While high-level catch phrases won the day in non-IT circles this past year, the emergence of unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) — packaged telephony functions integrated with messaging, mobile, and productivity apps — made 2014 the year of voice.
Surprised? Don’t be. The resulting services landscape is neither new nor complicated for VARs and agents looking to pitch communications services with collaboration apps to businesses as a less expensive and more efficient alternative to buying and managing on-premises voice gear and software. What’s relevant to VARs and telecom agents is that the apps work with Microsoft Lync and hosted Exchange.
VARs and telecom agents should be excited by this opportunity, not fearful. UCaaS is stickier and offers a higher average revenue per user (ARPU) option for them. There are no installs per se and less changes on the premises. If they’ve sold voice before, they can sell it again. Call it what you want. But, in the end, it’s voice. You still have to dial nine to get out!
So What’s New?
