Any dealer that is a newcomer in the unified communications space will quickly recognize the cornucopia of technology provider options at their disposal during the due diligence phase of their platform planning.
For those dealers that find comfort in the familiarity aspect, there’s Konica Minolta. Others have become ubiquitous among the dealer ranks, such as RingByName, RingCentral and Intermedia, along with a host of providers large and small, including Cisco, Mitel, Poly and 8×8. But this is by no means a comprehensive list.
As part of this month’s State of the Industry report on unified communications, we asked our dealer panel to provide perspective on the importance of tech provider support in a discipline that may not rise to the level of managed IT when it comes to the depth of proficiency required but nonetheless calls for a partner that can facilitate a smoother experience between dealer and end-user.
From the perspective of Roland Tolan, COO/partner for United Office Technologies Group (UOTG) of Irvine, California, the choice was rather simple. UOTG enjoys a deep relationship with Konica Minolta in leveraging the full managed IT proficiencies of All Covered. Every time Tolan speaks with All Covered President Todd Croteau, it only underscores his belief that UOTG is in the best hands possible.
“Their support is phenomenal,” Tolan remarked. “Todd is a very intelligent guy and he quickly put our minds at ease. When we onboarded with them, I could see how well-oiled of a machine they are from a communications standpoint, not to mention proactive. We put our entire system in their hands, and now we can speak with confidence when selling.”
Selecting the right partner is critical to setting the stage for success, notes Melissa Confalone, vice president of sales for Fraser Advanced Information Systems of West Reading, Pennsylvania. It can also accelerate the process of scaling within a client base.
“Support from every partnership we enter is critical,” she said. “A strong partner will help spin up the program by providing structured sales training along with technical best practices.”
Shopping List
Verticomm, the managed IT division of Denver-based All Copy Products, spent roughly a year vetting the providers in the market. The dealer selected Intermedia because it addressed the desire to provide a white-label solution. Mike Gilly, division manager, communication services for Verticomm, also cited local representation and a strong university training program that allows engineers and sales reps to be trained on the sales process, from project management to selling and support.
“They have various certifications that make it beneficial for us to become proficient in the product,” Gilly noted. “On a day-to-day basis, we can make changes to the system, but when we need to rely on them, if there’s a bug in the software, we’ve got open access to their engineers. We can escalate, when necessary. They do an excellent job in providing ongoing support.”
In the case of Coordinated Business Systems, the Burnsville, Minnesota, dealership already had the benefit of experience in unified communications at the time it partnered with Intermedia. Coordinated President Kirk Studebaker found the partner to be in sync with its market proficiency and understanding of what the dealer sought to achieve.
Equally as important, Intermedia has checked off the inventory box. “We came to the party with expertise, so other than understanding the nuts and bolts of how to get things done, we didn’t need much training,” Studebaker said. “Intermedia has had good success in our channel and has made a commitment to it so they understand us. They also have inventory, which is great!”
