Mar/Apr 19 - ChannelVision Magazine

design (43 percent) and PM and de- ployment (35 percent) are the tough- est parts to provide by themselves. More than a third complain of an inability to integrate with customers’ other applications, including CRM, document management and project management systems. “MSPs are involved in complex UCaaS projects,” say the study’s authors. At the same time, “they lack the necessary support and resources from their providers to succeed with these projects.” Despite the challenges, MSPs are at least moderately satisfied with the UCaaS experience. About six in 10 say they are satisfied with the rev- enue from UCaaS business in 2018 (versus four in 10 who said the same in 2017). Satisfaction is particularly high among those who have a va- riety of solutions in their portfolios. Satisfaction with providers’ sales support, technical support, deploy- ment and training remains moderate to positive, similar to the sentiments expressed in LANtelligence’s 2017 survey. And while it may be more a reflection of competitive reality than positive experiences, three-quarters of MSP respondent plans to increase their UCaaS business during the next six to 18 months. “We haven’t found any correlation between revenue satisfactions and plans to increase UCaaS business,” said Corlea researchers. As MSPs move further into UCaaS, there are increasing concerns over competing with other MSPs and with the other managed services their UCaaS vendor partner may offer. This could lead to more MSPs seeking part- nerships with UCaaS-only partners, suggests the survey. So far for certain, 22 percent more MSPs this year than in 2017 said they are likely to seek a reli- able UCaaS partner in the near term. “To expand their UCaaS busi- ness, MSPs need reliable partners who: A) will help them fill the roles they can’t cover with internal resources (demo, solution design, deployment and project management),” concluded the study, “and B) will not compete with them on other solutions and services.” o at your service: Xaas Challenges to Selling UCaaS; 2018 & 2017 Responses Combined (More than one answer could be given) Hard to differentiate value to overcome low-price carrier solutions 44% Too much competition 38% Lack of responsiveness and support in sales process from your partner/provider 36% Not enough ability to provide integration with other customer solutions/apps 35% Lack of competent resources for implementation 29% Source: LANtelligence; Corlea Group The Number of UCaaS Solutions in MSP Portfolio Today Source: LANtelligence; Corlea Group Source: McKinsey points +38 percentage points 16 Leaders Leaders Laggards Laggards 1-2 2-4 4-6 More than 6 66.7% 25% Plans to Increase UCaaS Business Source: LANtelligence; Corlea Group 6-12 months No plans 12-18 months 18-24 months 61.7% 19.2% 14.9% Roles in UCaaS Sales Process in which MSPs Need Help (% of Respondents) Sales engineering (demo & solution design) 43.5% Project management and deployment 34.8% Statement of work and proposals 26.1% Other 13% Source: LANtelligence; Corlea Group “We haven’t found any correlation between revenue satisfactions and plans to increase UCaaS business.” 28 Channel Vision | March - April, 2019