By Chris Wade, CMPO
There’s more to Gamma than just an extensive product portfolio
Over the past few years, Gamma’s portfolio has grown significantly, but one thing has always stayed at the heart of what we do: the success of our channel partners.
The portfolio itself continues to evolve in breadth, depth and capability. We’re always thinking about how to take it to market, and how it can be benefit our partner community. They need a wider choice of services to reach new markets and continue to drive their success.
Above all, they need that edge to stand out from the crowd. Their customers need access to tools that helps them achieve their own goals. We don’t do it because it’s easy to understand – we do it because we have the capabilities.
The drive behind that growth
The reasoning behind that sustained portfolio growth can be trimmed down to three key points:
- How do consumers communicate with businesses?
- How do these solutions reach businesses?
- How can we stay ahead of these two trends?
Business communications stretch from underlying connectivity to improving customer experience and beyond. As consumers, we know we want business communications to be manageable and straightforward – that’s what we try to enable.
We listen carefully to market shifts, end-user needs and, most importantly, to our partners. That feedback guides our roadmap. We don’t just claim to be channel-centric; we back it up with action, because partners are closest to the customer
We listen because SMEs in the UK value the relationship they have with their channel partner. There are between 5 and 7 million small businesses operating in the UK, and some providers are prioritising larger deals over their needs. Both our partners and their customers need support and expertise to thrive.
It’s why, with our PhoneLine+ offering, we’re underlying that commitment with our new ‘Office’ and ‘Anywhere’ licenses. It slots perfectly into the micro business sector and that need for precise phone system functionality. A full UCaaS offering is overkill for these businesses, which is why we condensed it down.
Again, it builds that valuable relationship and meets business-specific needs precisely where it means to. Value comes from relationships, not transactions. Listening, adapting and acting is at the heart of Gamma’s commitment to the channel.
Expanding capabilities
Partners want more choice, and need to be able to reach a larger market. Everything that’s being added to the Gamma portfolio has come from that desire to solve business problems. When one end user has a distinct issue, it will almost certainly appear again and in other businesses– we want to be proactive rather than reactive.
The acquisition of the EnableX Group is a good example. In one deal, Gamma extended its UCaaS, security, and managed services capabilities. All that came from knowing where end users were struggling and positioning Gamma as a supplier that had their best interests at heart.
Right now, Gamma has a network of partners that can provide those capabilities.
We’re also working alongside Cisco to take existing solutions further. Horizon with Webex incorporates Webex’s AI features into Gamma’s familiar Horizon platform, creating an evolution of this voice-led UCaaS platform. With Webex for Gamma, it’s a more complete collaboration suite that takes Cisco’s AI innovation and combines it with Gamma’s reliable communication infrastructure.
Our channel partners can take both of these services to customers now. These solutions are made to help businesses now, and in the future, as they can access a platform that will grow and evolve as the world of communication changes.
Our capabilities within Microsoft Teams have expanded as well, through the introduction of Service Suite. It maximises the Teams experience, and the components behind it have come about through our partnerships. Whether it’s call analytics from Akixi, or market-leading meeting rooms hardware, our partners can provide a more complete, valuable Teams solution.
All of these broaden the market our partners can address and generate revenue from. We’re helping those with growing businesses deal with more complex situations around voice security and multi-office set ups. It’s all about giving them that edge.
New horizons, familiar surroundings
If there’s one area that has got our partners talking, it’s cyber security. As one of the many widely-spoken-about cases in recent months, Marks and Spencer’s have only recently started to take online orders again. Security is definitely top of mind.
It’s becoming a more prominent need for both smaller and larger businesses across every industry.
Gamma is committed to helping businesses safeguard themselves against an ever-evolving threat landscape. Our comprehensive cyber security suite is specifically designed for SMEs, and covers the identification of potential threats, protection and response mechanisms against cyber attacks. It now includes cyber insurance protection through our latest cyber protection package, SafeWeb Pro.
This holistic approach ensures that businesses are not only prepared to face current threats, but are also equipped to handle future challenges with confidence.
For our partners, this represents a significant opportunity to expand their product portfolio. By incorporating Gamma Secure’s advanced cyber security features, partners can offer their customers a more robust and diverse range of solutions. This generates additional revenue, increases profit margins, and improves customer retention by providing them with the security and peace of mind they need in today’s digital age.
Within Gamma, we’ll continue to improve our own knowledge and capability to push those solutions on. Gamma will learn and develop those security capabilities that benefits everyone in the ecosystem
Our UK channel partners also ask us about our overseas acquisitions, and a really good example of the benefit they deliver is FUSION IoT. This opens a whole new market to our partners, and that unique capability came from an acquisition Gamma made in Germany. Its launch on 23rd June represents a new opportunity for partners to enter new markets and realise new revenue streams.
We’re going out to try and keep finding these incredible solutions and introduce them to our partners. It’s never been about expansion for expansion’s sake.
The launch of Global Communications Enablement is another example of how we want to help partners scale. It gives their customers the ability to communicate across geographic boundaries. They can operate in an increasingly global, interconnected world, while leveraging Gamma’s scale to their own benefit.
The portfolio itself is designed to ensure we have a solution for all problems in all businesses. This helps to ensure that we maintain a strong, trusting relationship with our partners.
Looking forward
The future is going to bring more, and different, problems to solve. We want our partners to put their trust in Gamma that we’ll continue to evolve and extend our portfolio to solve those challenges.
It’s also going to continue to stretch partners to ensure they can deliver their services out to their customers. On our side, we’ll continue to improve the services we provide to wrap around our core products. That way, they’re easier to adopt and can be put in the hands of the end user as effortlessly as possible.
New products mean we’ll need to keep evolving our commercial approach. Gamma remains committed to being innovative and flexible, so that we’re giving partners an edge in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
We want Gamma partners to really know and understand that we remain absolutely as committed to their success today, and in the future, as we have been throughout our history. We know that many businesses don’t have the time or desire to manage their IT and communications infrastructure. They need to work with someone who has the product portfolio to support that future success.
The channel is uniquely placed to answer that need. Gamma is uniquely placed to support those channel partners, and both will be here for the long run.
The channel will remain
Regardless of where our partners are in their journey, Gamma will be there every step of the way. Whether it’s in the initial provisioning stage or looking to the future, that support is readily available. When we talk about being ‘Good Together’, this is us sticking by that principle.
That exceptional service drives everything we do in the channel. When our partners grow, Gamma grows alongside them. Trust needs to be earned through consistent actions build around collaboration and that idea of a unified partnership.
Above all, the UK channel community is here to stay. Some businesses need that added expertise to be more competitive. They need to work with someone who has the product portfolio, and the edge, to support that future success.
The idea of the channel itself will stick around forever. One partnership, endless possibilities – Gamma’s here for the long run.
Interested in how Gamma’s partner-first approach can accelerate growth?
Chris Wade is the Chief Marketing and Product Officer at Gamma. For the last 4 years, Chris has been instrumental in shaping Gamma’s long-term mission to be the leading business communications provider in Western Europe. His previous roles as CPMO at Aptitude Software and Vice President of Product at Sage have helped shape his leadership style and drive in showcasing the value of the product portfolio to an ever-expanding market.
Make sure you follow Chris on LinkedIn.
This blog was written to celebrate UK Partner Week, an annual summit that celebrates the ‘Power of Channel Partnerships’. As a Platinum partner, Gamma is excited to be part of such a celebration, and we’re looking forward to the next major steps in the UK channel sector.