications in its business and sees it as a tool for increasing profits and productivity.  The best of these such as the Wave IP 500 or Wave IP 2500 from Vertical provide similar communications services found on enterprise level traditional and IP PBX’s.  Cracking this market means full on solution selling.  Channel Partners without solution selling skills will struggle to sell into this market. 

The hot solutions to sell into small firms: VoIP is the clear candidate.  VoIP has excited the interest of many small businesses and this desire to “learn” about the technology is often a motivation for the purchase of a telephone system.  

UC and FMC currently are not high priority communications services for the small business in the basic or value niche of the market. 

In the professional small business niche UC of itself is not asked for but many of the individual elements/functions of a UC system (eg unified messaging, presence, and voice conferencing) are purchasing influencers for the small business owner.  Often these are package as standard (as in the Wave IP business communications system from Vertical) along with other sought after services (call recording, desktop call management) in a solution which offers out of the box UC capability for the small business.

Mobility is an across the board requirement in the small business market.  At the moment on-site mobility solutions such as the Polycom KIRK solutions are strong sellers into the small business market.  The on-site / off-site mobility functionality provided by FMC solutions is not being bought by the small business but it is our view that in the medium term, and certainly in the long term, small businesses will be an important market for the on-site/off-site mobility provided by FMC solutions.

The need for on-site mobility in a small business is strong.  When a business consist of a handful of key staff it is important that they can be contacted anywhere on site.  Classic examples are car dealerships and care homes (Polycom have just launched a DECT phone especially suited to use by care workers in the healthcare sector). 

Some small business owners try to provide key employees with the mobility they need by using consumer grade DECT solutions bought from the high street retail shops.  These are never a successful long term solution but do have the effect of showing the small business the benefits which can be gained from a mobility solution such as a Polycom KIRK.  Vendors such as Polycom provide entry level IP DECT solutions which can be retrofitted to small business telephone systems and which are priced to suite the small business budget.

The health of the small PBX market: Our perception is that the low end of the small PBX market is flat if not showing a month on month decline.  However, we believe that this might be seasonal especially given the winter we have just experienced.  The bad weather and Christmas effectively closed UK Ltd for much of December and January.  Order pipelines will have dried up and not yet been replenished.  Longer term we would expect to see demand in the small business market pick up so that by the end of the year the market will have recovered to its previous level.

However, in our experience not all of the small business market has suffered.  In the high end niches of the small business market sales of the TalkSwitch and Wave have been maintained.  These niches seem to have some resistance to the downturn.  This maybe because these solutions are seen  by the small business as a key tool for increasing profits and business and decisions to buy are more considered and less influenced by external events.

CPE or hosted solutions?: Our experience is that small firms are buying CPE solutions.  Sales of the Polycom KIRK IP mobility solutions which can be fitted to CPE or hosted solutions have been almost entirely for integration with CPE solutions.

Building loyalty in the small business market:  There is very little evidence of any purposeful long term or medium term thinking on the part of dealers when making a sale.  The focus is on the immediate deal and the cash injection this can bring to the business.  Customer retention is important but deliberate planning on the part of the reseller to migrate a customer up the product family is not.  However, the flexibility to expand the system to accommodate incremental growth in the business is a benefit at the time of sale.

Notwithstanding this, manufactures are building products which offer flexibility for expansion if this is required. For example the Wave business communications solution from Vertical has the capability of being expanded from a 10 handset (or less) solution up to a 350 user solution.  Similarly the TalkSwitch small business solution can be expanded from entry level solution supporting up to 16 handsets to a 64 handset telephone system. 

Distribution in the UK

As a Value added distributor of business telecomms solutions ICON is in a privildge position to see the changes and pressures taking place in the distribution market and reseller channel.  Mark Shane, Sales Manger at ICON reviews the distribution landscape in the UK

The changing distribition landscape:  Improving profitability per se is as much an imperative of the distribution business as it is of all the channel but it is not the factor which has the potential to change the distribution landscape.  Technology innovation and the slow but inexorable move towards VoIP and UC will shape the distribution landscape of the future.  The emergence of solutions which require a high level of technology support during their introduction and market adoption stages will be the catalyst for change in the sector.

