How a Savvy Service Provider can Survive and Grow – Part III August 23, 2017
Posted by Dominic Black in Uncategorized.Tags: business communications, business growth, business telecoms, Business Verticals, Cavell, Cavell Group, Cloud Communications, Consulting, CRM integration, customer service, European VoIP Summit, events, Future of Voice, horizontal solutions, Hosted VoIP, Innovation, Instant Messaging, integrations, internet, IP telephony, IT, market opportunities, market reports, market research, market update, marketing Cloud services, Matt townend, mobile, network, Productivity, reports, Research, Service Provider, Service Providers, SME, technology, Telco, telecoms, UK Market, UK solutions, UK Telecoms, UK telecoms market, UK VoIP, USP, verticalisation, Voice, voice over IP, voice services, voicemail, voip, VoIP Consulting, VoIP Market, VOIP Market research, VoIP Providers, VoIP research
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Creating Bundles of Success
We have frequently heard that selling telephony services on features is simply emulating the old PBX sales approach and that hosted services benefits for a solution-based sale. Now we have figures to prove it. Cavell figures for 2016-17 confirm that where Service Providers in the channel are seeing success is in the SME where Service Providers are bundling a tight solution and with a very defined set of capabilities. The advantage of bundling is that it creates a solution-based proposition with a vertical or horizontal approach where the Channel understands their pricing, margin and the commercial and technical solution.
Vertical bundles are very strong, enabling the Service Provider to sell down a single vertical and targeting on features needed by that vertical. Cavell has seen a number of Service Providers target specific verticals by integrating into key business solutions that that vertical works with. It requires that the Service Provider understand the business processes of the customer and demonstrates this value to the customer.
Horizontal solutions can be equally strong with specialised CRM integration, or solutions with voicemail control options for road warrior use. Bundles can be commercial or technical, the secret is to tailor them to your target market and demonstrate an understanding of their requirements. A sound business approach for a Service Provider would be to start with commercial bundles and then develop into a technically integrated bundled solution as the customer requirements become clear. The approach for the Service Provider is to analyse your USPs, examine your customer base and products and then look at the rest of the market to determine your competition.
Bundling is more about how to do better with what you already have than about offering anything new.
Service Providers who embrace these opportunities and build solutions with specific value in mind are most likely to be the winners in the market.
If you wish to read more about how the market is changing, please get in touch for more information on Cavell’s market reports due to be released next week on Thursday, August 31st.
The inaugural Channel Leaders Conference: a great success! April 27, 2017
Posted by Dominic Black in Uncategorized.Tags: Business Verticals, Cavell, Cavell Group, Comms Business, Communication Solutions, digital disruption, digital tranformation, Disruptors, events, Genband, Instant Messaging, internet, IT, Knight Corporate Finance, Launch, London, market research, Microsoft, mobile, network, Networking, Productivity, reports, Research, Strategic Imperatives, suppliers, technology, Telco, Telcoswitch, UC Solution, UK, UK solutions, Unified Communications, verticalisation, Voice, voice over IP, voip
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Monday was an exciting day; the London Channel Leaders Conference (#CLeaders17) successfully launched in collaboration with Comms Business Magazine. Delegates enjoyed a day of panel talks on highly relevant topics such as ‘How Can You Guide Your Customers Through the Digital Age?’ and ‘Building Compelling Solutions (Verticalisation & Integration),’ networking opportunities and keynote presentations by Matt Townend, Director of the Cavell Group, and Kristine Olson-Chapman, Managing Director of TalkTalk Business. Digital Disruption, the UK Telecoms Market (find out more in our reports here), the Internet of Things (IoT) and the changing role of the Channel were also among the key topics of discussion.
Of these several recurring themes, the most prominent were falling traditional market revenues and rapidly changing customer requirements. The first panel discussion of the day was ‘How Can You Guide Your Customers Through the Digital Age?’.
