How to Boost Your Business with White-Label UCaaS
Companies offering IT services enjoy one of the lowest churn rates across all industries, with an average rate of 12%. However, the managed services provider (MSP) landscape is changing as traditional telecommunications gives way to digitized services. Much of telecom’s 31% churn rate comes from the market’s move from conventional solutions.
The changing market dynamics allow MSPs to capitalize on the high churn rate in telecommunications. By offering a unified communications solution, IT service providers can acquire customers looking for more cost-effective services or retain customers by delivering a more comprehensive communications model. Incorporating unified communication as a service (UCaaS) model into their product line gives resellers the boost they need to grow their business.
What is UCaaS?
UCaaS is a cloud-based platform that integrates an organization’s communication systems to create a unified internal and external connectivity system. A UCaaS solution usually incorporates the following:
- Telephony. Digitized system for making, recording, and searching telephone calls.
- Video calling and conferencing. Providing video services to build or replace solutions such as Zoom.
- Document sharing. Simplifies document storage and retrieval across an enterprise.
- Messaging. Delivers text messages and chat capabilities.
- Email. Replace or augment an existing solution.
These services are available to employees in the office, at home, or on the road. A UCaaS platform provides resellers with portals for managing, monitoring, and provisioning customer communications.
Related: What is Unified Communication As a Service?
Why Are Companies Interested in UCaaS?
Recent research shows the global market for UCaaS grew from $34.27 million in 2022 to $38.51 million in 2023 for a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.4%. The researchers suggest that the Russia-Ukraine war has disrupted growth because of economic sanctions, inflation, and supply chain disruptions. They project a CAGR of 14% through 2027 at a market value of $65.1 million.
The service verticals for UCaaS solutions include financial services, banking, insurance, education, government, healthcare, and defense. Retail and consumer goods are another market. UCaaS platforms can provide software and services for small businesses to large enterprises. Resellers can leverage improved communication capabilities to increase their penetration in existing industries and expand into new verticals.
With a white-label UCaaS platform, MSPs can help companies address mobility issues related to hybrid work environments, scalability for business growth, and cost reduction for better profitability. The platforms enable resellers to position their customers for emerging technologies while capitalizing on their existing communication stack. Businesses look to UCaaS platforms for the following benefits.
Optimizing Technologies
Application programming interfaces (APIs) allow UCaaS platforms to integrate with existing technologies. Organizations with applications such as customer relationship management (CRM) solutions can use a unified system to incorporate call, text, and video-conference links to keep contact data in one place.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is making inroads in the UCaaS space with the ability to transcribe speech into text. Large audio or video files can be reduced to simple text files, and voicemails can be turned into text. Turning speech into text increases efficiency and improves productivity. AI and SMS messaging and chatbots can expand market reach through translation capabilities.
With UCaaS, calendars, and project schedules are shared. Team members know everyone’s schedule and project tasks, creating a collaborative environment for innovation. With the same tools available across the enterprise, operations run more smoothly with better results.
Delivering Mobility
UCaaS platforms have gained traction as more organizations look at hybrid work environments promoting bringing your device (BYOD) to work. According to TechJury, 59% of businesses have adopted BYOD policies. That number will rise as more companies realize they receive 240 extra hours of work per year per employee when BYOD is implemented. Even when personal devices are prohibited, employees find a way to use them.
Attracting and retaining employees requires a hybrid work environment. When asked, 64% of employees said they would consider leaving their current position if forced to return to the office full-time. With UCaaS, resellers can offer businesses a solution that increases employee satisfaction and retention through cost-effective communications.
Ensuring Business Continuity
UCaaS platforms simplify disaster recovery and business continuity plans. When a disaster such as a hurricane or wildfire strikes, there’s no need for a complex process for transferring communications to a remote site. Switching on-premise connections to a backup location could happen in minutes rather than hours.
While disaster recovery addresses short-term disruption, business continuity represents a longer shift in operations. When employees were forced to work from home during the pandemic, organizations had to pivot to support them if they wanted to continue operations. With UCaaS, companies aren’t looking for solutions to challenges for remote workers. Instead, they have policies allowing everyone to work securely from any location.
Enabling Growth
Scalability is a critical feature of a cloud-based UCaaS solution. Customers only pay for what they use. UCaaS can quickly modify configurations to meet changing business requirements, unlike other cloud services. Companies aren’t paying for services they don’t need to ensure they have capacity when required.
Organizations can easily add lines, functionality, or features as they grow. For customers, it’s reassuring to know capabilities such as call center functionality are available. For resellers, it’s another service that strengthens relationships and reduces the odds of a client looking for another provider.
Improving Profitability
Leveraging internet connectivity and cloud computing enables UCaaS platforms to deliver comprehensive communications cost-effectively. As companies grow, there’s no need to pay line charges or installation fees. Its flexibility minimizes downtime losses caused by business disruptions.
MSPs can help their customers retain employees with UCaaS support for mobility solutions. These platforms are vendor-agnostic, allowing resellers to deliver solutions that support multiple environments, such as Apple or Android.
As MSPs deploy UCaaS solutions in their businesses, they realize the same benefits as their customers. Not only can they profit from reselling unified communications, but they can also experience the same benefits as their customers. They can:
- Optimize their current communication stack.
- Position their infrastructure for emerging technology.