The pressures in the distribution sector over the next few years will be to assimilate and launch these technologies into the channel.  The skills required to do this focus on technology competencies rather than the logistics of box shifting.  Distributors which already have technology value services as a core competency will see new opportunities as a result of these new technology solutions.

ICON is already exploiting these developing opportunities with the products such as TalkSwitch the small business IP_PBX, uMobility the vendor agnostic FMC solution, and unified communication (UC) products such as MESSAGE Manager and Wave with its integrated business applications and services, ICON are already finding that the channel need more flexible solutions such as the Fusion messaging and alarm integration modules for their already successful Polycom DECT and IP DECT solutions.  Adding application integration is now being driven by the end user as technology awareness is reaching a critical mass.

The new technology solutions require a much more consultative sale and support infrastructure than the traditional solutions.  Those distributors with logistics at the heart of their business model will find it difficult to offer the market a compelling proposition for the emerging products such as these.  The issue for these distributors is not whether they can maintain profitability (with good business governance they can) but whether they can maintain their market share, turnover and customer base.

The importance of matching the product with the distributor : In the early stages of market development the emerging technologies are support intensive.  This demands a distributor with a skill set which can deliver the level of technical and sales support required.  Vendor marketing tactics match product requirements with distributor capabilities.  Get the match wrong and the vendors solution will languish in the lower regions of the distributor’s catalogue.

For the distributor such as ICON which already operates a value added distribution (VAD) business model the emerging technologies are creating new opportunities.  

Solutions which are part of the converged ICT marketplace means new channel opportunities for the VAD.  With more and more products looking like an IT solution the reseller profile is changing.  Resellers need to understand networking and ICON is finding new opportunities in the IT reseller channel for its IP-PBX solutions TalkSwitch and Wave.

Vendors are looking for distribution partners which have established VAD competencies.  When TalkSwitch was looking for a distributor for its small business IP-PBX solution a key factor in its decision to work with ICON was ICON’s VAD services.  Jan Scheeren, president and CEO, TalkSwitch, said

“We are very pleased to partner with ICON to build on the increasing popularity of TalkSwitch in the UK market. ICON is an experienced value-added distributor specializing in VoIP products, with nationwide regional account managers, and a strong focus on channel and technical support”

ICON's core strengths and the emerging technologies:  ICON’s business model is firmly in the value added space where the focus is on sales and technology support of cutting edge communications solutions.  The product portfolio includes solutions which in one way or another exploit the emerging technologies - MESSAGEmanager (a unified Fax, SMS, Telex messaging solution) embraces virtualisation, Wave IP the IP-PBX includes integrated business applications out of the box, and the on site mobility solutions from Polycom works in hosted environments.  The MESSAGEmanager channel offering is about to increase with MMOD (MESSAGEmanager On Demand) which is a cloud based enterprise FAX and SMS solution. 

ICON distributes VoIP, professional DECT, business phone, alarm, and messaging systems.  These require a skilled solutions sale, sophisticated specification and installation, and ongoing support.  In these markets Icon has positioned itself as a value added systems distributor.  This has meant differentiating the total business model so that adding value is at the core of business and not just part of the marketing process. This means distributing products that really need a value-added service, are compatible, and will add depth rather than breadth to the portfolio. That way icon can provide unrivalled advice on the interoperability and suitability of the products and how the functionality can be exploited across the applications. 

Responding to a dealer’s individual need requires the understanding that only a true VAD can provide.  Without core strengths of specialism it is hard to offer real expert advice.  As part of our individual treatment we offer to;

• Actively work with dealers to win the sale, provide sales and technical training which suits their needs.
• Maintaining sufficient stock to make deliveries.  Stock availability is the key to adding value.  As a key UK distributor for the products in its portfolio icon has often supported dealers who have been let down by a box shifter.
• Extending commitment to the dealer into post sales service.  ICON provides a problem solving telephone based support experts, out of warranty repair and an ongoing commitment to a solution sourced from it.  In some cases it also works with the dealer to train the customer.  
• Focusing on relationship building and positive communications.  The knowledge that a dealer can call and speak to someone that knows about an order or client installation and will be able to walk them through the problem, make suggestions and offer a solution all adds to the value of a boxed product.

