Mar/Apr 19 - ChannelVision Magazine

Over the years, I have espoused that UCaaS is a solution without a real prob- lem. It was supposed to be the evolution of the PBX from on-premises to the cloud, super-charging communications among vendors, customers and employees. Along the way, many of the providers have pivoted to a platform company. 8x8, Nextiva, Vonage and RingCentral now offer a platform that couples everything from voice to contact center to CRM into the mix. This reminds me of the Micro- soft Office Suite in that it became too complicated for all but power users. And without sustained training, most users will not get the most out of the software. The same goes for UCaaS. Contact center has been a separate entity for years. Now the UCaaS provid- ers have entered that space, either by partnering with a cloud contact center such as Telax or InContact or building/ buying their own. They can sell every function imagined from voice to omni- channel – except they haven’t been. Studies show that most of the marketplace is under 150 seats. Most UCaaS providers shrug off that segment, choosing to chase the mid- market and enterprise where they can highlight total contract values of six or seven figures for Wall Street. Aside from neglecting the small busi- ness market and making the platform UC complex, the total cost of ownership debate for small businesses is a chal- lenge. Flat-rate pricing per seat includ- ing a handset has dropped to under $20. That still leaves the sale obstructed by the handset, lease or buy, what mod- el, soft phone, Bluetooth. Meanwhile, we have small businesses that put telecom decisions on the bottom of their to-do list. They just want the same and to pay a little less. SIP trunking is the answer. But even better is CPaaS (com- munications platform-a- a-service), which will allow them to add features such as SMS and chatbots to the line. This is fairly simple compared to video, conferencing, omni-channel, CRM, portals, etc. Dial- tone and texts to one number and some automated tasks such as business hours, directions and specials. This is an easier sale – and an easier deployment. This fits into the transactional realm that the channel is used to. It is a replacement sale with some options for up-sale. And if the discussion goes further, it opens up the possibility of UCaaS. This transaction also helps providers stem the losses to cellular- only businesses. If you can provide dial-tone and text in a simple manner, you have a winner. GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon) are chasing this market too. Apple’s two products – iMessage and Facetime – eliminate the telco. Amazon’s Alexa devices can replace at your service: Xaas Why CPaaSWins U CaaS in one form or another (IP Centrex, hosted PBX, et al.) has been available in the marketplace for more than 15 years. Yet it only has a less than 15 percent penetration rate, despite hundreds upon hundreds of providers pushing it. By Peter Radizeski the handset. Workplace by Facebook is challenging Teams for collaboration. These all have a UX advantage since users are very familiar with the user interface – unlike with a new UCaaS platform that was designed by engineers without UX input. The other consideration is that UCaaS has been the same for 15 years – a phone and a seat license. Which phone? Which license? All those provid- ers and none thought outside the box. Verizon Wireless kind of did with One Talk. Yet no one took advantage of the price drop on Android tablets and Blue- tooth headsets to package a softphone option that could handle texts, presence, etc. It was always a seat and phone bundle – sometimes softphone but on your device. It is this locked in mentality of everyone packaging, pricing and func- tioning the same way that has hampered this sector. I know 400+ providers were powered by Broadsoft, but did they all have to look the same out of the gate? Stale is how I would sum it up. CPaaS is newer and is catering to a segment of the marketplace that has been left out. Channel partners should examine some of the new CPaaS play- ers such as Intelepeer, Vonage (Nexmo) and VoIP Innovations. o Peter Radizeski is President of RAD-INFO INC., a telecom strategy and marketing consulting agency. He is also author of five books and available to speak at your events on channel, marketing, strategy or sales. 30 Channel Vision | March - April, 2019