Posted 6/13/10 By Dan Baldwin, TA Executive Director, 951-251-5155 email
...Well that's a good way to do it!
I just finished a week trip through the Southeast states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina & North Carolina visiting Telecom Association vendor members to learn more about what they're doing in 2010. More than one TA vendor member wished there was some way to control the sales volume they got out of their partners. I guess PAETEC has figured out how to take control of sales volume from their systems integrator partners - buy them. Read PAETEC's press release here.
Click here to see the Quagga web page that states Quagga sells AT&T, Verizon, Qwest, XO & PAETEC. Think PAETEC's share of Quagga's network services volume is going to rise?
I think this acquisition is a quite clever as it sends the right signal to everyone in the marketplace - customers, carrier services partners and equipment partners - sell PAETEC network services with your equipment or we'll just sell the whole deal, network service plus equipment.
In my humble opinion, far too many carriers and carrier partners are far too...
polite around the equipment VARs. They see these guys as as "owning the customer" since they own the equipment. Well that's kind of right - but it's not like equipment consulting expertise is impossible to acquire (pun intended).
Telecom Brokerage (TBI) is an example of at least one TA vendor member and master agent "that gets it". They've been marketing Adtran equipment solutions since 2009. Click the following video to hear TBI's Ken Mercer discuss TBI's Adtran & equipment solution vision.
Ken Mercer of Telecom Brokerage Inc. discussing their Adtran equipment solution
ATEL Communications is another network services master agent that "gets equipment" - they actually started life as a NEC dealer and then brought Andrew Cohen on board to create a network services division in-house. Click the following video to hear Andrew discuss a recent integration of equipment & network services through ATEL.
Andrew Cohen discusses a recent equipment + services deal ATEL sold
BOTTOM LINE? Network services telecom agents and channel partners (and carriers too) need to "own" the equipment part of the solution by having the ability to bring the whole solution to the customer. PAETEC, TBI, ATEL & others understand this. All can "play nice" with equipment provider partners that only want them to sell network service, but at least these three and the others have the confidence that they don't "only do network" - they are a single source network and equipment solution provider.
Buying a VAR seems like a great idea on paper, but it often does not work out in the end. Many times, the key resources, that were critical to the success of the VAR, will leave after the merger and go work for other VARs. Because they owned the customer relationship, they will continue to sell to their customers, but under a different logo. Additionally, the VAR world is a very different world and running both the VAR and the carrier can be troublesome. It's often best to stick to what you are good at, execute well, and outsource/partner to fill gaps.
The VARs and carriers can be very successful, but the carriers cannot support and engage the VARs in the same way that they engage with their traditional carrier sales agents and still expect any significant level of success. Master Agents can be critical to the success of the VAR/Carrier model. TBI is one such Master that has had incredible success in establishing themselves as the "glue" between the VAR and the carrier.
It can be done. It is being done. You just have to shift your perspective and focus on the right areas and drive the right urgencies.
Posted by: Jim Glackin, Channel Director - Qwest Business Partner Program | 06/15/2010 at 03:07 PM
For us, a master agent, I find the best value for VARS and agents is the ability to offer both sides of the equation, CPE and service, without loosing control of the relationship from outside influences.
If you asked us to quote a PRI, and nothing else we will. This is a match made in heaven for anyone offering technology solutions to their customers, and is the natural evolution of where the market is going, selling solutions.
Posted by: Ken Mercer, VP Sales, TBI | 06/14/2010 at 10:20 AM