Initially operating with minimal resources and leveraging relationships with multiple providers, Global Connect UC soon found Gamma’s hosted telephony solutions to be indispensable. Over the past few years, this partnership has driven the company from a fledgling start-up to a robust enterprise, doubling its size and significantly increasing its revenue. Richie Curran, Founder and Managing Director of Global Connect UC, shares the journey, highlighting Gamma’s crucial support in technical assistance, customer demonstrations, and strategic growth planning.
Richie described the beginning of Global Connect UC’s journey with Gamma, highlighting their start in early 2020. Initially, they planned to use another main provider due to prior familiarity. However, during the early stages of the business, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, they found this provider lacking in hosted telephony products. Consequently, they shifted focus towards Gamma, whose hosted telephony base grew significantly throughout 2020. Richie stated, “We set out to do more of doing hosted telephony, but throughout 2020 the hosted telephony base just grew quite significantly.” Today, Gamma has become their main partner for hosted telephony and carrier services, spending around £25,000 per month and aiming to reach £30,000-£31,000 by the end of the year.
Richie confirmed that Global Connect UC has doubled in size since their partnership with Gamma began. Initially, there were only a few staff members, but now the company has grown to eight employees and a couple of contractors. Richie explained, “I expect our growth to just keep growing… Gamma are our number one provider now.” This growth has been facilitated by Gamma’s direct support, including help desk assistance and on-site visits for customer demonstrations. Richie emphasised, “Gamma have definitely helped us win business,” citing their effective help desk support and proactive assistance from the Ethernet team as crucial elements.
Richie praised the Gamma team for their on-site customer demonstrations and technical support. He mentioned Richard Cooper’s expertise in product knowledge, which reassures customers about the quality and reliability of Gamma’s offerings. Richie noted, “Richard Cooper knows the products really, really well, comes across very knowledgeable when he’s in front of a customer.” Additionally, Gamma’s flexibility in commercial negotiations and their annual marketing budget have also significantly aided Global Connect UC’s growth.
Discussing the future, Richie mentioned their goal to achieve gold partner status by the end of the year. He shared his thoughts: “If we keep on this trajectory with the growth, we pretty much should hit Gamma gold by the end of the year.” Achieving this status would not only reflect their commitment but also help in winning more deals, as it signifies a higher level of reliability and success to potential clients.
Richie highlighted the educational support from Gamma, particularly regarding the upcoming PSTN switch off in 2025. He appreciated the resources provided by Gamma, including spreadsheets with stop-sell exchanges, which have been instrumental in informing customers about the necessary transition to cloud-based systems. Richie said, “More than happy with the education that we’ve got from Gamma around that whole 2025 switch off.”
Reflecting on their initial expectations, Richie admitted that while they always aimed for growth, they hadn’t anticipated Gamma becoming their main provider so quickly. He stated, “We always knew that we were going to be able to grow… but probably didn’t think that Gamma were going to be the main provider at that time.” He attributed their success to the hard work and investment put into the company, including ensuring the right technology, training, and customer presentation.
Richie shared some impressive statistics about their growth. Over the last 18 months, the number of Horizon licences increased from 400 to about 1200, and their own billed revenue with Gamma is projected to reach £25,000 per month, doubling from the previous year’s £12,000-£13,000. He projected that their annual revenue would hit a million this year, enabling further investment back into the company to fuel more growth.
In closing, Richie expressed his enthusiasm for the continued partnership with Gamma, highlighting their stable financial position and organic growth. He mentioned, “Our business has been organically grown… we’re completely in the black.” Looking ahead, he expressed optimism about achieving more milestones, including becoming a Gamma platinum partner, and shared his vision for further expansion in staff, office size, and customer base.