Icon believes that many distributors who claim to add value do not meet best in class benchmarks.  The test is to look at the commitment given to value added; is advice available at time of order, is real time support provided during installation, is there a depth of application knowledge at the end of the phone, does the distributor actively support the sales process, and finally will the distributor’s commitment to the solution continue after the bill has been paid.

The impact of new technologies on distribution: The emerging technologies and new solution will create opportunities for the VAD and its resellers which will not be available to the logistics based box shifter but there is unlikely to be any evolution in strengths or development of new identities.  

Products which require support will naturally gravitate to the VAD sector.  The TalkSwitch small business IP-PBX is one case study initially placed with a logistics based box shifter but now supported by ICON.  

The era of the broad based box shifter is unlikely to come to a sudden end and similarly it is unlikely that they will suddenly become VAD distributors.  The transition from the logistics based skills model of the broad based box shifter to a technology focused VAD skills business model is probably too much of a step for the box shifter. 

For the VAD specialisation in a narrow technology niche is not a viable option in a market which is moving to greater and greater interdependence of technologies under the umbrella of UC. VAD distributors will need to offer the capability to support UC focused solutions. This means skills in mobility solutions, IP-PBX, messaging and FMC.  ICON has built up its solution portfolio to include all these emerging technologies. Our IP-PBX solutions Wave and TalkSwitch lead the field in cost and innovation and MESSAGEmanager is setting the pace in Fax over IP and support for virtualisation.

The future of distribution in the UK: Our view is that there will no major structural changes in the distribution sector over the short term.  Box shifters may find pressure on sales but good business governance should maintain profitability even if sales dropped.  Individual VAD distributors may become stronger players in the market as they take advantage of the increasing demands for the emerging technologies.

Distributor driven channel innovation and improvement: In terms of supporting the uptake of new technologies by the channel the VAD sector is key to channel innovation and improvement.  Access to technology support is key to take up by channel of new technologies. A significant part of the launch of the emerging technologies is the distribution of knowledge to the channel. This is not a role for the logistics focussed distributor and the vendor is not able to provide the coverage or penetration down to the grass roots level needed.

VAD managed training and support to the reseller channel in the emerging technologies is a key enabler to product launch. ICON provides cost free, training in sales and technology of the UC VOIP solutions such as Wave and takes on responsibility for channel education when major product changes occur. None of this is done by the logistics based box shifter.

How to add value as a distributor

ICON is a value added distributor. Mark Shane, Sales Manager at ICON explains how this works.

“Adding value and box shifting are like oil and water, they don’t mix. Distributors either run a logistics based or a service based business model, you cannot mix the two.  When you are working on a 3% margin, which some high volume commodity product distributors do, then there is no room for adding value. There are 5 tests to determine if a distributor is a true value added distributor (VAD)

1.      is advice available at time of order,

2.      is real time support provided during installation,

3.      is there a depth of application knowledge available,

4.      does the distributor actively support the sales process,

5.      will the distributor’s commitment to the solution continue after the bill has been paid”.

ICON’s focus is on sales and technology support of cutting edge communications solutions and because we concentrate on the emerging and new communications solutions we can do this and compete on price and delivery.   ICON runs a service based business model for its distribution you don’t buy a box from us you buy a complete support package which includes technology support and education, real time problem solving and hands on sales support.

The slow but inexorable move towards VoIP and UC technologies is driving sales and generating interest in a desire for knowledge about these solutions.  On the horizon, cloud based solutions are beginning to make an impact on sales and this will certainly increase as improved connectivity services are rolled out likewise the virtualisation of corporate servers is generating more opportunities for UC solutions.

