A recent SIR report revealed that in the majority of cases SMEs are asking their IT support company for advice when considering hosted solutions. This is probably because after a voice reseller supplies a PBX they often have little to do with the SME except to supply new handsets and fix the occasional issue. The data company on the other hand is often ‘embedded’ with their customers; patching servers, installing software and supporting their desktop hardware and applications. Most SMEs would not dare run anything (like hosted telephony) over their LAN without first consulting with their IT support company. Another channel to watch out for is mobile. These guys often have thousands of SME end users and, in a saturated and competitive market, they are keen to find something else to sell them. With teams of well trained and hungry sales people and with no legacy base of ‘tin’ to protect they are quickly building large bases of hosted telephony seats.
Data suppliers
Most of the 7000+ IT support companies in the UK are small regional players. Many have no sales people, relying instead on referrals and the occasional IT renewal project from existing customers. Surveys show that whilst they are often consulted on cloud voice projects they will usually refer customers rather than take on the business themselves. Those that can see the opportunity are refreshing their web sites and collateral and taking advantage of their reputation and trusted advisor status. They are partnering with their own trusted suppliers and building profitable recurring revenues from hosted voice, connectivity and other business cloud applications. This sector will be the biggest winners because their customers prefer to buy from them and they have no legacy base of calls lines and on-premise phone systems to protect. They will be limited only by the the size of their customer bases and their own ambition.
Voice suppliers
The voice resellers are in a difficult position. They have a legacy base of PBXs, calls and lines to protect and if they are proactive with a cloud proposition to existing customers they risk decimating cash margins. Since most SMEs only look to change their communications when they are moving, there is merit in a short-term strategy of leave well alone and react when under attack. In the meantime, switching ISDN channels out for SIP will show customers significant savings whilst retaining a reasonable cash margin and call revenues. Selling SIP often requires an upgrade to the connectivity which further boosts recurring revenues and cash margins. Longer term, most legacy systems will be replaced by hosted and voice resellers will need to look for other products (hosted desktop, PCI, WiFi) to grow revenues and margins when this happens.
Mobile suppliers
Mobile resellers have deep pockets, experience in the SME market and a lot of marketing and sales expertise. They may not have the strength of relationship but without a legacy base to protect they will continue to grow market share, initially in hosted voice and connectivity and eventually in all cloud products.
If you are looking for a supplier who ticks all the boxes - is experienced, has the right products at the right price, with the right tools and level of support - consider Jola.
