The telecom industry is shifting. While profits for voice are dwindling, profits for the cloud are on the rise. A study from McKinsey found that landline and mobile voice now account for less than a third of total revenue for telecom companies in North America, down from 55 percent in 2010, while data revenue has risen from 25 percent of total revenues in 2010 to 65 percent today. The trend points to VoIP becoming the new favorite.

Microsoft has also taken note of this trend. In addition to its traditional function of IM and video conferencing, Skype for Business now offers voice-over-IP (VoIP) calling over your network and the Internet to users in your company, as well as Skype for Business users in other companies, putting clear communicative control in your hands. PSTN calling works with Cloud PBX to grant users calling access to landline and mobile phones, as well.

Customers using the service can host conference calls for audiences small or large on their computers, cell phones or landlines–often for about half the cost of other premium services, and managed right from familiar tools like the Outlook desktop and Web clients.

With Skype for Business with built-in encryption, you can safely and securely communicate and share your thoughts with anyone instantly, at any time, from virtually anywhere. Audio, HD video and web conferencing are all at your fingertips on the internet, giving you the ability to schedule meetings or start one at any time.

So what does that mean for telco MSPs? Well, their margins have the potential to grow substantially. Skype for Business’ VoIP options are much less cost prohibitive than many telecom solutions on the market, and are very simple to use. By partnering with a CSP, like AppRiver, you’ll also have the capability of selling Office 365 to your customers (and even layering with email and web security solutions if you really want to broaden your horizons), adding a new line of revenue to your business.

Skype for Business’ VoIP solution is a convenient way to incorporate another critical business function into your practice, saving your customers money and growing your top-line revenue at the same time. It makes you the one-stop-shop for all of their customers’ communication needs, whether that’s email, IM or dial-in conferencing.

To learn more about reselling Office 365 & Skype for Business with AppRiver, visit https://www.appriver.com/partners/office-365-for-telecom-resellers/.

Guest blogs such as this one are published monthly and are part of MSPmentor’s annual platinum sponsorship.