The State of the UCaaS Market

The UCaaS market has been on a tear in recent years.

The pandemic accelerated the adoption of cloud-based communications solutions, and UCaaS was one of the biggest beneficiaries. Organizations were quickly forced to adopt new video meeting services and modernize collaboration practices. Channel partners rode a wave of demand, built robust funnels, and made healthy revenue streams thanks to generous commissions and sales incentives from the UCaaS suppliers.

As the world has pivoted out of the pandemic response, it is undeniable that the market is stagnating, and the momentum has slowed, if not stopped.

There are a few reasons for this. First, most of the large enterprises that were early adopters of UCaaS have already chosen and standardized solutions. Second, the market is becoming increasingly commoditized, as more and more vendors offer similar products and services. Finally, the financial pressure on UCaaS suppliers is mounting as they compete for market share while trying to maintain and grow margins.

The Loss of Differentiation

One of the biggest challenges facing channel partners in developing UCaaS opportunities is the loss of differentiation.

Most organizations today have already chosen a solution for messaging & video collaboration. Displacing the incumbent is exceptionally difficult, if not impossible. The white space for partners to develop new opportunities lies in Phone, however, this introduces the differentiation problem. Positioning a product where 2/3 of core functionality, messaging & video, are redundant to entrenched solutions creates challenges with differentiation, pricing pressures, and overall frustration.

This commoditization of UCaaS has created pricing pressures for suppliers and downstream impacts for partners. To compete, UCaaS providers are being forced to cut prices while being directed by investors to maintain, if not improve, margins. This has resulted in commissions being cut and more hoops and hurdles placed in front of the partner to qualify for commissions and sales incentives/SPIFFs.

The New Opportunity

While the UCaaS market is maturing and becoming increasingly commoditized, a new opportunity for partners has emerged to facilitate customers’ transition from legacy phone systems to Microsoft Teams Phone.

Microsoft has achieved market dominance with Teams, as evidenced by the platform’s approximately 300 million monthly active users.

However, less than 5% of these users have enabled Microsoft Teams Phone. This means that there is a huge market of potential customers looking for a cloud-based calling solution and already have chosen their next UCaaS solution; they just haven’t turned it on.

Positioning Microsoft Teams Phone as a feature to be enabled on an existing platform vs. a full UCaaS offering that “integrates” means less friction for the customer. Since the organization already uses Teams, this type of sale is not only less disruptive but can also deliver real savings.

Research from Microsoft shows customers who migrate from legacy phone systems to Microsoft Teams Phone can reduce their total cost of ownership by up to 45% and typically see a return on investment measured in months, not years.

While many benefits can be realized by migrating to Teams Phone, one concern customers often raise is a lack of features, especially when compared to the legacy phone system’s 700+ feature set.

With the new Copilot feature for Teams Phone, Microsoft is flipping that perception on its head. Copilot will be able to summarize phone calls, auto-generate follow-up emails, and more, which will go beyond simple call routing to drive productivity increases.

As it turns out, legacy phone systems are now the one’s lacking the features that matter.

Why SIPPIO?

SIPPIO is the perfect partner for anyone looking to capitalize on the opportunity to enable Microsoft Teams Phone. SIPPIO offers several benefits that make it stand out from the competition, including:

• Channel Exclusivity: Your customer is your customer. SIPPIO understands the benefits that trusted advisors bring to the table, which is why SIPPIO is exclusively offered through the channel.
• Simplified tools and programs: SIPPIO offers several simplified tools and programs that make it easy for partners to sell and support SIPPIO. Our Configure, Price, and Quote (CPQ) tool empower your customers to generate their quotes on an e-commerce-style web page in minutes. Our cloud-based automation platform can turn up service in minutes with no professional services to mark up, and our intuitive online SIPPIO Portal enables a single pane of glass management.
• Flexibility: SIPPIO offers various go-to-market options, including retail and wholesale. This allows partners to choose the option that best meets the needs of their business – sell a retail offer and receive a monthly recurring commission or wholesale our subscription to recognize full top-line revenue.
• Platform: SIPPIO is built on Microsoft Azure, which provides several benefits, including global reach in over 70 countries, 99.999% reliability, enhanced call quality, and unrivaled security.
• Earn More: SIPPIO partners can earn 30-50% higher commissions than leading UCaaS suppliers without the hoops and hurdles put in your way. Channel exclusivity paired with a simplified commission structure means SIPPIO is a partner you can trust, have confidence in, and win with.

Summary

While momentum is slowing in UCaaS, a new growth opportunity in enabling Microsoft Teams Phone is emerging. It’s a more accessible sale to develop, the market demand is growing, and it pays more than other UCaaS offers.

SIPPIO gives you the fast, easy, and flexible tools that lead to business success.

If you are a partner looking to capitalize on the Microsoft Teams Phone opportunity, then SIPPIO is your perfect partner. Contact SIPPIO today to learn how to start enabling Microsoft Teams Phone for your customers.

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This article was written by Steve Forcum, our Director of Program Management. If you’re looking to enable voice services in Microsoft Teams or Zoom, Steve and our team are here to help.

📧 Steve can be contacted directly at steve.forcum@sippio.io for any inquiries.