The hot products includes solutions which in one way or another exploit these emerging technologies. MESSAGEmanager (a unified Fax, SMS, Telex messaging solution) embraces virtualisation and is the favoured FAX server for businesses which are running virtualised servers.  In terms of cloud communications the MESSAGEmanager channel offering is about to increase with MMOD (MESSAGEmanager On Demand) which is a cloud based enterprise FAX and SMS and in the on-site mobility space the IP DECT solutions from Polycom are in demand being the solution of choice in the hosted environment of the cloud (Voice over Wi-Fi is restricted to CPE solutions).   In the VoIP and UC space Wave IP the IP-PBX which includes integrated business applications out of the box is slowly displacing the non IP UC solutions.  

The emergence of solutions which require a high level of technology support during their introduction and market adoption stages.   The difficulties faced by the reseller channel over the next few years will be to launch these technologies into its customer base.   

 A significant part of the launch of the emerging technologies is the distribution of knowledge to the channel. This is not a role for the logistics focussed distributor and the vendor is not able to provide the coverage or penetration down to the grass roots level needed.

Wave IP training course students

VAD (Value Added Distributor) managed training and support to the reseller channel in the emerging technologies is a key enabler to product launch. ICON provides cost free, training in sales and technology of the UC VOIP solutions such as Wave and takes on responsibility for channel education when major product changes occur. None of this is done by the logistics based box shifter..

The new technologies require a solutions sale, sophisticated specification and installation, and ongoing support.  ICON has positioned itself as a value added systems distributor by putting adding value at the core of business and not just a slogan of the marketing process. This means;

·      Responding to a dealer’s individual need. -  This requires the understanding that only a true VAD can provide.  Without a core strength of specialism it is hard to offer real expert advice.  As part of our individual treatment we offer to; actively work with dealers to win the sale, provide sales and technical training which suits their needs.

·      Extending commitment to the dealer into post sales service. -  ICON provides a problem solving telephone based support experts, out of warranty repair and an ongoing commitment to a solution sourced from it.  In some cases it also works with the dealer to train the customer.  

·      Focusing on relationship building and positive communications.  - The knowledge that a dealer can call and speak to someone that knows about an order or client installation and will be able to walk them through the problem, make suggestions and offer a solution all adds to the value of a boxed product.

·      Distributing products that really need a value-added service, are compatible, and will add depth rather than breadth to the portfolio. - That way icon can provide unrivalled advice on the interoperability and suitability of the products and how the functionality can be exploited across the applications.

Business telephone solutions for the sub 24 extension users

For ICON the sub 24 user sector is a buoyant and profitable market despite the downturn.  In this niche, thanks to TalkSwitch, the small business IP-PBX which ICON distributes in the UK and Ireland,  ICON has not felt the effects of the slowdown experienced in the wider market..  Mark Shane marketing manager at ICON commented

“The trend in this niche is for a more and more sophisticated telephone solution at a small business price and we don’t see that changing – ever.  The feedback we are getting from the channel is that what matters in this market is the price point, the feature set and the capability to outperform comparably priced solutions.  Get that right and you have a winner”

What we are seeing in this market is a trend by vendors such as TalkSwitch and Vertical to deliver an out of the box solution with all features as standard.  Many other small business solutions do not deliver a true fully featured out of the box solution. Often additional add in cards need to be purchased to get the features and performance the small business wants. 

Mark believes that because TalkSwitch and the Vertical Wave comes with all their features as standard they have set a new price performance target for others to follow.  Mark says that unless you can offer such things as support for SIP trunks, voicemail, music on hold  and auto attendant as standard you will not be able to compete in this very profitable, recession proof and large market.

Call Management

Mark Shane, Sales Manager at ICON says that with the new generation of  IP-PBX’s such as the Vertical Wave it is all about solution selling and this means identifying the business needs and how call management can be used to the benefit of the business.  Call management is a key issue in almost all industry sectors.  For example, studies of retail environments show that 20% to 30% or more of all inbound customer calls are likely to fail. 

Mark says in this sector you need to  manage your voice channel as effectively as possible.  Often the traditional telephone solutions are not able to do this and many retail organisations have little or no visibility into their customers’ calling experience. Caller information would be of great value in allocating staff and stocking inventory, evaluating marketing programs and optimising the communications infrastructure itself. With a potential of 20—30% lost calls the cost to the business of not managing this channel effectively is hefty. 

