Are customers initiating the UC conversation and how much of what your typical SME needs is dominated by mobile technology?
“There is
still a huge educational exercise needed both in the
market, and in the channel, before UC is sufficiently understood to be
requested by the user.
Many users are
still ignorant of what UC means and how it relates to a modern day telephone
system. The message that UC is
affordable and can have a marked impact on bottom line has been slow to
permeate through the channel to the end user.
In some cases, resellers do not fully understand UC and are not confident
about talking about UC to the customer. In other cases, resellers prefer to stick to the
traditional sales model of proposing extensions and lines rather than business
solutions.
Nowadays
business is mobile. Not only do the classic road warriors need access to their
messages and calls but so do the site-based employees whose jobs take them away
from their desks. In such an environment,
a UC solution with its focus on mobility will help a small or medium sized
business work more effectively.
However, instead
of getting a UC solution often the customer ends up with a simple mobile phone twinning
solution. A good UC solution such as
Vertical Communications Wave-IP provides close integration of the mobile phone with
the UC solution. This means the road warrior
and mobile employee get the same functionality that their desk bound colleagues
enjoy"
Why if a UC solution can offer mobile workers so many benefits is mobile phone twinning more often proposed?
Except for the keynote vendors such as Vertical Communications with its Viewpoint mobile app there are few vendors who have a workable and reliable UC app for android and IOS phones. Put this together with some reseller’s unfamiliarity with UC business solutions it is easy to see why customers are often sold a twinning solution rather than a UC solution such as Viewpoint mobile.
Paul went on
to say. Mobile technology in and of
itself is not a UC feature. Mobile access to the features of a UC solution is
what it is all about and it is probably true to say that, if an IP-PBX solution
does not provide mobile access to its features it is not a UC solution. Solutions such as the Wave IP-PBX from
Vertical Communications are a UC solution that provides mobile access to its UC
capabilities for both android and iOS handsets with its Viewpoint mobile app.
Where are the opportunities for the Channel and how can resellers differentiate in this market?
For the
reseller who is willing to embrace UC fully the opportunities are numerous but,
says Paul, the reseller must adopt a different selling model to the traditional
extensions and lines approach. It’s all
about solutions when you are selling UC
UC is about
business processes and productivity. A
UC solution links in with the work processes of your company and enhances the
way you work.
The reseller
who is prepared to spend just that little more time to understand the customers’
business and how they work is able to offer a solution customised for the
company. Setting themselves apart from
the traditional resellers in this way is a brave step for many to take. But by doing so they are able to out run the competition and differentiate themselves
from the traditional reseller whose offer focuses on extensions and lines.
Is there such a thing as killer UC app that is going to drive sales of UC CPE or hosted solutions?
No, says Paul. There are plenty of must have apps but at
the moment there is no one app which is universally desirable by all businesses.
The true
mobile UC applications such as Viewpoint come close but the SME market still
has a long way to go before UC solutions have a 100% penetration into business
and businesses understand the power UC can bring to the bottom line. Until this happens, the universality of
Viewpoint mobile type applications will not take off.
With the plethora of end user apps aimed at the consumer market available does this make the UC a hard sell?
Selling a UC
solution is about selling productivity at the bushiness level. Get that right then the arguments for
investing in a UC solution become self-evident and the need to “hard sell” the
solution does not arise.
Do you think that end users are better served by single vendor solutions or by a best of breed mix of third party applications?
A single UC vendor
cannot be expert in all technologies needed to deploy a UC solution. This has given rise to a number of
alliances. Microsoft have partnered with
Spectralink who are providing the endpoints for messaging, data capture and the
like for Lync, Vertical Communications has also partnered with Spectralink who it
relies on to provide on-site mobility endpoints for its UC solution Wave
IP.
Vertical has
also opened up its UC solution Wave IP to third party developers.
In addition to its android and IOS mobile
Viewpoint app for smart phone and tablets, Vertical is encouraging third parties
to develop UC apps to run on the UC Wave –IP platform.
The available apps
include CRM integration solutions and, mobility, reporting and utility
applications.
