Having rebranded from LogMeIn and launched a new partner program that unites what had been three separate ones that came through acquisition, GoTo plans to rework its channel to build deeper relationships than the more transactional ones of the past.
The ControlOne platform, available in Canada as well as the U.S., is designed for MSPs, and is intended to provide both state of the art security and UCaaS in an easy to use platform.
A key benefit for traditional AV partners who have sold Zoom Rooms in the past, but been largely excluded through regulations from selling phones, is that they will be able to resell Zoom Phones with Native Capabilities. This will be phased in by geos, and while the U.S. and Canada are not in the first wave, they are on the road map.
Other priorities include more emphasis on partner business plans, and making it clear to partners how switching to the RingCentral partnership for their UCaaS puts both Mitel and their partners in a stronger position than before.
The new Clarity platform has been rebuilt from the ground up using the latest API REST architecture, and ConnectMeVoice expects that it will help attract customers beyond its traditional sub-250 customer base, as well as new partners that serve those new customers.
Going forward, Mitel will focus on the PBX and collaboration offerings that built up their business, and rebuilt their UCaaS initiative around their new partnership with RingCentral, following an effort to break into the UCaaS market that was gutted by the pandemic’s impact.
Toronto area-based Bluesound Professional has named Craig Cooper as their North American sales manager, as the company looks to capitalize on being first to market in a sector where growth was initially slowed by COVID-19.
Zoom’s first marketing platform for partners features newer tools like video marketing and event syndication as well as ones which have been around in the industry for many years.
While the focus of vendor buy-back programs has traditionally been on responsible recycling of products, the emphasis here is on refurbishing phones to today’s standards and reselling them, as a way of dealing with chip supply issues.
The Evolve2 75 is the first Evolve headset to have fully adjustable Jabra Advanced Active Noise Cancellation, and also has additional new features like a unique dual-foam technology earpiece design.
Amplify is a new program for the master-agent channel, while Velocity encompasses partner-led cloud go-to-market models, including MiCloud Connect Partner Managed.
One additional change is that to satisfy data residency requirements in certain markets, Avaya Cloud Office customer data is now stored in-country by default, in select markets, which include Canada and the U.S.
Mitel also plans to make some major changes to their marketing enablement policies for partners in the second half of the year.
Alexa for Business for Zoom Rooms with Poly is initially targeted at the COVID sensitive market as companies return some of their workforce to the office, but they see the longer term use cases as extending well beyond that.
Observe.AI has always had a key channel component through alliances with strategic vendor partners, but the company is now building out its trusted advisor channels, starting with a Master Agent channel, and with a VAR channel to come.
Zoom also increases the number of Master Agents in the program, and will also be evolving the Zoom Phone program so that partners in geos with different regulatory systems will be able to sell Zoom Phones on their own paper.
EPOS, which took the US and gaming products in the 2020 split of Sennheiser, had never had a structured overall program in the Sennheiser days, but has reworked the program, believing that was necessary to scale their growth.
The Evolve2 30 is a superior version to the existing Evolve 30, with better collaboration features, passive noise cancellation, durability and flexibility, although the older model will also remain in production.
In addition to the Rove, which is a brand new line, Poly has also announced the refresh of another DECT series, the Savi 7300.
The Studio P is not exclusively a Work From Home product, although that trend accelerated its development, but it is Poly’s first commercial entry for this part of the market.