The new generation IP-PBX solutions such as Wave IP with its built in applications as standard enables the business infrastructure itself to listen and intelligently respond to many routine customer calls and provide  management with detailed, real-time reports on all customer calls across even a large, multi-site enterprise.

The key to better call management says Mark is a solution which integrates desktop and enterprise applications with voice communications in a streamlined system that is easy to deploy and manage.  The Wave IP solution is especially designed to achieve the goal of  greater call management  by consolidating voice, data networking and voice-enabled applications into a single integrated platform.

A retrospective look at the 25-50 telephone extension market

Where the market is going

Mark Shane, sales manager at ICON the ICT distributor of Wave IP and TalkSwitch comments,

"There has been no major shift or upheavals in this segment over the last few quarters.  Trends evident several quarters ago seem to have consolidated and firmed up.

There is still a slow inexorable move towards IP and there seems to be more awareness in the end user market of VoIP but” says Mark “people are calling in looking firstly for a feature rich business telephone system and then for a VoIP compatible solution”. 

Fortunately, in the 25-50 user space our Channel Partners have a strong offering in the form of TalkSwitch and Vertical Wave.   Vertical Wave offers an out of the box solution which includes a comprehensive range of integrated applications including call recording.  If call recording is not required then TalkSwitch may be a better solution for the end user.

“As in the other niches the trend is for a more and more sophisticated telephone solution at a value price and we don’t see that changing – ever.  The feedback we are getting from the channel is that what matters in this market is the price point, the feature set and the capability to outperform comparably priced solutions.  Get that right and you have a winner”

Vendors:  What we are seeing in this market is a trend by vendors such as TalkSwitch and Vertical to deliver an out of the box solution with all features as standard.  Many small business solutions do not deliver a true fully featured out of the box solution.  Often additional add in cards need to be purchased to get the features and performance the small business wants. 

Manufactures are also building products which offer flexibility for expansion if this is required. For example the Wave business communications solution from Vertical has the capability of being expanded from a 10 handset (or less) solution up to a 350 user solution.  Similarly the TalkSwitch small business solution can be expanded from entry level solution supporting up to 16 handsets to a 64 handset telephone system.

Sales performance : For ICON the 25-50 user segment is a healthy and profitable niche.  Since the start of the year demand from this segment has held up well.  ICON has not seen the fall in sales experienced in some segments of the market and demand for its TalkSwitch and Wave solutions has held up well.  These products seem to have some resistance to the downturn.  This maybe because these solutions are seen  by the small business as a key tool for increasing profits and business and decisions to buy are more considered and less influenced by external events.  In general in the longer term we expect to see demand in this market pick up so that by the end of the year the market will have recovered to its previous level.

State of play with IP

IP is slowly making headway in the market but not as fast as some pundits would claim it is. 

For internal communications more installations are IP now than they were a year ago but IP is still not the dominant technology.  Although the overall trend does show a slow long term drift towards IP in ICON’s experience the number of IP handsets and the number of digital handsets sold is comparable.  How much this trend is driven by customer preference for IP or by the preference of the Channel Partner to install and support an IP solution is hard to tell.  With Wave IP the end user is not penalised for choosing a non IP solution as no matter which option is chosen the IP version or the non IP version end users enjoy the same benefits and functionality.

In the case of the external trunks ISDN is still king but many resellers are beginning to look more seriously at reselling IP trunks with the Wave IP and TalkSwitch solutions.  ICON already offers a service to its channel partners where it will arrange an IP trunk for their customer if the dealer requests this.

Integrated applications

Users are now more savvy about what they want as standard from a telephone system and many are calling in wanting to know what solutions come with out of the box features such as auto-attendant, music on hold and voice mail.  We always arrange for one of our TalkSwitch or Vertical Wave Channel Partners to call the customer after we have talked through their requirements answered their most pressing enquires.   Fortunately, in the 25-50 user space our Channel Partners have a strong offering in the form of TalkSwitch and Vertical Wave.   Vertical Wave offers an out of the box solution which includes a comprehensive range of integrated applications including call recording.  If call recording is not required then TalkSwitch may be a better solution for the end

Advice and information channel

In the lower end of the 25-50 extension market some end users are bypassing the reseller when it comes to looking for their next telephone solution.  Many rely on the internet to find out about the options available and the specific solutions on sale.  As UK distributor for the TalkSwitch IP-PBX ICON regularly receives direct enquires from end users who have done their own research and come up with a preferred solution without any input from any telecoms professional.  However an all cases we ultimately recommend that they buy from an authorised professional and direct them to a local reseller.

