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 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 Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Telephony/UC/Collaboration


Shutterstock

Business Model

Can the Master Agent Model Make It in Europe?

  • Written by Christine Horton
  • July 28, 2020
Will European partners be convinced of their value?

RingCentral has become the latest vendor to bring the U.S. master agent model to Europe.

The unified communications as a service (UCaaS) provider on Tuesday announced a master agent partnership with Telarus in the U.K.

Zane Long is senior vice president of global partner sales at RingCentral. He says master agents such as Telarus are instrumental in delivering its cloud communications solutions to customers. He adds that the partnership will “strengthen and accelerate” RingCentral’s channel presence in the U.K.

Last month, Westcon, Avant and ScanSource were among the first to sign up as European master agents for Avaya’s new UCaaS Cloud Office offering in partnership with RingCentral. First announced in February, the vendor hopes they will act as an entry points for volume partners.

Sign up for Channel Futures’ new EMEA newsletter. That’s where we feature news and analysis involving companies based in EMEA, and those doing business in that region.

At the same time, distributor Nuvias became a master agent for Zoom. Elsewhere, North America’s largest privately held master agent, TBI, recently expanded into Europe.

But while the master agent model has flourished in the U.S., the model is still new to many European partners. It was established in North America as telcos pushed more of their partners to cloud, says Canalys senior analyst Robin Ody. Carriers wanted more investment from the second tier to accomplish the necessary changes in their service delivery capabilities.

“That move costs money, so they differentiated distribution from master agents to demonstrate this value differential,” said Ody.

Canalys' Robin Ody

Canalys’ Robin Ody

“The cloud solutions model for telcos in the U.S. has been the main driver,” he added. “And U.S. competition dynamics mean the market is consolidated to a slightly larger extent than in EMEA.”

Proving Value

Lisa Del Real, VP, global partner programs at RingCentral, says the firm has been working with master agents for many years in the U.K. However, she concedes the model is less established in the region.

RingCentral's Lisa Del Real

RingCentral’s Lisa Del Real

“In the U.S., a master agent model just makes sense,” she said. “It provides a quick go-to-market option, which serves to offer customers best-of-breed solutions — especially when it comes to cloud-based communications.

“In the U.K., master agents are still proving their value to many partners that have already been operating in the channel for years. While it doesn’t make sense for agents to operate exactly like they do in the U.S., we do feel this model is a great fit for the U.K. channel. It just needs an approach that fits the context.”

Del Real says RingCentral’s approach to partnering “is very different from our competition.”

“We’re all about helping our partner community drive demand, which includes full support in closing the deal from a RingCentral expert at no extra cost. For master agents, this means no heavy financial investments to increase innovation in the back-office functionality,” she said. “Instead, they can focus on working with customers to understand and address business pain points with cloud-based communications solutions.

“For customers, the master agent model not only means the speed of deployment but also the ability to be supported directly by us,” she said.

Del Real maintains that this way, partners can enjoy “lucrative commissions by leveraging RingCentral’s sales team expertise to help them close business quickly with zero penalties.”

Convincing the Channel

Nevertheless, U.K. channel partners remain unsure of what the new round of master agent agreements means for them. Much depends on the vendor’s requirements and the way they view the role.

“The ultimate questions are where you create value and how you deliver it,” said Ody.

He contends that, actually, the amount of investment required is high.

“Microsoft can afford to push its channel hard to make these kinds of changes. But for other vendors, and especially carriers in EMEA, it will be harder to convince partners and distributors to take the financial risk. But there is a dwindling amount of margin in some legacy areas, and customers are looking for new ways to unlock the value of their IT investments.

“If the master agent model can enable this value creation through its focus on training, channel management and new services, then so be it. But it is also down to the vendors to make sure they have the products that allow partners to create the kinds of solutions and services that customers will value.”

Tags: Agents Cloud EMEA Technology Solutions Brokerages Telephony/UC/Collaboration

Most Recent


  • John DeLozier, ConvergeOne, people on the move
    Channel People on the Move: HP, 8x8, Five9, Nitel, RapidScale, More
    New hires and promotions featured here also include Bridgepointe, C1, Telarus, Kore and many more.
  • 2023 Kaseya DattoCon logo
    Kaseya Intros AI Bots, Credit for Unused Appliances, Passive Recurring Revenue
    Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola kicks off DattoCon with partner updates, new products and a litter of AI bots
  • Boomi GPT debuts
    Boomi GPT First Offering in Company's New AI Suite
    Boomi announced its AI suite this past summer.
  • Version 2.0
    Zoom to Launch 2.0 Version of Channel Partner Program
    The move is slated for early 2024 and is a total overhaul of Zoom's partner program.

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

  • Welcome Mat
    Ex-Telarus Exec Scott Forbush Leaves Upstack for PPT Solutions After 5 Months
  • Woman with questions
    Should We Just Call Master Agents Distributors?
  • Benefit, Plus Sign
    TBI, Avant Add New Cloud, Security Suppliers to Lineups
  • CIO
    ScanSource Hires New CIO to Lead Global IT Strategy

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

Channel People on the Move: HP, 8×8, Five9, Nitel, RapidScale, More

October 3, 2023

7 Trends Impacting Ingram Micro Partners: Marriage of AI, Data Looms Large

October 2, 2023

Nutanix Partner Program Sees More Changes, Vendor Touts ‘Channel-Led’

October 2, 2023

Industry Perspectives

View all

Partners Balance Multicloud Opportunity, Complexity

September 25, 2023

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

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