For as long as people have been willing to listen, I have been talking about how the hosted delivery model would one day accelerate the adoption of advanced telephony services in the SMB.

For years previous, the SMB bought dumb-downed enterprise PBX's (or trumped-up key systems...) to compete with the big guys'.  Problem for most was actually using what the features offered them.  Ultimately, good dial-tone satisfied most.  Come on - most still struggle with the Conference feature.  Hosting - and the solution providers who will support them - can change this.

UC is complex.  It is not product but rather a collection of communication silos that need to be strategically integrated so that together they can enable communications processes.  SMB and the notion of ongoing integration efforts don't go well together. Managing multiple vendors, learning various interfaces, staffing internal IT resources; none of this can scale in the SMB market. But hosted platforms, like the one announced by Nortel and Microsoft this week, coupled with VARs who can support these solutions can influence the adoption rate of UC in the SMB segment.  And in the process, create yet more real opportunities for mid-market solution providers to be part of the recurring revenue revolution.

When I got my start in telecom - selling Nortel key systems for a Canadian interconnect - Nortel ruled.  No two ways about it; Nortel could do no wrong back then. The product was Norstar (still a great product, mind you) and for the customer the only decision was which channel they would buy from, not which product.  Fortunately, most were already losing their love for Bell so we won more than we lost, but it was the Nortel name that drove the sales process.  Try to sell a competing key system and you had a quite a battle on your hands.

In Canada, it seemed almost obvious that Nortel owned the channel. But it was when I arrived in the US, that I really grew my appreciation for what Nortel had accomplished.  In terms of large channel, there were the envy of all PBX makers.  And if you sold a PBX adjunct, if you could crack Nortel channel you could probably make it.  In fact, some application companies built their entire business plan around Nortel; crack their channel, integrating with their product and ultimately get acquired by them.

That was then.  This is now.  Last week, more bad PR struck at Nortel when a former regime was hauled away by officials for creative accounting.  It seems like for years now that good old Nortel just can't shake itself free from what ails it.  And in the process, the once proud and channel-dedicated organization is a fraction of what it was.  While it still understands the channel more than most and leverages it to hang on to market share, King it is no longer.

Has anyone tried to book a cheap flight lately? If so, you'll have no trouble buying into the report released recently by Frost & Sullivan - World Enterprise Videoconferencing Endpoints Market - which 'predicts that sales revenues of videoconferencing solutions will nearly quadruple to $3.9 billion in 2014 from $1.1 billion in 2007.'

Any readers here know I don't need a report to convince me. And increasingly - finally I should really say - many others don't need one either.  In fact, the discussion prevalent now is what channels will make this happen fastest and best serve the customer. 

Video at the enterprise level is primarily sold as a stand-alone by the vendors (ie. Tandberg) themselves. It is still a complex sale that requires expertise only a focused sales person can have.  But with demand rising, and with it competition, integrating in one or more UC channels - or into the platforms themselves -  is becoming more critical. 

Brendan Read over at TMC writes this as part of an overview of the report...'To fully exploit the market potential will require, however, videoconferencing vendors will partner with UC vendors to position their systems as part of total enterprise communications solutions and themselves as video ‘enablers’; their products will no longer be standalone buys.'

I think he's right.  The race is one.

This is indeed true.  And in fact, becoming more and more the case.  The trick remains to strike the right balance between channels that are direct revenue drivers and those that drive influence your way.  Consider these two innovative, influence channels:

1.  RingCentral announced a relationship with Warrillow & Company association, a thought leader and conference producer focused exclusively in the small business market. This is a 'brand channel'. RingCentral is firmly established as a provider of small business telephony services; this relationship should cement their message, expand credibility as they seek to sell into the laggard community of adopters and conceivably improve their chances of partnering with other major small business brands already in the Warrillow community.

The revenue opportunity here is very hard to qualify; the strategic value is clear.

2.  Ifbyphone announced the pending availability of its IPhone Voice Broadcast application that will allow users of the IPhone to schedule and distribute voice messages to multiple contacts at once. Potentially a very handy app for traveling managers and others.  More relevant to this thread though is the notion of Apple's new 'developer channel' that Ifbyphone is quickly leveraging (note: always best to be early in this type of channel before the noise gets too loud).

Apple is pumping their new SDK and App Store for all to see, providing Ifbyphone with more visibility than perhaps it could generate on its own.  The app requires an active Ifbyphone account - which may stop some - but goal one of visibility will already be in the bag.

These new developer channels from established companies (Intuit is also going this way) can be golden influencer channels for start-ups.  And if well nurtured, will result in revenue.

As I posted below about Microsoft's foray into Costco, I realized that I never congratulated the folks at Toktumi for their deal with Staples. Granted, this is unproven waters, but for an early stage company like Toktumi this is big accomplishment that should provide momentum in many directions (including the bank).

At least Toktumi offers some direct pull-through revenue opportunity to its channel partner, Staples.  As the service requires an adapter and ultilmately works with any kind of phone or headset, Staples has plenty of ways to make this work for them. Toktumi gains some potential leverage, a chance at some packaging deals with other Staples' supplier all the while chasing its all important hosting revenue. Lets hope it works.