Welcome
Welcome to your September edition of Dealer Insight. We have some exciting announcements for our partners.
Since the last update we have released version 1 of the Partner Hub. Having listened closely to partner feedback, we think you will be impressed by the changes the Hub gives you and find that it’s an ideal platform for us to build on in the future. Watch this space for further enhancements. Read on to discover how the Partner Hub will assist and empower your day to day relationships with Gamma.
The country has spent a considerable amount of time in lockdown in 2020, but many businesses have managed to adapt to remote working at speed and scale thanks to the lifeline of Unified Communications. However, they are sure to be questioning what the future format of working is going to look like. What will happen to the now humble office? Our office of the future blog tackles this big question and more.
Direct Routing for MS Teams has been a huge success and we’ve had some wonderful feedback from our partners. With this in mind, we are happy to bring you more updates to the service which can aid you in bringing more value to your customers.
Last but by no means least, we’re beyond thrilled to announce the return of our annual conference, GX Summit. Yes, GX Summit is back – and this year we’re bringing the event to you!
Many of you may already be aware that our physical event was due to take place in June. While we were disappointed that we weren’t able to meet in person, we’ve been back to the drawing board and I’m pleased to announce that GX Summit 2020 will be making its virtual debut on October 21st.
We’ve been carefully planning and adapting this much-anticipated event to ensure that you don’t miss out on any of the insights or key takeaways you would usually gain from the physical event that we’re all so used to. The only difference? This year you can enjoy it from the comfort of your own office/ home/ garden!
Read on to find out more about what you can expect from this year’s event – and discover our World-Cup winning keynote speaker!
Thank you again for all of your feedback over the last quarter, particularly those of you who participated in our Partner Feedback Survey when contacted on our behalf. Although we are unable to meet in person we do love hearing from you.
Finally, we will be holding a webinar covering why now is the right time to focus on UCaaS. Find the full details below.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need any assistance with any of the topics we’ve mentioned this month.
Neil Taylor
Head of Direct Partner Sales
The September Update:
The future is blended
Discover the office of the future
Imagine the events of the last few months taking place a few short years earlier. Before Unified Communications was a readily available option and when Connectivity foundations wouldn’t have stretched to the same levels of success in enabling remote working at such speed and scale. Returning to the office would have been the straightforward choice.
When weighing up office-based versus remote working from home, the numbers confidently indicate that the future is blended. UCaaS isn’t simply a tool at the top of your customer’s IT priorities, it’s profoundly at the heart of their business.
We’ve all proven that a business can run smoothly no matter where it’s based, but where does this leave the humble office space?
For the majority, our homes were not designed to become full-time offices. The office provides a more lucid working experience. It contains a collective of experts and opportunities for networking. A headquarters will always be important, but when we’ve found so much efficiency in working from home, why disassemble to what we had before?
The workplace needs to be reinvented, not lost. This is your chance to aid your customers in creating a more efficient office narrative. UCaaS strategies ought to start at the user with a knowledge of their needs but there are many factors to consider.
Our dedicated Unified Communications help page contains all of the information you need when resolving these queries with your customers.
Horizon Collaborate
Built on the award winning Horizon business phone system, Horizon Collaborate is designed for companies looking to improve collaborative team working and accelerate decision making. Features include:
- Any device, anywhere capabilities
- Horizon call centre and integrator
- PBX Services
- Hot-Desking and homeworker friendly
- Never miss a call function and much more
Akixi
Or how about Akixi? Built on award-winning call and contact analytics software, Akixi provides its users with:
- Admin access to real time call analytics, no matter where your customer’s teams are based
- Configurable alarms which allow users to set alerts, automatically notifying them when objectives are not being met
- Wallboards, charts and reports which give a user the ability to easily monitor team presence, track performance and identify trends
Help your customers to discover the solutions that will ease them successfully into a future of blended, hybrid working. For more information, contact your Business Development Manager today.
Your new Partner Hub is here!
Experience all the benefits of our new Partner Hub
We are thrilled with the great levels of interest we’ve seen our partners express after experiencing our new look and feel Partner Hub.
We listened to your feedback and, after careful consideration, we designed a portal more aligned with our partner needs and expectations, which we hope will make your working life smoother and all the more enjoyable.
A lot of you migrated across from the older portal throughout August and will already be well-versed in the extensive benefits of the new system. For those still new to the Hub, we have highlighted just some of the benefits and how they will assist you.
New look and feel
The design of the new dashboard was created with ease of use and a more modern flair in mind, aligning itself to our new brand guidelines and meeting the features you need.
Availability checker
Curious as to whether a service is available in a certain area? The new availability checker will give you the answer in seconds.
Pipeline Management
Log leads directly on to the Hub and review your pipeline of opportunities at a glance using the new dashboard feature.
Support calls
Our new system allows you to not just log but also monitor support calls for your customers. If you find yourself chased on a support call, simply log in to assess the status of the ticket and relay the details. You can also view the Gamma network status page for a real time update.
