This post was sponsored by Zultys, a leading provider of omnichannel unified communications.
Phone system modernization remains a top challenge for channel partners, with many customers avoiding cloud migrations and clinging to aging legacy communications services. In its latest report, Metrigy found that almost 31 percent of businesses are still using an on-premise PBX and UC solution – a figure that’s unlikely to change much in the near-term.
But while the UCaaS market has settled since the pandemic, there are still opportunities for partners to migrate customers and drive profits. According to the latest research from Cavell, UCaaS is on track to surpass 131 million users by 2028. The total available market is declining, but there will still be continued demand throughout the foreseeable future.
To make a bigger push into UCaaS, partners must first understand what businesses want when modernizing their phone systems. Read ahead to learn why businesses are often reluctant to embrace the cloud, and how to ease the transition.
Why Businesses Are Avoiding the Cloud
As Zultys explained in a recent blog post, many businesses today want to modernize and unify their communications. Yet they do not want to abandon the trusted phone system capabilities that power their daily operations.
What’s more, many of today’s leading UC providers that originated in the cloud can’t provide the critical legacy features that customers want to continue using. As a result, channel partners often wind up offering solutions that fail to align with their customers’ specific needs. This leads to pushback, and delays transformation and modernization projects.
Channel partners must carefully consider the relationship that each customer has with their existing phone system before attempting to replace it with an alternative option. Oftentimes, customers are hesitant to abandon their existing technologies – but they may be open to modernizing and enhancing their current products.
It helps to work with a unified communications provider like Zultys, which can easily integrate with an existing system and offer additional functionality.
Zultys recommends offering the following must-have legacy PBX features:
- Line appearance functionality for efficient call handling.
- Native DVR-style call recording that captures the entire call, even when started mid-call.
- Voicemail and fax escalation to ensure responses meet strict SLAs.
- Internal and external paging with support for both unicast and multicast options.
- Advanced phone system scheduling to optimize customer services.
Offer the Best of Both Worlds with Zultys
At the end of the day, flexibility is key when modernizing customers’ communication systems. Businesses want to upgrade their phone systems without surrendering the mission-critical functions that they depend on.
Zultys seamlessly integrates with any existing system while delivering powerful enhancements. Unlike most competing UC providers, Zultys originated as an on-premise solution provider and later added the cloud to its platform. Zultys offers many of the legacy features that customers expect – like reliable voicemail and fax escalation, advanced scheduling, line appearance functionality, and more.
As a bonus, Zultys is 100% channel focused and never sells direct, with a reputation for delivering industry-leading product and technical support including training, customizable marketing materials and sales resources.
To get started with Zultys, check out the company’s partnership options or request a demo.