In the high end of the market our perception is that end users still rely on the skills and experience of the reseller when it comes to choosing a telephone solution which will suit their business needs.  Our regional account managers are regularly called upon to support resellers in early stage meetings with end users. 

Developments in the business phone market

ICON has some strong views on where the market for business telephone solutions is going. Mark Shane sales manager at ICON explains.

“We are beginning to see some significant changes in the market.  There is much more awareness and interest in cloud based solutions and unified communications and it seems that the vendor offers are beginning to be positioned much more strongly around these two technologies.  However, we are not seeing any wholesale trend to move away from CPE solutions and sales of our Wave IP PBX solution remains strong.

There is significant interest in cloud based solutions in the widest sense, not just hosted PBX services.  In the unified messaging space ICON is launching MESSAGEmanager on Demand.  This is a cloud based FAX solution which provides enterprise level document management solutions for FAX.  More than a FAX solution the MMoD platform integrates closely with the enterprise business applications to provide every employee in the organisation with fax management through email, CRM and ERP applications.

In those sites which have hosted PBX services or have offices which connect to a remote IP-PBX the Polycom IP DECT mobility solutions are a popular add-on.  Recent additions to the Polycom KIRK DECT range can scale up to over 4000 users.

The market for PBX solutions is now almost entirely IP focused and sales of our Wave IP PBX solution remain strong.  The Wave IP solution, which was awarded product of the year by TMC offers Channel Partners a profitable and highly competitive solution to the me-too solutions in head to head competitive bids.”

 

The Wave IP solution offers an out of the box solution which includes a comprehensive range of integrated Unified Communications applications as well as call recording.  The Wave IP 500 is the entry level solution for businesses wanting up to 50 extensions and offers the same level of functionality and integrated applications as the Wave IP 2500. 

Mark believes that the way forward is to offer the core UC applications and tools as an integrated package and says

 “The integrated approach benefits both the end user and the reseller.  The reseller is able to present an easy to understand single platform business solution to the customer whilst the customer benefits from being able to buy a single box answer to their problem”.

The Vertical Wave communications platform is an example of the single box approach.  It integrates applications with an IP-PBX on a single platform, thereby avoiding the additional cost and management overhead associated with setting up and managing multiple servers. 

The single box Wave platform includes a range of Base applications which are ready to run at no extra cost.  These include the core UC applications of desktop call management, visual voicemail, presence management, unified messaging, basic conferencing, auto attendant and call recording.   Unlike many competitive systems, the Wave platform provides call recording, archiving and search capabilities to all users without any additional software license.

Also in the single box are some ready-to-run and ready-to-license applications which extend the functionality of the Wave platform.  These include a contact centre, conference manager, and voice XML server.  Because they are integrated in the single box solution they can be enabled on demand.

Mark summed up by saying

“Vendors have adopted a number of different approaches to delivering VoIP and UC solutions.  We believe that in the 50-100 user market the best solution is a single box integrated approach as used by the Wave platform.  A single box solution means that everything works together with minimum effort.  The alternative approach of integrating the separate applications into a single solution could be too great a drain on the resources of a small business.” 

Unified Communications



ICON is often asked to comment on and explain Unified Communications (UC).  Mark Shane Sales Manager at ICON explains how ICON sees Unified Communications.



UC is changing how we communicate but it is one of the most confusing ideas to have emerged over the last few years mainly because it is just that, an idea.   It is not a product, a solution or a single technology; it’s the goal for an organisations communications. 



ICON receives award at UCEXPO

At ICON we have a number of UC focused solutions in our catalogue including the Wave IP PBX, Polycom mobility solutions and MESSAGEmanager unified messaging but we have not found a single, consistent or agreed-upon definition of what UC is.  Voice telephony is only one part of the UC business communication mix.  



