While demand for UCaaS solutions continues to grow, customers are demanding more from their solutions, which is where value-add features come in, as Gavin Jones, Channel Partners Director at BT Wholesale, explains.
With the global Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) market set to surpass 131 million users by 2028, there’s a massive opportunity for resellers and managed service providers (MSPs) to diversify portfolios, increase customer retention and build trust in this space.
Many businesses invested heavily in UCaaS solutions during the pandemic to help facilitate remote working, but they are now looking for further seamless collaboration. Resellers and MSPs need to understand how the landscape is evolving so they can offer future-proof capabilities.
Enter value-add features. They can transform UCaaS solutions hugely, turning them into tools that boost employee productivity and enable even greater business growth.
What can value-add features do?
Most businesses now expect features such as video calls, instant messaging and live document sharing as the bare minimum. If channel companies want to flex their expertise and remain at the forefront for clients, they need to offer more. To meet growing demands for advanced capabilities, resellers and MSPs can leverage the hidden gems within UCaaS – value-add features.
There are numerous features that can boost collaboration, but those that can integrate easily with existing business software – such as allowing employees to place external calls directly from Teams or Zoom – will be much sought after. On average, a business in the UK uses more than three different technology systems; what’s needed is a solution that streamlines technology infrastructure. Channel partners that deliver this will show they truly understand customer and business needs today. And the opportunities are exciting.
For example, call analytics software can transform employees’ day-to-day work. For those in contact centre roles, like sales or recruitment, simply knowing which calls to prioritise, move or delete can help to boost productivity and performance. Additionally, this software can monitor business-critical metrics in real-time through an interactive interface. This can provide data to help understand customer demand and best service needs.
Similarly, fraud management systems can make sure businesses avoid large usage bills for services that they haven’t used. Contact centre fraud is becoming sophisticated and frequent. In the past year, there has been a shocking 79% increase in attacks. Value-add fraud management systems can monitor trends and prevent suspected fraudulent calls – enabling businesses to operate more safely.
It doesn’t stop there. A credit management system can further enhance financial protection. It can be implemented to make sure resellers can limit customers’ spending to a pre-defined amount and mitigate against fraudulent usage or high fees.
Why is collaboration important?
To ensure value-add features are meeting evolving business needs, a virtuous circle needs to be created in the channel. Resellers and MSPs must have regular meetings with customers to understand their concerns as well as what is working well. With these close relationships to the end user, channel players will understand the real-life scenarios that UCaaS tools can solve. This information should then be shared with vendors who can utilise their broad range of resources, such as specialist engineers, to refine and build features.
Vendors’ expertise in new technologies and products is unrivalled, so not only can they build the products, but they can provide partners with easy-to-understand resources that gives them product knowledge to sell successfully.
Ultimately, collaboration creates an ecosystem of trust, innovation and expertise. By pooling strengths vendors and channel partners can steer through evolving customer needs, while increasing customer loyalty and boosting product portfolios.
How can you unlock untapped market potential?
As the UCaaS opportunity continues to grow, it’s vital that vendors, resellers and MSPs never lose sight of what’s most important – catering to the needs of customers.
With an ever-expanding range of channel companies to service them, it’s a very competitive market. A high level of service can be the deciding factor. Each customer will have bespoke demands – whether that’s a value-add feature that can be integrated into their existing systems or providing education about new technologies.
A customer-focused selling approach relies on communication and constantly nurturing relationships. It’s about working backwards together and working on solutions that meet their bespoke needs. Vendors can do this by attending regular meetings with customers to seek feedback and refine their offerings. Face-to-face meetings are especially important for these types of discussions. In fact, new research found that 75% want facetime with their technology provider.
The pillar that supports everything is a customer-centric approach. To create and sell robust UCaaS solutions that fix real problems, vendors and channel partners must work together to ensure a seamless experience for the end-user. By putting the customer first, resellers and MSPs will ensure they remain a valued, trustworthy partner.