Chaired by David Dungay, Deputy Editor of Comms Business, Ralph Page (Director of Global Strategic Solutions at Genband), Mike Wilkinson (VP Marketing & Product Management at Lumeon), and Dan Cunliffe (Managing Director of Pangea) tackled points on identifying when a customer is struggling to adopt a digital strategy. This lead to an interesting anecdote on smart water drains on the Isle of Wight by Dan Cunliffe, prompting further discussion on the IoT. Another hotly discussed point on the panel was where Channels can find immediate success in a rapidly changing industry, be it focussing on CPaaS, M2M or elsewhere.
The liveliest panel discussion however, was represented by ‘Suppliers and Vendor Selection: Which Horse Should I Back in the Future?’ between Steve Harris (MD of Siphon/EVP UC Nuvias), Richard Bligh (COO of Gamma), Mark Timmermans (Director of Portfolio Development at BT Wholesale), Gary Gould (MD EMEA at ShoreTel) and Russell Lux (CEO of TelcoSwitch).
The variety of vendor and service provider businesses present, passionate panellists and importance of the topic created some great discussion on the fragmentation of the traditional vendor and service provider markets, as well as what products/verticalisations/service areas the channel should embrace. This was particularly relevant with the recent news on companies like Avaya. Discussion also touched on competing with the services provided by the likes of Twilio, Microsoft and Amazon and how cloud services can transform industries like distribution and logistics.
We would like to thank our Gold (Knight Corporate Finance, Strategic Imperatives, and TelcoSwitch) and Silver Sponsors for their contributions to making Channel Leaders a success, and also, Blabbermouth, whose drinks sponsorship fuelled a great networking opportunity at the end of the day.
If you did not manage to attend Channel Leaders 17 but are interested in the topics discussed, want to meet industry leaders and gain valuable insight into the European Telecoms industry, click here for our upcoming event in Amsterdam (10th October 2017), or use the email addresses below for more information regarding our next event in London (8th March 2018).
You can also contact francisca.dinga@cavellgroup.com or dominic.black@cavellgroup.com for further questions and sponsorship opportunities for both events.
For research into the European VoIP markets, click here for our website, or contact adam.kowalski@cavellgroup.com or dominic.black@cavellgroup.com
#CLeaders17: An unmissable day that will influence the strategy for your business going forward March 24, 2017
Posted by Dominic Black in Uncategorized.Tags: Channel, Channel Leaders, Comms Business, Communication Solutions, conference, Consulting, digital tranformation, events, Gamma, ICT, Innovation, internet, IT, Knight Corporate Finance, London, Matt townend, network, Networking, Productivity, Research, Resellers, Siphon, suppliers, talktalk, technology, Telco, Voice
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We are currently undergoing some of the most fundamental changes to the ICT industry that anyone working within it has ever seen. That is why is it important for Channel Leaders to take a day out of their busy schedule to attend Channel Leaders 2017!
The conference combines practical knowledge with forward-thinking strategic advice and discussion. We believe that attendees will enjoy and benefit from an unmissable day that will influence their strategy for their business going forward. The content for the conference is a combination of expert analysis and thought-provoking views from respected analysts and commentators, delivered as keynote and panel sessions with input from some of the UK’s Channel leaders themselves.
We have over 20 speakers confirmed including: Russell Lux – CEO TelcoSwitch, Richard Bligh – COO Gamma, Steve Harris – CEO Siphon, Kristine Olson-Chapman – General Manager Talk Talk Business, John Whitty – CEO Solar Communications, Adam Zoldan Knight Corporate Finance. We also have a great lineup of sponsors.
View the agenda here.
Channel Leaders conference attendees will have a unique opportunity to network with their peers at this gathering of the senior management of the UK’s leading ICT Reseller businesses. Our agenda allows plenty of time for delegates to discuss business opportunities and build relationships.
To register, please click here.
