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Given that mobility is such an important part of the Unified Communications experience, I have periodically written about the proliferation of WiFi, and about the expansion of faster cellular networks. More WiFi out there in the world, and the better the cellular networks, means the remote work aspect of UC will just continue to grow. That’s not really any big news, but I still check in on the growth and proliferation.

So let’s take a look at LTE and also at 5G. As indicated in the chart to the right, the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) is a good place to go to get some stats.

LTE has been the fastest growing mobile system technology ever. It has over 5.4 billion subscriptions, connecting nearly 60% of mobile users worldwide. Most readers of this blog probably use some version of LTE every day.

But now we hear about 5G being rolled out. According to the GSA report, 125 operators in 52 countries/territories have (as of mid-November 2020) announced 3GPP-compatible 5G service launches (either mobile or FWA). If you read the specs, the speeds and latency for 5G are supposed to be significantly better than 4G in terms of downloading video content, watching video content, etc. Yet in commercials in the US, that part is muted and we typically hear “get 5G speeds” whatever that means. Specificity is lacking.

To me, that means I don’t need to rush to go get a 5G capable phone right now. But what is in the specs will occur someday. It will just take some time.

And while there will be some stand-alone 5G networks, most networks will take the form of integration and then migration of the LTE/5G network. This paper from Ericsson is good reading if you want the specifics.

At any rate, going back to the first paragraph of this blog, it means that mobile UC will continue its growth, and the advent of video to UC will continue to grow and won’t just be limited to your day to day “office” setup, whatever or wherever that may be.

The post Update on LTE and 5G Networks appeared first on Sangoma.

If you read the headline of this blog and have read this far, you likely know the meaning of these letters – they are all names of CTI (computer telephony integration) boards and VoIP gateways from the division of Dialogic that Sangoma bought pretty much exactly 3 years ago. I have to say, for all of us that came over to Sangoma from Dialogic, it’s been a quick three years!

We still sell them, and we still use a contract manufacturer based in North America to manufacture them. And we’ll continue to make them while we can and while there is still demand.

Is there still demand? Yes, you see, the whole world is not yet on VoIP (even though a lot of the people in the communications industry act like that). Some solutions are still connected to the PSTN and require these boards for that purpose. And some solutions are connected to a VoIP network through a gateway, but the solution does not need to be re-architected because of the existence of that VoIP gateway, so the boards are still used in the solution.

So, if you need Dialogic boards or gateways and don’t know where to go, visit our website or give us a call.

The post Conjuring Up JCT, CG, Diva and IMG appeared first on Sangoma.

If you know, you know. But if you’re new to the game (no shame in that), then MRR stands for Monthly Recurring Revenue; and, in today’s rapidly growing UCaaS (or any “as a service”) environment, the money is rolling in! In fact, within the cloud industry, it’s honestly hard to not make recurring revenue. While customers subscribe to a service, agents subscribe to a paycheck. 

A Little Background

Traditionally, with on-premise systems, you get paid once then you’re done. You’re left hoping that the customer has a need for additional phones, extensions, and support, or the system dies in 8-10 years and requires a spare. In the world of hosted services, not only does the vendor usually host and maintain the service, but the partner (agent) gets recurring revenue each month instead of the one-time payout.

Master Agents

If you don’t have one, you should get one – and Sangoma is partnered with the best in the industry. What is a master agent and what do they do? Think of them as a distributor/organizer/supporter of cloud-based solutions. 

An agent (a partner who sells hosted services and is partnered with a master agent) will contact their master agent whenever they have a customer who needs a quote, as well as any situation that requires supporting collateral. 

The master agent represents a LOT of vendors, from telecom to ISP, IT, MSP, network security services, and so much more. That agent can get a quote for internet service, a hosted phone system, access control, and more all through one contact. Then, when that agent closes the deal (thanks to the support and product knowledge a master agent has), the agent is paid any SPIFFS the vendors might be offering through the master agent. MRR for days!

Master Agent Dating

There are LOTS of master agents out there. On the surface, they may all start to look the same; but I’d encourage you to talk to them and see what sets them apart. They are usually quick to tell you, but if you are a partner looking for a master agent, I’d advise you find one that brings new products to your portfolio. This increases your chance to offer your customers more products or services to meet their unique needs.

In Review

Master agents pay out your spiffs and help you close the deals that you bring to the table. They often offer support by: 

• Recommending complementary products and services
• Negotiating with vendors if needed
• Helping craft a custom solution
• And so much more!

