Channel companies play a vital role in making technology accessible to businesses across the UK. There are now so many options available to businesses that they need guidance to ensure their technology investments deliver the outcome the business needs.
Gavin Jones, channel partners director, BT Wholesale, said, “The Channel plays a pivotal role in helping businesses across the country embrace and adopt new technologies. Channel partners are vital in providing tailored solutions and expert guidance to ensure their customers can navigate change and supercharge growth. They also help to bridge the gap between vendors and end-users, in a language they understand.”
Jones added this role is “particularly important” during periods of transformation and pointed to the ongoing move to all-IP as an example of that. He explained, “Whilst vendors have the resources to spearhead change and offer innovative solutions, resellers and MSPs have a direct connection to the end-user - so can flag pain points early and work with vendors to deliver bespoke services to drive digital transformation.”
Cherie Howlett, CMO, Jola, agreed with that perspective. She said, “The Channel has an essential role in educating businesses to adopt new technologies. It is our responsibility to highlight products being switched off, such as 3G and PSTN, to help companies prepare, with improved, more cost-effective solutions.
“End-user businesses don’t ask for information about a product, they ask for help solving a problem. The supplier who understands the challenges and proposes a simple, cost-effective solution, becomes the go-to advisor for similar challenges.”
Matt Takhar, business development director, N-able, added, “The Channel helps UK businesses adopt new technologies by connecting them with the right solutions and support. It offers a platform for businesses to access a diverse range of products, services and expertise tailored to their requirements, making sure businesses get the tech they need and the help to use them effectively.”
Businesses and organisations are often too busy with the running of their own operations to be able to focus on the ins and outs of the technologies their employees are using or need for the future.
Ritchie Butters, EMEA business development director for 8x8, explained, “Businesses and companies often can’t keep up with every twist and change, update and new offering that is out there – but a channel partner can, especially if they have sector specific knowledge and experience.”
But channel partners are not just technology experts. They are often experts on their customers too. Butters added, “A good partner should know the sort of technologies that their clients need, so will only go to them and say ‘here’s something you should look at’ when they know it’s a match for their needs.
“This understanding of the client and their marketplace is pretty critical because new tech these days is rarely a case of installing a box and flicking a switch.
“There’s training, implementation, support, potential customisation – again, a partner can handle all these things and understand how much of a dealbreaker these things can be to specific organisations.”
Jim Elder is a vice president at Blancco Technology Group, a data erasure and mobile lifecycle solution vendor. He explained, “The Channel plays a key role in differentiating technologies in a market where buyers find it difficult to understand what solution is right for them.
“For example, in the face of security risk, internal IT teams can employ an MSP to act as a trusted security advisor to help handle the complexities of cybersecurity and which solutions they need to mitigate risk. This gives organisations access to a wealth of knowledge and grants them access to the latest security technologies while they are able to focus on other business requirements.”
For Tom Chedham, business development manager, Candio, the Channel’s main role is in providing education so businesses and organisations can use their technology investments to make meaningful changes. He said, “We’re the educators, the advisors. We allow businesses and organisations to remain experts within their own industries. The reason we exist is to educate partners and for partners to educate their customers to use the correct technology and improve how their business operates.”
That chimed with the view of Ross Clinch, Evolve IP, enterprise partner manager. He said, “Channel partners are the conduit between manufacturers and end users. They are the educators in the eyes of local businesses and organisations. They filter down information and identify and drive the value of where technology is going and what new technologies are available, rather than businesses wandering around in the dark trying to find it for themselves. It’s the responsibility of the Channel to productise new technologies in a way that is easy to consume and deliver maximum value.”
The Channel can also help businesses and organisations to implement new technologies without too much disruption for employees or end customers.
Ali Hastings, senior channel director for the UK and Ireland, Avaya, said, “Today’s customer-facing businesses understand that the main driver of loyalty and growth in their brand is customer experience. They might want to embrace innovation that will help them improve their CX but are prevented from moving forward due to concerns about operational disruption or customer service continuity.
“There’s a role for channel partners here that can be pivotal and that is to help customers understand that innovation doesn’t have to be disruptive. There is an alternative to ‘rip-and-replace’ that allows new solutions to be overlayed on top of what already works in terms of existing processes, systems and technologies.”
Regional technology expertise
So, why can regional technology expertise be an advantage? Takhar, from N-able, said, “Regional experts know the local market well, which means they can offer tailored solutions and a faster service. They understand local needs and rules, making it easier for businesses to get the right technology for them, this could include regulatory frameworks and cultural nuances. These can help build stronger relationships and trust.
Jones, from BT Wholesale, added, “Regional technology expertise allows vendors, resellers and MSPs to provide a personalised service to their customers. Regional differences could include regulatory frameworks or different working practices or cultures that require adapted technology solutions. Furthermore, regional knowledge will also help to foster stronger relationships and trust between channel companies and end-users.”
Kerstin Demko works in channel and digital sales at Brivo, a cloud-based access control and smart building technologies vendor. She explained the vendor’s perspective. “Regional technology expertise from local distributors means partners can experience the benefits of operating in the same time zone. These include shortened response times, on-site visits and in-person support sessions as well as increased knowledge of specific local market intricacies and needs, such as device support and security standards.”
Becoming an advisor
There is no tick list to ensure a reseller or MSP can become a trusted advisor for their customers, but there are a few areas to bring into focus.
Jones, from BT Wholesale, said, “The Channel is built on close relationships that have been nurtured over time to foster trust. To attain this, resellers and MSPs need to ensure they have a customer-centric selling approach. With an ever-expanding range of channel companies to service them, customers have considerable choice, so a high level of service is often the deciding factor.
