UCaaS Vendors: Partnering with the Best Provider for Reseller Success

As business decision-makers recognize the value of investing in cloud-hosted communication solutions, market experts are predicting that up to 75% of US companies will be subscribing to unified communication as a service (UCaaS) platforms by 2030. In response to the persistent demand, wireless internet service providers (WISPs), information technology (IT) consultants, and other managed service providers are partnering with UCaaS vendors to diversify their revenue streams.

For nearly any telecom-adjacent company with an established customer base, reselling UCaaS makes perfect sense. Instead of entering arrangements that provide access to a limited number of services, they’re choosing business agreements that ensure continued growth as the communication needs of their clients evolve. 

But not all reseller arrangements are as lucrative as you might expect. Once you know how the best providers ensure the success of their reseller partners, you may consider leveraging UCaaS to expand your own business portfolio.

How Resellers Benefit from Partnerships with UCaaS Vendors

Building a secure, compliant, and comprehensive UCaaS platform is no simple task. It takes time, money, and a considerable amount of technical expertise. Most business owners interested in expanding their portfolios with UCaaS are fully aware of the challenges involved in designing, developing, and maintaining cloud-hosted services. Instead of building a platform from the ground up, they’re partnering with UCaaS vendors in mutually beneficial arrangements.

Related: Guide for UCaaS Resellers: How to Grow Your IT Reselling Business in 2023

UCaaS resellers leverage their brand reputation, customer base, marketing expertise, and customer service skills to attract and retain subscribers. Their partners work behind the scenes, managing, monitoring, and maintaining the infrastructure. When doing your research, be aware of the different types of reseller arrangements. Some resellers work as “agents” on behalf of their platform providers while others enter co-branded business agreements.

Although most resellers entering these types of partnerships are paid a commission for every lead or new subscriber, they’re often bound to a limited number of service bundles. Their marketing materials make it clear to subscribers that they’re investing in services maintained by one company and sold through another.

For resellers looking to build their business and brand reputation on UCaaS, reselling a white-label platform is the preferred option.

How Reselling White-Label UCaaS Benefits Your Brand & Your Clients

White-label products and services are developed by one company and then made available to others to brand and resell for a profit. UCaaS gives resellers a complete range of customizable solutions to accommodate the communication and collaboration needs of businesses of nearly any size and across multiple industries.

With the right UCaaS vendor partnership, your clients get the ideal combination of reliable, cost-effective services that make the most sense for their business. Meanwhile, you receive training to launch your branded platform, support to provide exemplary customer service, and an impressive list of in-demand features. Consider how you can become your client’s one-stop shop for enterprise voice, video collaboration, business SMS, call center services, and more.

Factors to Consider Before Partnering with a UCaaS Vendor

As a UCaaS reseller, you’re providing a cost-effective alternative to legacy phone service. That includes cloud-hosted telecom solutions with unparalleled call quality and a full complement of features designed to boost efficiency and maximize productivity. 

Since UCaaS requires no physical infrastructure, even small business owners without the means to purchase, install, and maintain a business phone system can take full advantage of everything UCaaS has to offer from their PCs, laptops, tablets, or smartphones.

With UCaaS, all incoming and outgoing calls are converted to digital packets and transmitted over the Internet. With so many companies offering platforms ripe for rebranding, don’t get locked into a sketchy agreement that could tarnish your business reputation, undermine your long-term goals, or jeopardize your future earning potential. Before agreeing to the terms of any arrangement, take a few minutes to consider how the vendors competing for your attention compare in the following areas.

Start-Up Costs & Earning Potential

Some UCaaS platform vendors charge hefty fees to offset the cost of consultations, onboarding, and reseller training. Others charge less but pay relatively small commissions. Either way, it could take years to break even. Before committing to a reseller agreement, it’s important to understand exactly how the terms and conditions could impact your earning potential and how long it could take to see a favorable return on your investment. The best UCaaS vendors keep their start-up fees minimal and leave the finer points of product pricing to their reseller partners, a crucial detail that directly impacts your bottom line.

Reseller Training & Ongoing Support

UCaaS isn’t something that can be learned in hours, days, or even weeks. Leveraging top-tier business communication and collaboration technology isn’t enough to ensure profitability if your reseller partner fails to provide the resources to manage your business or support your customers. 

The best UCaaS platform vendors have a comprehensive onboarding process. They provide one-on-one platform training and plenty of hands-on activities. Look for companies with a dedicated staff on standby to provide guidance, support, and additional coaching as needed.

Network Reliability & System Security

UCaaS resellers and their clients need assurance that they’ll have reliable service on a secure system. While comparing white-label UCaaS vendors, you’ll find they offer various levels of protection achieved in different ways. Data encryption is a standard feature.

The best UCaaS vendors leverage advanced automated systems designed to help detect and deter unauthorized access and fraudulent activity. Other security and reliability aspects to look for include:

• Disaster recovery capabilities
• A continuous uptime of at least 99%
• Industry-specific security compliance, including HIPPA and PCI (payment card industry) DSS (data security standard)

With the right partner, connection failures are detected within milliseconds, and calls are immediately redirected through a georedundant network to ensure uninterrupted service. 

Application Integration

Your clients likely have customer relations management (CRM) tools integrated into their business processes. They may also have collaboration services they’d like to continue using, such as Microsoft Teams. Some decision-makers may be reluctant to switch to UCaaS if they’re forced to abandon familiar software.

Related: How the Right UCaaS Phone System Provider Can Impact Your Clients

As you’re comparing vendors, look for white-label platform providers offering a range of native integrations as well as an open application programming interface (API) that allows for seamless third-party integration and application customization. The ability to integrate (and customize) third-party software into a subscriber’s interface can be a game-changer for your business reputation.  

Reseller & Subscriber Flexibility

As a UCaaS reseller, your clients are sure to appreciate the cost-effective nature of your cloud-hosted services. One of the most compelling features of UCaaS is its flexibility. Partnering with a UCaaS vendor that requires you to charge set prices for a limited number of services can make it difficult, if not impossible, to keep your business relevant in a competitive market. 

Resellers and their subscribers desire the ability to scale their solutions as needed. In a true UCaaS reseller partnership, you’ll retain a reasonable amount of control over the business end of your arrangement, including the prices charged to your clients and the list of services you offer.

Partner with the Best Vendor for UCaaS Reseller Success

UCaaS consolidates cloud-hosted voice service, remote file sharing, video collaboration, application integration, business SMS,and more into a single user-friendly interface your clients can access from nearly any internet-capable device. To simplify matters, most subscribers can continue using their legacy phone systems.

When you partner with the right white-label UCaaS vendor, you’ll have everything you need to brand and resell a fully managed service as your own, including access to an impressive online marketplace with the equipment you need to support your customers and expand your business. Ready to get started with SkySwitch? Our SkySwitch University and onboarding specialists give you everything you need to brand and deploy our white-label platform in as little as 30 days. Contact us today to see how it works.