This article first appeard in UC Advanced magazine issue #25.
Gavin Jones, Director, Wholesale Partners, BT Wholesale, shares how partners can design smarter to drive revenue.
From shifting buying intentions to new customer demands, the channel landscape is evolving at a rapid pace. At the same time, continued economic pressures push channel partners to do more for less.
However, underneath this challenging picture sits an interesting paradox: data usage is skyrocketing – with businesses and consumers streaming, collaborating, and relying on connectivity more than ever – but this is not yet translating to revenue growth for the channel.
This gap signals a clear opportunity to rethink commercial models. By 2030, connectivity investments could unlock £179bn in additional economic value (2025–2030) and support 243,000 jobs each year. The question for channel partners is how to compete smarter and turn this rising demand into revenue.
Broadband momentum: why FTTP is a safe bet
At first glance, traditional connectivity markets appear to be stagnating. Ethernet growth has slowed. However, upon closer look, a more positive picture emerges. Business spending on connectivity solutions is shifting, not disappearing, and data points to multiple pathways to growth for the channel.
Ethernet access is increasingly evolving into more specialised, high-value use cases, while many organisations are adopting full fibre broadband alongside Ethernet, as FTTP rollout accelerates across the UK, including BT Group’s own £15bn investment.
This positions FTTP-based broadband firmly at the centre of future networking solutions.
FTTP connectivity offers the performance, scalability, and reliability organisations need to support cloud adoption, hybrid working, and modern communication. For partners, the key is positioning broadband not simply as a connection, but as the digital foundation that enables modern work.
The growing UCaaS opportunity
A similar transition is reshaping the communications market. Traditional voice calling continues to decline, but the spending behind it is not disappearing. Instead, it is moving into unified communications platforms that bring calling, messaging, video, and other collaboration solutions into a single environment.
Microsoft Teams sits at the centre of this shift. Now used by 360 million people globally, it has become deeply embedded in the day-to-day operations of organisations of all sizes. For many businesses, virtual work environments have become the primary communications interface, rather than a simple add-on.
This marks a transition for partners from selling standalone telephony to delivering integrated communications experiences. By embedding voice capabilities directly into collaboration offerings, partners can help customers interact easily, improving productivity and flexibility.
Against this backdrop, the ongoing switchover away from legacy telephony infrastructure is not a disruption, but a necessary upgrade. It enables the market to fully transition towards a more integrated, higher-value communications ecosystem.
Mobile-first collaboration: A formula for success
Alongside fibre and unified communications, mobile connectivity is emerging as another important growth area for the channel.
The way people work has fundamentally changed. Hybrid and mobile-first working environments are now standard, and employees expect seamless connectivity across devices, locations, and applications. Businesses are also looking for simpler communication environments that support flexible working without adding operational complexity.
While some might see new demands as challenges, this shift creates an opportunity to rethink how connectivity and collaboration are delivered together. The mobile market is projected to reach $81.74 billion by 2030. Combining mobile connectivity with the collaboration tools customers already rely on enables employees to stay connected wherever work happens.
As remote work continues to evolve – increasingly supported by AI-driven capabilities that enhance communication and customer experiences – the demand for integrated mobile and collaboration services will only grow.
Designing smarter to compete in a changing market
Standing still is no longer an option for channel partners. Those pulling ahead are redesigning how solutions are built, sold, and delivered as consumption continues to rise and customers expect more in terms of resilience.
As a result, differentiation increasingly comes through experience: value-added layers that solve real business challenges instead of competing on price alone. Similarly, the most successful propositions prioritise outcomes over individual technologies– helping customers work more productively, communicate more effectively, and operate more flexibly.
Circumventing the channel’s growth paradox ultimately comes down to strategy. Despite a tough market, there are actionable steps partners can take to thrive.
We’re already seeing where the market is heading. Fibre-based broadband is becoming the backbone of modern networking, collaboration platforms are redefining business communications, and mobile-first working is reshaping how employees connect and operate. Now, it’s time for partners to turn that rising demand into real commercial growth.
