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
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • 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
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Telephony/UC/Collaboration


Shutterstock

UC Roundup

UC Roundup: Unprecedented UCaaS Explosion, Vonage, Wildix

  • Written by Edward Gately
  • March 27, 2020
It's a remarkable time to be a unified communications/UCaaS provider.

It’s a remarkable time to be a unified communications (UC)/unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) provider as the coronavirus pandemic has created astronomical demand for remote workplace solutions virtually overnight.

Jay McBain, Forrester’s principal analyst of channel partnerships and alliances, said this week’s numbers alone are staggering:

  • Microsoft gained 12 million users.
  • Slack picked up 7,000 new customers.
  • Cisco WebEx logged 5.5 billion meeting minutes during the first 11 days of March and 3.2 million meetings per day ever since.
  • Zoom Video Communications added more users in the first quarter than all of 2019.
Forrester's Jay McBain

Forrester’s Jay McBain

“The UCaaS channel seems to be keeping up [with] the demand and offering implementations/integrations at a scale never before seen,” McBain said. “We will start to see ‘client triage’ move into other communication and collaboration projects, clients accelerating critical UCaaS functionality to the cloud, automation opportunities, security, redundancy, managed services and business consulting.”

On the negative side, IT services will be impacted significantly if this is prolonged and creates a 2008-level scenario, he said.

We recently compiled a list of 20 top UCaaS providers offering products and services via channel partners.

“We could see upward of a quarter of the channel struggle to survive if capital markets freeze, large customers delay accounts payable and demand drops for key services,” McBain said.

One of the biggest challenges is on the HR side as finding and retaining staff is the largest issue for many in the channel and if companies are forced to furlough or lay off employees, they may not come back, choosing a safer, larger company environment upon their return, he said.

Raul Castanon, senior analyst of workforce collaboration for 451 Research/S&P Global Market Intelligence, tells us many vendors have stepped up to help organizations support the unexpected rise in employees working from home.

451 Research's Raul Castanon-Martinez

451 Research’s Raul Castanon

“A few that stand out are 8×8, [which] developed a business readiness kit for remote work, CafeX Communications, which made its recently announced enterprise collaboration application Challo free to use until the summer; Dialpad, which is offering Dialpad Pro and UberConference for free to enable users to seamlessly work remotely; Intermedia, which is offering AnyMeeting Pro for free through the end of year, and many more,” he said. “It is still too early to gauge how this will translate into an increase in paid accounts, users and usage, or cost of new business; however, I expect it will likely benefit vendors in the long run as the outbreak will serve as a catalyst that will accelerate several trends that have been building up over the past few years, such as remote working and flexible work arrangements. These trends are now ‘business as usual’ for high-tech, digital-native companies, but were becoming more widespread among other organizations.”

The outbreak will put vendors to the test and will place the spotlight on key capabilities that are critical for supporting a distributed workforce — namely security, reliability and compliance, Castanon said. An interesting case is LoopUp, which has a differentiated approach to conferencing, he said.

“The company runs all audio on the public switched telephone network (PSTN) – even for video conferencing – which makes it a very reliable solution compared to VoIP,” he said. “It is also well suited for secure external collaboration. This places it in a good position to gain market traction since its key capabilities align well to address the requirements that many organizations will have as a result of the pandemic.”

Other vendors such as …

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
Tags: Agents Cloud Mobility & Wireless New Products & Services Regulation & Compliance Security Telephony/UC/Collaboration

Related


  • Judge and Gavel
    Judge: Charter Must Pay Windstream $19 Million for 'Egregious,' Deceptive Mailer
    The judge said Charter "intentionally and wrongfully" interfered with Windstream's customer contracts and good will.
  • Business handshake
    Ujet, Peerless Network Enter Master Agent Agreements with PlanetOne, Intelisys
    Ujet’s channel partner program supports strategic business partnerships, master agents and integrators.
  • Channel Chief Nameplate
    AT&T, Telarus, MicroCorp Vet to Lead RSI's Channel
    The MSSP entered the channel in early 2019.
  • Merge road sign
    Agents Voice Concerns, Hopes for Master Agent Consolidation
    Subagents weigh in on how mergers and acquisitions could impact them long-term.

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

  • Granite Unleashes Microsoft Teams Integration, Merged Voice Services
  • Convergence in the Channel: Is It Happening, and What Does This Mean for MSPs?
  • SASE Takes: Service Providers Mull SD-WAN Complexity as Comcast, Versa Enhance AI Capabilities
  • T-Mobile 5G Network to Augment Lumen's Edge Computing Platform

Galleries

View all

Biden Administration Issues Russian Sanctions in Response to SolarWinds Hack, Election Interference

April 16, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

SD-WAN Supports More Purposeful Shift to Cloud

April 16, 2021

How Tech Is Transforming Public Safety–and the Implications for Channel Partners

April 15, 2021

Exercising Your Organization’s Data Loss Recovery Abilities

April 13, 2021

Webinars

View all

What to Look For: 2021 Threat Report

April 22, 2021

Health Care and SD-WAN: A Seller’s Guide

April 27, 2021

How MSPs Can Leverage SOCaaS to Improve Security & Grow Revenue

May 4, 2021

White Papers

View all

Carbonite Data Protection and Cyber Resilience

April 15, 2021

Top Tips: How Resellers Can Leverage Rackspace to Enhance Customer’s Cyber Security Protection with Microsoft 365 Security

March 30, 2021

Top Tips: Optimize Your Microsoft 365 Investment with Rackspace Technology

March 30, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

MSP Summit

November 1, 2021 - November 2, 2021

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

Channel Evolution Europe

November 30, 2021 - December 1, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

5 Reasons Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Is Important

Five9 Shares Insights on Implementing a DE&I Strategy

April 13, 2021

FASTCHAT: How Fortinet Reduces Complexity Through Networking, Security

March 31, 2021

Strong Customer Experience Needs Strong Partner Experience

December 22, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

If you needed any more reason to submit your @MSP_501 application, this promotional video will get you fired up!… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@FrontierCorp just weeks away from exiting #Chapter11bankruptcy. dlvr.it/RxqkK1 https://t.co/yxyChKL9Um

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

#SDWAN supports a more purposeful shift to the #cloud @ComcastBusiness #networksecurity #hybridwork #security #SaaS… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

RT @alysfitz: 67% of respondents reported burning out since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. We need to do better to support #WomenInTech, especi…

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

RT @AllianceofCW: #ACW members Mayka Rosales-Peterson and Raquel Wiley were elected to @ChannelFutures' #Diversity, #Equity, & #Inclusion B…

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@ZiplyFiber rolls out agent #partnerprogram. #networking dlvr.it/RxmM4K

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

New #Microsoft #SurfaceLaptop4 is an incremental update with an improved CPUs webcam, speakers and dual mics.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@okta hires @InsightEnt vet as global channel chief. #cybersecurity dlvr.it/RxmM20 https://t.co/ImWRZp2qHt

April 16, 2021

MSSP Insider

Business advice for MSSPs and news from the broader security channel.

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 © 2021 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