Unified Communications

Unified Communications

Vancouver UCC vendor CounterPath adds new Bria Teams collaboration service

September 25, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Vancouver UCC vendor CounterPath adds new Bria Teams collaboration service
CounterPath has added a VAR channel in the last couple years, although the new service will initially launch only through service provider and retail channels, in case any issues need to be worked out.

Cloud

Tango Networks announces North American availability of Kinetic Cloud enterprise mobile UC management solution

September 18, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Tango Networks announces North American availability of Kinetic Cloud enterprise mobile UC management solution
Texas-based Tango Networks launched their cloud offering in Europe first, but now brings it to the North American market, and are expanding their channel of enterprise-focused partners to help sell it.

Managed Services

Coaxing telecom resellers to move beyond hardware still mission – and challenge – for ADTRAN

August 22, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Coaxing telecom resellers to move beyond hardware still mission – and challenge – for ADTRAN
The nature of the MSP business means ADTRAN has had more success there with their ProCloud Subscription Services, and the company is aggressively recruiting there for new partners. ADTRAN is also about to introduce a new service, which they say even most MSPs are not yet selling.

Cloud

Intermedia growing channel business with new UCaaS offering and stronger partner enablement

August 3, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Intermedia growing channel business with new UCaaS offering and stronger partner enablement
The Intermedia messaging to the channel at this year’s CompTIA ChannelCon event emphasized the UCaaS opportunity around their Unite offering which came out in February.

Channel Programs

Plantronics re-invents partner program, expanding support beyond traditional hardware partners

May 1, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Plantronics re-invents partner program, expanding support beyond traditional hardware partners
Plantronics reworks its channel program to give greater emphasis to implementing their SaaS management solution, and to selling their hardware within broader solutions rather than simply as peripherals.

Hardware

Plantronics looks to create one-stop shop across UCC with $2 billion Polycom acquisition

March 28, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Plantronics looks to create one-stop shop across UCC with $2 billion Polycom acquisition
Plantronics moves far beyond headsets by buying Polycom, which brings them into three additional businesses that are synergistic to their headset core.

Small Business

Ooma CEO says Voxter acquisition moves them up from small business VoIP, creates new channel plays

March 8, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Ooma CEO says Voxter acquisition moves them up from small business VoIP, creates new channel plays
Ooma’s CEO Eric Stang discusses the implications of the deal with ChannelBuzz, including the likely impact on both the Ooma and Voxter solution provider channels.

Channel Programs

ShoreTel influence strong in new Mitel channel program and shift to two-tier distribution

March 7, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on ShoreTel influence strong in new Mitel channel program and shift to two-tier distribution
Specific details on the new Mitel channel program elements, and the distributors involved, will not be announced until April, but the strategic outline of both elements of the go-to-market strategy was made clear.

Virtualization

Expanded partnerships, vendor certification program key parts of IGEL 2018 roadmap

February 8, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Expanded partnerships, vendor certification program key parts of IGEL 2018 roadmap
Among the changes coming to IGEL’s own hardware and software roadmaps, one of their thin clients about to be refreshed will see a switch from an Intel to an AMD processor.

Cloud

New Avaya cloud boss outlines strategy to make Avaya a cloud powerhouse

January 31, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on New Avaya cloud boss outlines strategy to make Avaya a cloud powerhouse
Mercer Rowe, newly recruited from IBM’s cloud business to put Avaya on a cutting-edge path in the cloud, laid out his plans at the Avaya ENGAGE event this week