#EVSLDN17: Who will run the Communications Platform of the future? January 31, 2017
Posted by Dominic Black in Uncategorized.Tags: applications, AudioCodes, belgium, Broadsoft, business telecoms, Cloud Communications, Collaboration, Communication Platform, Communications Platform as a Service, Consulting, Developers, dubber, European VoIP, European VoIP Summit, events, EVS London, france, germany, global telecoms, Hosted VoIP, IBM, Innovation, ipcortex, ISDN, IT, Launch, London, lumeon, market research, market update, metaswitch, mobile, mondago, netherlands, network, Networking, Platform, portugal, Providers, regulation, reports, Research, Service Provider, service provider pass, Service Providers, spain, System Integrators, technology, Telco, telecoms, Telecoms Cloud, Telecoms Market, UK, UK Telecoms, UK telecoms market, Unified Communications, Vendors, Voice, voice over IP, voip, voip events, VoIP Market, VoIP Providers, VoIP Summit, Voxygen, yealink
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The future is about providing a VoIP platform that people can integrate and develop on, to solve both specific and generic customer problems.
With an ever increasing number of Service Providers considering whether to buy or build their own platforms, there is a huge question of who will be running the Communications platform in the future. Service Providers, Vendors, System Integrators and Developers are all trying to work out what their role is going to be in this new world of communications and they may as well have to fight for their very future and relevance.
Find out more from the experts at the European VoIP Summit 2017
at the QEII Centre in London on 9th March:
- Dean Elwood – CEO, Voxygen
- Rob Pickering – MD, IPCortex
- James Slaney – Co-founder, Dubber
- Rob Cox – Commercial Director, Mondago
- Prof. Matthew Wilson – CEO, Telecoms Cloud
- Mike Wilkinson – VP Marketing & Product Management, Lumeon
These are just some of the experts who will be discussing the dynamics, providing input from all parts of the ecosystem and sharing their views on market opportunities for Service Providers.
With the Service Provider Pass you can bring your colleagues along to discover ideas on how to prepare for your future. It includes 3 tickets for £300+VAT offering you 20% off each ticket when bought together.
If you have any questions, please get in touch. We look forward to seeing you on the 9th of March!
Save the date! 25th of April, 2017: Channel Leaders Conference, organised in association with Comms Business December 6, 2016
Posted by Dominic Black in Uncategorized.Tags: applications, business telecoms, Channel, Channel Leaders, Cloud Communications, Comms Business, conference, consultants, events, Innovation, IT, Launch, London, mobile, network, Networking, Productivity, Resellers, SI, Slack, sponsorship opportunities, suppliers, technology, telecoms, Telecoms Market, UK, UK telecoms market, Vendors, Voice, voip, WhatsApp
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Cavell Group is excited to invite you to a new one-day conference: Channel Leaders, organised in association with Comms Business.
In a ceaselessly changing world where customers can communicate by using WhatsApp, Slack, and can buy their IT solutions from the cloud, the event will explore what channels will need to do to remain relevant to customers both in the short term and in the future.
The conference will be held at the America Square in London on the 25th April 2017 and it is targeted at C-level executives within reseller businesses, SIs, and consultants that sell directly to end users.
The day will include several high-level key note presentations and panel discussions, a combination of expert analysis and thought provoking views from respected analysts and commentators delivered as key note and panel sessions with input from some of the UK’s Channel leaders themselves.
We will be exploring end customer trends, supplier and vendor relationships, Customer knowledge and intimacy, the future Role for a Channel business, and how to create value for the Channel business in the future. There will also be a chance to network with top level executives and discuss topics and themes around the event
Talking about the new event, Cavell Group Director Matt Townend said: “As the pace of change accelerates it has never been more important to be looking at the horizon in a number of different ways. Customer requirements can change very rapidly in today’s market and for Channel partners it is vital they remain relevant.”
Miles Bossom, CEO of Miles Publishing, commented: “We have seen several industries ‘shaken-up’ over the last few years by what many refer to as Digital Disruption. Business communications and IT is evolving quickly and new entrants are coming to market with disruptive products and services all the time. Channel Leaders will address these issues for the top-level Channel executives and will act as a platform to educate and inform attendees of challenges they will face in the market. For anyone with high ambitions in the Channel this will be a must attend event.”
Spaces are limited, so if you would like to book a place, please email us. Tickets cost £250.
Also, sponsorship opportunities are available! If you are interested in finding out more about the event, please get in touch with us.
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