Dashboard capabilities
Gain quick and easy access to the number of open and closed leads in your account, giving you a better of your success rates. Register new leads and manage your in-flight opportunities via this sales dashboard. Forecast commissions from the deals currently in your pipeline.
But why keep reading about the benefits when you can experience them first hand? Speak to your Business Development Manager to find out more.
Direct routing for Teams
Exciting news for Direct Routing
We’ve seen some excellent uptake from our partners since launching our Microsoft Teams Direct Routing service in April.
We’ve reviewed all of your feedback and have decided to introduce some changes to support both voice enablement of Teams and the ability for partners to successfully take this transformational service to market.
Updated CLI presentation capabilities
There will be a new in-life option for CLI presentation, which currently Microsoft Teams does not support. This will allow a customer to specify any Gamma number associated to the service – use case being that a customer can present a single business number across all users in a single tenant.
Significantly, and because we can natively terminate an NGN (03/08) these numbers can also be chosen as the presentation number.
SIP Trunk Call Manager for Teams
STCM is an intelligent call routing platform providing customers with direct access to and control over their numbers and routing plans. Users can also gain access to number management information, performance statistics and further advanced stat reporting.
Data regarding call handling efficiencies, productivity, call patterns and caller behaviour are all as standard with our STCM platform. So, if your customer is looking to find out how long their team is taking to answer calls or even how long their customers are kept on hold, SIP Trunk Call Manager has them covered.
Why use STCM with Teams?
It provides users with a robust business continuity setup to keep a businesses running should disaster strike. It also enables remote users who are unable to access Teams to still have their numbers put onto the same SIP trunk build, allowing them to be directed accordingly.
Other key features include:
- Network level performance statistics with near real-time data
- Instant business continuity support with disaster recovery capability – calls can be redirected if there is a failure.
- Threshold limits can be placed on the number of calls directed to a specific number, protecting capacity and maintaining customer service levels.
- The option to deflect calls away from Teams to outsourced providers for customer service, payments etc.
Need support with your Direct Routing-related marketing and sales activity? Gamma is on hand to provide you with marketing support, including assistance with campaign materials and sales enablement resources. Find out about the benefits of Direct Routing by contacting your Business Development Manager today.
GX Summit
GX Summit 2020 is here
Gamma’s annual customer conference is back – and this time we’re bringing the event to you!
We’re inviting you to spend the day with us in the first ever virtual GX Summit as we explore the innovative ways businesses are adapting, advancing and re-imagining their digital strategies in the face of uncertainty.
Over the past 6 months, business leaders have had to Re-imagine the way in which they operate, service customers and engage employees at a rapid pace. Technology implementation and adoption has proved to be a lifeline, but what comes next?
GX Summit 2020 will tackle this challenge head-on as we look towards the new future of work and explore why now is the time to Re-imagine your own digital transformation strategy.
We’re thrilled to announce that we’ll be joined by another expert keynote speaker – Sir Clive Woodward OBE – who famously guided England to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup and three Six Nations tournaments! Sir Clive will be joining us virtually, drawing on his first-hand experience in creating a ‘winning’ culture, both on and off the field.
This year, we’ll be welcoming back some of our key technology partners as official GX Summit 2020 sponsors, including award-winning cloud specialists Cirrus, Highlight and Akixi.
Don’t miss out on GX Summit 2020’s exciting virtual debut on October 21st! Contact your Business Development Manager to register for your space now.
Event Details
Date: Wednesday 21st October 2020
Keynote Speaker: Sir Clive Woodward, OBE
Cost to attend: Free
Partner Feedback & Webinar
Partner Feedback Survey
We recently instructed an independent agency, Gorilla, to contact our partner base on our behalf to ask how we can improve the support we offer in order to help you achieve your business objectives and grow. We would like to thank all those who took the time to answer the survey as it has provided us with some valuable insights.
What we found out
Over half of you are focusing on selling to new customers and introducing new services to your customer base this year, with Microsoft Teams and UC being of great importance.
Over 25% of those surveyed are worried about the impact COVID-19 will have on their business.
How we can help
We have the market leading UCaaS Platform in Horizon and are giving Microsoft Teams a Voice through Direct Routing. Whatever your customer requirement we have a solution that fits.
We can help with lead generation, bespoke marketing campaigns and sales resource to generate new business opportunities.
Gamma are dedicated to supporting our channel partners and we’d like to understand how we can help you and your business during these difficult times so please do not hesitate to get in touch should you have any further feedback or need assistance.
Partner Webinar:
Why now is the right time to focus on UCaaS
We will be holding an informative webinar session where we will be outlining why UCaaS is still a huge opportunity for you, both in your existing customer base but also in attracting new market opportunities.
During the session, we will be looking at the different options available through Gamma and helping you understand the target markets for them along with giving you the chance to ask any questions you may have about all things UCaaS.
Webinar Details
Date: Tuesday 6th October 2020
How to register: Contact your Gamma Business Development Manager
What we will cover:
- Look at the changing workplace and how Gamma is responding to the new normal
- Why UCaaS is so important
- Why organisations are revising their Business Continuity plans right now
- How to choose between Horizon, Gamma Direct Routing or Exactive Direct Routing
