https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Complete 2023 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2023 MSP 501 50-1
    • 2023 MSP 501 100-51
    • 2023 MSP 501 150-101
    • 2023 MSP 501 200-151
    • 2023 MSP 501 250-201
    • 2023 MSP 501 300-251
    • 2023 MSP 501 350-301
    • 2023 MSP 501 400-351
    • 2023 MSP 501 450-401
    • 2023 MSP 501 501-451
    • NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Channel Futures 20: Top Tech Providers
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2023 MSP 501
    • 2023 NextGen 101
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
    • Channel Leaders Lists
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2024 CP Expo Call for Speakers
    • Channel Futures Leadership Summit
    • MSP Summit
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Complete 2023 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2023 MSP 501 50-1
    • 2023 MSP 501 100-51
    • 2023 MSP 501 150-101
    • 2023 MSP 501 200-151
    • 2023 MSP 501 250-201
    • 2023 MSP 501 300-251
    • 2023 MSP 501 350-301
    • 2023 MSP 501 400-351
    • 2023 MSP 501 450-401
    • 2023 MSP 501 501-451
    • NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Channel Futures 20: Top Tech Providers
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2023 MSP 501
    • 2023 NextGen 101
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
    • Channel Leaders Lists
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2024 CP Expo Call for Speakers
    • Channel Futures Leadership Summit
    • MSP Summit
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Sales & Marketing


Brooks McCorcle president of ATampTrsquos Emerging Business Markets

AT&T Partner Exchange: It’s All About the APIs

  • Written by Charlene OHanlon_2
  • October 22, 2014

AT&T (T) is hosting its inaugural Partner Exchange conference this week in Dallas, where the discussion has centered on the application programming interfaces (APIs) that are changing the game in customer account management.

AT&T (T) is hosting its inaugural Partner Exchange conference this week in Dallas, where the discussion has centered on the application programming interfaces (APIs) that are changing the game in customer account management.

Partner Exchange, the incubator-style group within AT&T created just two years ago to take advantage of the convergence between telecom and IT, has put an emphasis on “speed and getting it right the first time,” said Brooks McCorcle, president of AT&T’s Emerging Business Markets. With that in mind, the group, which carries a startup attitude and has an affinity for wearing jeans, has built a collection of APIs that can take a customer order from quote to service provisioning in less than half the time it traditionally takes.

“We’ve enabled a more than 50 percent reduction in cycle times because of APIs,” said Jason Porter, vice president, Solutions Development and Business Operations. “Quoting, ordering, service assurance, billing—it’s all transparent. We have transformed the pace at which we do business so you can get your quote to cash much faster.”

To illustrate how transformative, Porter and others highlighted (often) how getting a simple quote often would take a week or more. With the APIs, that time has been reduced to mere minutes.

“Early on we knew we needed to change cycle times and become open. We heard quickly from our partners that we were slow and hard to do business with. So we started looking for a solution to that,” Porter noted. “We didn‘t know it was going to be APIs but we knew we needed to transform. I would say mid-year last year is when we crystalized a vision to open an API platform. So we started in January this year and launched it in July.”

Fred Barilotti, executive director of Mt. Laurel, New Jersey-based solution provider Ancero, noted the APIs were the reason why his company joined Partner Exchange.

“It was a manually driven industry and most of challenges were because of it being a manually driven industry,” he said. “Now that we see we can perform quicker results, our presentations are more robust and customers are moving quickly.”

Phil Towle, senior vice president of Sales at Alliant Technologies, an IT services infrastructure provider based in Morristown, New Jersey, also noted the APIs set AT&T apart from its competitors.

“We’ve had other telco companies contacting us about reselling their services but we’ve not accepted any meetings because we enjoy being exclusive with AT&T and they are so far down the road compared to other companies,” he said.

Porter noted the API ecosystem is in early days, but so far it has seen much customer success. Next on the list: enabling the APIs in a mobile environment.

“We are going to build the API platform for mobility next, to provide an API-enabled mobility experience,” he said. “Today partners order through our web portal and get information and make changes to plans, etc. With APIs, they can access that same information on their mobile device so they can do their job better and create value.”

Also on tap is integration with the Salesforce.com (CRM) platform for an even more seamless customer relationship experience. AT&T expects the capabilities to come online in the next few months.

The APIs are “truly changing how we do business,” McCorcle said. “As we roll it out we see solution providers using it as a key tool in their toolbox. It totally changes the speed at which we do business.”

Tags: Agents Cloud Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Sales & Marketing

Most Recent


  • Cisco's Splunk acquisition a bombshell
    Cisco's Splunk Acquisition 'True Bombshell Move,' Will Have Massive Impact on Cybersecurity
    The combination should present immediate upsell opportunities.
  • SMB, Cisco SMB
    Cisco SMB Business Gets Updated Sales Coverage Model, New Investments
    Cisco partners are marketing to clients that need technology outcomes just as much as the enterprise but lack the same IT staffing.
  • Brand Storytelling
    Learn to Create, Capture and Curate Stories for Your Brand
    The first step is developing your own stories. These are about how your company was formed, who founded it and why it was created.
  • Oracle CloudWorld 2023 Cover Image Wednesday
    CloudWorld 2023: Partners Big Part of Oracle's Vision to Transform Industries
    Oracle is focused on delivering technologies with and through partners.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Sales Strategy
    Telesystem Promotes TBI, MetTel Vet to Channel Strategy Manager
  • Cloud Phone
    AT&T to Offer Up to 1 Million Customers Cisco Webex Calling
  • edge computing
    'Challenging Results' for MSPs in Channel Futures' Exclusive Quarterly Survey
  • Security shield on digital background
    VMware Security Connect Focused on Redefining Security, Increasing Threats

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Futures Leadership Summit

October 30, 2023 - November 2, 2023

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

March 11, 2024 - March 14, 2024

Channel Futures Leadership Summit 2024

September 17, 2024 - September 19, 2024

Galleries

View all

Cisco’s Splunk Acquisition ‘True Bombshell Move,’ Will Have Massive Impact on Cybersecurity

September 21, 2023

Cisco SMB Business Gets Updated Sales Coverage Model, New Investments

September 21, 2023

CloudWorld 2023: Partners Big Part of Oracle’s Vision to Transform Industries

September 20, 2023

Industry Perspectives

View all

Why Conversational AI Matters for Your Customers and How It Can Boost Your Revenue

September 15, 2023

The 5 Ds that Lead to Unplanned Business Sales

September 13, 2023

Hot Generative AI Market Must ‘Cool Down’

August 28, 2023

Webinars

View all

MSP 501: Leadership in Cybersecurity

October 19, 2023

DE&I: Find the Balance that Works for You

September 7, 2023

Above and Beyond with the NextGen 101ers

August 30, 2023

White Papers

View all

6 UCaaS Reseller Challenges and How Real World Businesses Solved Them

February 1, 2023

Frost Radar: North American UCaaS Market, 2022

February 1, 2023

The Complete Guide to White-Label UCaaS for Reseller Success

February 1, 2023

Channel Futures TV

View all

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 129: ZLH Enterprises

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 128: Channel Partner Strategies Intelligence Service

August 25, 2023

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 127: Expereo, Movie Night Returns

August 18, 2023

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 126: ARG

July 28, 2023

MSP 501

The industry's largest and most comprehensive partner awards program.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X