All of these services combined result in more time for you to focus on what’s important: your business and your customers. Agents are enjoying the plentiful benefits of cloud-based solutions, reaping what they sow, and making money in the cloud industry. If you are looking for a hosted business phones system, SIP trunking, or a hosted fax offering, Sangoma has your back. Click here to learn more about our hosted services. Set yourself up for success and start selling cloud today.

The post Cloudy With a Chance of MRR appeared first on Sangoma.

As most of you know by now, Panasonic is exiting the PBX business by the end of 2022. It’s sad to see Panasonic exiting the PBX business. They have been around a long time, and their products are solid.

However, it should also not be a surprise.

The PBX market has changed in the last ten years quite a bit – today, we call the market Unified Communications because the phone systems support voice and video, collaboration, file sharing, and messaging. And UC systems today also include support for office phone numbers to your laptop and your smartphone in addition to your desk phone. And Panasonic’s letter to their partners (I just chose a random posting by a partner if you want to read it) referenced a shift to cloud, lagging behind competitor R&D and new types of communications demand. Innovation is essential to keep a viable business, no matter what the business.

So if you are a reseller selling Panasonic products, what is next? For sure, you will support this business, and I’m sure Panasonic will do the exit right and support you for the periods they have stated.

But I’m sure you are looking, or have been looking, for a new UC system to sell to your prem and cloud base. One way to look at this is in a positive way – how to move forward and grow your business. You know business phone systems, and you know the prem business well. And you also see the market changing right in front of you.

So you might want to look at a UC company that sells both prem and cloud and has the new types of communication being demanded today, such as video and collaboration, so you have a modern UC system to sell. And you want to look for a channel-friendly such company. And you want the company not to be so big, so you are just a number.

Sangoma is the company for you.

Not only do we have award-winning UC systems (we recently earned Frost and Sullivan’s North American Unified Communications and Collaboration Competitive Strategy Leadership Award), but we also have our own end to end solution that works seamlessly together (UC system, phones, headsets, SIP Trunking, SBCs, and Gateways) all coming from Sangoma. We treat our partners like family and want you to succeed; therefore, we offer quote assistance for cloud with a 15-minute turnaround, customized demonstrations for your customers that are vertical-specific, showing the customer exactly what they want to see. Finally, through our new partner portal, we offer customizable and co-brandable collateral, as well as content and social syndication, keeping your feed and website always up to date.

Our UC systems include advanced collaboration and productivity-enhancing features for every user and can be deployed on-premise or cloud-hosted, allowing businesses to select the best option for their needs. Visit our Partner Program or give us a call.

The post Panasonic Exiting PBX Business, and What to Do Next appeared first on Sangoma.

Today Sangoma has announced we have been chosen by Frost and Sullivan to receive their North American Unified Communications and Collaboration Competitive Strategy Leadership Award. Yes, a long-winded name for an award. In a nutshell though, we’ve been recognized by Frost and Sullivan for our UC products and what we’ve been doing to bring them forward. And we are very proud of that.

Frost and Sullivan has criteria for the award around strategy innovation and customer impact that you can read about in the award write up. Sangoma met all of them. A few items with our solution particularly stood out to them though:

• The concept of a full end to end solution and the fact that Sangoma can be a one-stop show for a full UC solution is unique. Sangoma offers UC but also our own collaboration clients for both mobile and desktop, phones, headsets, gateways/SBC if required, and our own SIP Trunking for prem solutions.
• The fact that we offer both on-prem and cloud solutions means we can be a true trusted advisor to our customers. This means we aren’t “pushing” the customer to cloud or prem but instead guiding the customer towards what is best for them.

Sangoma looks at this award also as a kind of award for our customers as well. Without them, we wouldn’t have won this. And they put faith in our product, and the value it provides them. So, we thank them as well.

But we’re not standing pat with this award. We continue to drive ourselves forward, and you will continue to see Sangoma innovating in the UC space as well as adding to our suite of Communication as a Service product portfolio. While this award is about UC and UCaaS, we also offer other “As a Service” offerings such as Retail and Wholesale SIP trunking, CPaaS, Fax, Video Meetings and Access control. So similar in concept to our “end to end UC solution” we discussed before, we want to offer “end to end As a Service Communications”.

As indicated above, if you want to read the entire award write-up, please go here.

The post Frost and Sullivan’s North American Unified Communications and Collaboration Competitive Strategy Leadership Award appeared first on Sangoma.

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