A good way to understand UC is to consider the example where a business has just won a deal.  This may have been confirmed by a telephone call but the company will still need to receive or send a fax to place the order or a quotation on email; or it might be need to discuss the details on telephone conferencing.  Also, because staff move around this means that communications can happen in the office, at home, in the car, or anywhere out of the office and by any means.  A UC solution makes this happen and enables staff to keep in contact with colleagues, customers and managers by linking together landline and mobile phones, faxing, and unified messaging.

This means that UC is not a single product but a number of products integrated to create a customer solution. It is not something which can be put in front of the customer and sold on price, features and performance. It is a solution to the organisations need to enable staff to keep in contact by any means no matter where they are. 

The elements of UC solution cover a range of capabilities -- not all of which are in every vendor’s portfolio. The majority of UC solutions include PBX features, Voice services, Voice conferencing and Unified messaging.  More advance UC solutions include Presence, Instant messaging, and Mobility capabilities. 

UC is not just an enterprise solution; it is also for the SME and for the SOHO business. The opportunity for resellers is massive and it is fair to say that in the medium term all business communications solutions sold will include some element of UC.  ICON has already built up a strong portfolio of UC components and has the in-house skills to help resellers put these together in a winning solution.  In the SME market the leading global vendors such as Vertical Communications are offering IP PBX solutions which include many of the core UC components as an out of the box fully integrated feature. 

In the SME market integrating the core applications of a UC solution into a versatile IP telephone system such as the Wave IP from Vertical is the way to go and will benefit both the end user and the reseller.  End users get an out of the box solution and don’t have the hassle of managing a diverse range of technologies.  The reseller can focus on selling a solution and does not need to deal with multiple vendors or understand how to integrate the various components.   The Wave IP UC IP-PBX is well established UC solution which ICON has been selling for several years and Channel partners who take this on are entitled to take up solution sales training focused on selling this UC enabled solution.

A good account manager

Asked recently about what makes a good account manager Mark Shane, sales manager at ICON explained,

“ICON is a value added distributor and we differentiate ourselves by bundling a range of support services with each solution we sell.  This is not a business model which is difficult to copy.  Anyone can come up with a package of services to add value to a resellers business and any account manager can present these to the reseller.  That’s the easy part.  The difficult part is translating the business ethos of this model into actions which have real street value for the reseller.  This is how the account manager adds real value.  He brings the VAD business model to life for the reseller. 

The account manager builds the relationship with the reseller. That means understanding their needs, proposing solutions, and doing the commercial work of order taking, order processing and, if problems arise, order chasing.  This calls for a mixed bag of skills; technical skills to understand the product, business skills to spot the opportunities and of course the basic sales and relationship skills.  These are skills which every account manager needs.  But they are not the skills which add unique value to the reseller’s business. 

To add real value you need an account manager who can establish himself as a key part of the resellers business.  This is more than building good relationships.  Its about establishing a genuine understanding with the reseller so that he knows you will be there for his business 24/7, its about being his first port of call when there is a problem, its about being seen as the problem solve not the order taker.  It is in effect becoming a remote member of his team.  

The account manager is the key to building an added value relationship.  But the account manager cannot do this by himself.  The whole business must live and breathe reseller added value and support the account manager.  If you get this model right, as ICON has done, then when it works it works well.  For example ICON’s Northern Account Manager has been able to increase turnover for ICON’s Northern resellers from its product line by on average more than 16 times.



Richard Salvage,
ICONs Northern Account Manager



How this works in practice is exemplified by the work of ICON’s northern account manager who learnt the hard way about adding value.  Previously working as a sales manager he realised that he was selling more of one PBX than any other simply because of the level of help and support he was getting from that vendors account manager. 

When he joined ICON he used this experience to help build business for his resellers with such success that often his support has been key to winning business for the reseller. 

For example when working with one reseller who had no previous experience of ICON’s solutions he led the sales pitch, advised on the proposal, and helped up sell the prospect to convert them from a hosted to a CPE PBX solution.”