- Ensure business continuity with minimal disruption.
- Retain employees with mobility functionality.
- Scale operations quickly.
- Experience improved profitability.
Resellers have the added benefit of delivering a white-label solution that improves brand presence with faster-to-market services that build a solid reputation for future growth.
Related: What is White-Label VoIP?
What Does White-Label Mean?
White-label UCaaS enables resellers to offer a third-party solution under their brand. They do not have to invest in building and maintaining an infrastructure with servers, routers, or switches. Instead, MSPs can focus on delivering exceptional customer support that enhances their reputation and expands their customer base.
MSPs are responsible for the communication solution’s branding, pricing, and packaging. They provide customer-facing services such as sales and support, while the UCaaS provider handles updates, maintenance, and security. This symbiotic relationship helps UCaaS providers sell their solutions and enables resellers to improve productivity, enhance customer engagement, and add revenue streams. White-label UCaaS arrangements help MSPs and resellers add to their bottom line.
How White-Label UCaaS Can Boost Business
The projected growth of the UCaaS market reflects a growing need for simplified communication solutions at a reasonable price. For many organizations, their communication network is an assortment of applications. It has become a nightmare to support, and the maintenance costs continue to escalate. They need something that eliminates the complexity and lowers expenses. MSPs can meet those needs with white-label UCaaS platforms.
Low Startup Costs
Partnership agreements enable resellers to deliver these customer-facing services with minimal increase in operating costs. With cloud-sourced solutions, resellers are not burdened with product development costs. They don’t need added staff to manage and support the infrastructure.
UCaaS partnerships provide MSPs with a turnkey solution with low startup costs. They give the resellers various service and feature options that allow them to package and price their services to meet customer expectations. With 75% of enterprises planning to purchase UCaaS functionality in the next 12 months, MSPs must develop their product offering quickly.
Less Overhead
Unified communication platforms don’t add to the burden of an overworked IT department. With a UCaaS management portal and behind-the-scenes support, resellers can encourage customers to move away from outdated systems without worrying about adding resources. The cloud-based solution offers increased revenue with minimal overhead.
IT teams are not consumed with ongoing training and operational support. They aren’t trying to fit equipment maintenance and software upgrades into an already business schedule. Their time can focus on providing exceptional customer support and improving internal capabilities.
Secure Operations
Disruptions that result in measurable downtime can damage a reseller’s reputation. Having an experienced UCaaS provider can minimize the chance of a significant interruption in service from natural disasters or human-backed cyberattacks. Established providers understand the security needed to protect documents, secure information, and keep calls private.
Resellers should partner with UCaaS solutions that go beyond simple firewalls and basic encryption. Their partners should deploy automated tools that can detect unauthorized access. They need security layers that identify fraudulent activity and shut down access immediately.
When disruptions happen, MSPs need a partner that can minimize the impact on their reputation. They need a provider that can re-establish connectivity in seconds, regardless of the cause. With an underlying SD-WAN structure, UCaaS platforms can re-route connections with the click of a mouse.
Exceptional Customer Experience
With white-label arrangements, resellers engage customers and deliver exceptional service and support. Without a well-established UCaaS partner, MSPs can lack the training and support needed to meet day-to-day customer demands.
Regardless of the UCaaS provider, end-users see resellers as the face of the product. MSPs need partners that provide training and 24/7 support. Providers that offer a knowledge base and other self-help tools allow employees to learn at their own pace. With comprehensive support, resellers can deliver a customer experience that enhances their brand.
While most UCaaS platforms provide technical training, they should also offer services that make selling the service frictionless. Experienced partners understand that quoting and invoicing can take valuable time away from personalized interactions. They provide automated services to help with the process and have application programming interfaces (APIs) that integrate into accounting packages such as QuickBooks.
With tools to help reduce overhead and knowledgeable technical support, MSPs can focus on developing their reputation through superior customer service and support.
Enhanced Reputation
With white-label partnerships, MSPs leverage UCaaS capabilities to build their reputation as communication experts. The flexibility to customize services allows resellers to bundle services and price add-ons to remain competitive in a growing market. They have control over how their brand is perceived in their market.
MSPs can offer simplified communication solutions that scale with in-demand solutions such as contact center support, audio and video conferencing, and AI-based text-to-speech functionality. They can deliver scalable platforms that provide enhanced call controls such as call forwarding and voice-to-text.
These features help customers remain competitive while ensuring that they remain customers. It also paves the way for market growth as more satisfied customers share their social media experiences. With a 31% churn rate in the telecommunications market, partnering with a UCaaS solution provides a competitive edge to acquire and retain customers.
Finding a White-Label Partner
Finding the right white-label UCaaS partner can be overwhelming; however, UCaaS providers are unequal. As a reseller looking for a partner, consider the type of service you want to offer to build your reputation and establish your brand. Then ask the following questions:
- Does the company allow you to set prices and package services that address your customers’ needs?
- Are training and support services ongoing or stop after initial training?
- How secure is their network, and how consistent is its performance?
- How comprehensive is the product offering?
- Is the company positioned to support emerging technologies?
- Does the company offer services that reduce overhead, such as billing, payment processing, and tax calculations?
SkySwitch’s white-label UCaaS solution offers 24/7 support, low startup costs, and extensive product offerings. If you are interested in boosting your business, contact us to get started. You could be up and running in 30 days.