5i – which has a staunch commitment to fulfilling none of its revenues direct with end customers – is keen to select up to 15 new partners in the next six months; teaming up to make new opportunities possible and generate lucrative incremental revenues. The company is offering extensive pre and post sales support, and the benefit of extensive knowledge and skills transfers based on its record as a convergence pioneer, as well as top convergence accreditations from Microsoft and Cisco.
“Vendors have created enormous excitement and demand for enterprise convergence solutions, with the focus now on Unified Communications. But whether they are accredited by Microsoft, Cisco or anyone else for that matter, IT resellers that don’t have their own very advanced voice or convergence expertise are encountering opportunities they can’t properly fulfil,” said Peter Howells, Managing Director of 5i. “Our proposition isn’t just about fixing holes - we’re working hand-in-hand with the channel to open up new opportunities and help convert them into long term reoccurring revenues.”
5i’s expertise with leading convergence vendors makes them an ‘honest broker’ between the approaches/solutions of Cisco and Microsoft so that resellers and their end customers can derive the maximum benefit. “These two players dominate the IT industry, and Unified Communications is acting as a driver for them to start impinging one another’s traditional markets,” added Howells. “This makes it extremely challenging for individual resellers to understand how to construct the best possible solutions according to the unique needs of their customers. This is where a lot of our value lies.”
“The relationship IBIS Business Consultants Ltd has with 5i has not only allowed us to undertake larger scale projects than we would normally have attempted, but has also allowed us to offer alternative and better fitting product offerings rather than the standard Cisco set,” said Jon Browne, Director at Ibis Business Consultants Ltd. “These products have been tremendously well received with our clients and we are now moving to build on these successes with growing confidence.”
“5i have had a very positive impact on our business and they have successfully introduced us to the Fire and Rescue sector, which is a new market for us,” commented Amanda Salamon, Kerridge Marketing Manager. “We have been working together since 2002 and the end to end service we have received has simplified the transition we had to make to become successful in the IPC market.”