Communication service providers (CSP) face a growing dilemma: softswitch and feature server vendors are phasing out unified communications (UC) product lines, disrupting the traditional path to market and making it more challenging to deliver high-quality services. With the ground shifting beneath them, service providers must carefully consider their options and determine the best path forward. As vendors continue to deprecate their UC services, providers can either: stay the course and continue leveraging existing products and platforms past their end-of-life date, migrate to other internally managed feature server platforms, switch to a “branded resale” model or exit the market altogether. Alternatively, providers can seize the opportunity to migrate to a cloudbased platform – a move which Intermedia referred to as “a logical progression in the evolution of UC,” according to a recent white paper. “While there may be a perceived loss of control, as the CSP no longer has direct management of the platform in their network, migrating to the cloud has many benefits, including freeing up technical resources, as well as reducing significant op-ex (e.g., colocation space, power) and cap-ex costs (e.g., capacity, license inventory, hardware refreshes),” the company explained. According to Intermedia, there is still a sizable opportunity for service providers in the UCaaS market with less than 30 percent of global organizations using cloud-based telephony – and many still lacking a comprehensive UCaaS solution. Intermedia predicts that during the next few years, millions of businesses across all industries will look to accelerate their migration to UCaaS to lower costs and improve flexibility. Intermedia is uniquely positioned to help service providers overcome platform challenges and remain competitive by delivering high-value, cloud-based UCaaS and CCaaS. The company offers a feature-rich business phone system that combines numerous in-demand features including chat, video conferencing, texting, file sharing and archiving along with integrated mobile and desktop applications. “Service providers across the board are seeking an exit strategy from their aging, high-maintenance UC platforms,” explained Intermedia senior director of product marketing, Brian Gregory. “Intermedia enables providers to realign resources, while providing sales teams with a competitive offering to drive topline growth. Service providers can focus more on their customers, while Intermedia handles all aspects of platform management.” As a partner-first organization, Intermedia offers a flexible program that avoids channel conflict. “Service providers have the ability to fully brand almost all elements of the platform, including desktop clients, mobile clients, web portals and contact center components,” Gregory added. “We empower service providers to create unique offers while owning the entire customer relationship.” By working with Intermedia, service providers can mix and match licensing to optimize each offer. In addition, Intermedia offers a highly optimized model for turn-up, service and 24/7 technical support, along with 99.999 percent SLAs. Intermedia’s 360-degree approach to customer service provides complete coverage from initial setup to turnkey phone shipments. In addition, Intermedia uses SPARK AI – a transformational AI technology that combines generative AI, large language models and natural language processing to make businesses more efficient and productive. SPARK AI powers an AI assistant, notes and action items, audio transcription and virtual backgrounds during meetings. This service is fully integrated across all UC and contact center offerings, giving service providers a simple and costeffective entry point to begin selling AI services to customers. In addition to supporting service providers, Intermedia also works closely with MSPs and VARs. Intermedia’s white label program Customer Ownership Reseller Model (CORE) lets resellers close deals, provide customer support and handle billing, while removing the burden of onboarding, creating marketing and sales materials, and providing online training and support. o Look for Intermedia as a Gold sponsor at CVxEXPO24, taking place Nov. 12-14 in Scottsdale. Intermedia’s Brian Gregory Intermedia helps service providers overcome market challenges and transition to the cloud By Gerald Baldino UC at a Crossroads 56 CHANNELVISION | SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2024 AT YOUR SERVICE: XaaS
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