“Each customer will have bespoke demands. Therefore, it’s vital that resellers and MSPs attend regular meetings to seek feedback, with an aim to address concerns and help vendors refine offerings. In fact, according to recent research BT Wholesale research, 70 per cent of IT decision makers want face-to-face time with their technology partners. Ensuring proactive communication, transparency and reliable support will help the end-user to trust MSPs as invaluable partners.”
For Takhar, from N-able, there are no shortcuts here so channel companies must prepare to play the long game. He said, “Resellers and MSPs become trusted advisors by listening to their customers, understanding their needs, and providing personalised solutions.
“They build trust by being reliable, transparent and always ready to help. It’s important to actively listen to your customers’ needs, understand their business objectives, and provide tailored solutions that address their specific challenges and goals. Building credibility through transparency, reliability and expertise is essential – play for the long game.”
Focusing on outcomes can be a good strategy to ensure customer success. Hastings, from Avaya, said, “Channel partners can add real value and become trusted advisors by combining their technical knowledge and expertise with strategic foresight, consulting and implementation services.
“By doing this, they can map a customer’s digital transformation journey through a business process perspective and back into the technology, and so explain to the customer why and how a particular solution will help them achieve the positive business outcomes that are what matter most.”
8x8’s Butters added, “It’s relationships and knowledge that wins the day. You become trusted by turning up when you say you’ll turn up and delivering on what you say you’ll deliver. That might sound simple but it’s not. If a reseller sells in a solution to a customer that will give them X, Y and Z, then it better do that.
“For the reseller, that means putting the hours in to know the customers’ marketplace, the pain points and where there’s a need for progress. That also means knowing the people involved.”
This boils down to ensuring you are adding value by focusing on the customer and their needs.
Chedham, from Candio, said, “Ultimately you need to add value to the relationship. If the solution you’ve recommended from day one improves the customer’s life, the trust level will increase, and they are much more likely to listen to the advice you provide.
“But it’s not all about that. Resellers and MSPs must bring something new to the table for the customers. Whether it’s a new product or service, to become a trusted advisor, you need to offer advice.”
Partner support
Wholesalers and vendors also have a role to play in supporting their reseller and MSP partners to ensure they can meet customer needs.
David Samuel, founder and managing director, 24 Seven Cloud, said, “Good business relationships are built on trust. That’s something that has been a focus for 24 Seven Cloud since we founded our business and it’s one of the main factors as to why we have such a strong relationship with resellers.
“In providing telecoms solutions there is a contradiction in the industry, in that the products and services we are providing can often seem to be impersonal. They are technologies that can be applied across hundreds or even thousands of people throughout a workforce, running the risk of reducing end-users to numbers on a spreadsheet.”
However, Samuel emphasised the importance of recognising individual needs. He explained, “Mass-market solutions don’t have to be impersonal. Within the UK market, we are still seeing significant differences between regions and localities. Building a solution for a company in one area might be completely different from another that’s just a few miles down the road.”
He put this into context by discussing how 24 Seven Cloud’s partner community assist with getting the local perspective right. Samuel said, “Whilst we operate from our headquarters in Leeds, our geography hasn’t been a factor limiting our growth. We’ve become trusted in our relationships with the reseller channel right across the UK, but what we do have to do, is ensure there is a strong understanding of local factors. Channel partners can often act for us as the connection between a business and these local considerations.”
For Hastings, from Avaya, the company works together with its partner community to ensure all stakeholders have the knowledge they need to succeed.
She said, “The CX space moves quickly, so we understand that we need to help reduce any knowledge gap as much as possible. We have very aggressive programmes to keep our partners trained and updated, and partners are gaining immense value from this. We are transferring knowledge on a weekly basis via workshops or webinars and sharing formal certification when achieved.
“The CX market is huge and offers the best growth prospects for partners who are able to work with us to pull all the pieces together for really complex deployments and deliver reliable innovation without business disruption.”
Demko, from Brivo, added, “Vendors need to play an active role in helping MSPs and IT resellers with ongoing support past the onboarding stage with expertise in training, pre- and post-sales support, and local product expertise. As technology increases in reach and complexity, resellers and MPSs need to be the local experts that their customers turn to for support and guidance.
“Partners need to increasingly look to software publishers and technology providers for best-in-class programs and support to keep themselves ahead of the constantly evolving landscape.
“This can be through partner programmes that provide a tailored experience, ensuring resellers and MSPs feel knowledgeable about the tools they are selling. The technology providers who provide the best partner experience can be the value-added difference and partnership they need to best serve their customers and leverage the growing managed services opportunity.”
What is important is that employees within resellers and MSPs have the right knowledge to confidently advise customers. Clinch, from Evolve IP, said, “We provide collateral and learning resources that convey the value of the services being brought to market. Value doesn’t travel well, so we need to ensure the correct level of training is provided to get the buy-in of the salespeople.
“It’s about passing the baton on further down the chain in the right way and building out product sets and services that are easy to consume and sell. New technologies must serve a clear purpose, deliver marked improvement and, most importantly, be easy to understand and embrace. We want to make life as easy as possible for our partners and their customers.”
Seamless assistance
Throughout its history, the Channel has taking technology into organisations and helped ensure technology investments deliver on their promise. That looks set to continue for years to come. The complexity of new technologies means managing the full lifecycle of technological solutions is becoming more frequent.
Ed House, sales director, Nuvias UC, said, “There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Drawing from years of expertise, the Channel serves as a secondary filter for emerging solutions entering the market. Channel partners extend beyond mere product delivery, offering a range of complementary services to aid end-user organisations in adopting and managing new technologies.”
House concluded, “Ultimately, the Channel functions as a vital support network, providing a seamless chain of assistance from selection of the solution, right through to the after care.”
This feature appeared in our July 2024 print issue. You can read the magazine in full here.