EXCLUSIVE: IPscape dumps direct-to-market model in Australia
Neil told ARN in the overseas markets, the company has been utilising a channel model, but has been going direct in Australia.
“Our learning from that has been that the channel model is a preferred model. With IPscape being a very channel friendly product, and our commercial construct being good for channel, we have decided to move to a channel model in Australia,” he said.
Neil said the company has just started to court and find new channel partners.
“At the beginning of this financial year, we set ourselves a target. We’re aiming to have five reseller partners by the end of October this year. At this stage, we’re not looking for a distributor as it’s a pure software Cloud-based product.”
High on the company’s target list are resellers that are annuity based and used to selling software-as-a-service applications, such as CRM providers and Microsoft solution providers. “We’re talking to more than 30 resellers at the moment but we’re quite selective.”
He also said the move towards a channel model in Australia means the company is given more reach and controls into the markets.
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“We get a wider sales capability, a wider marketing capability. It also takes us away from services such as professional services that we won’t compete with our channel on. We can rely on our channel to provide those services to the market.
“It will also enable us to focus on channel development and channel enablement, as well as product development. We have a solid roadmap for our product that is very focused on new evolving technologies particularly around social, outbound calling, and Web chat capabilities,” he said.
A year ago, the company launched a channel enablement team, and that team will be putting together all of the programs to on board the resellers when they confirm the partnership with IPscape. They will be trained across the technology – including sales, pre-sales, support, administration, and so forth.
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Its partner program will also be rolled out in Australia following the partners’ confirmation. It is currently a flat, tier-less program that offers a group of courses covering all aspects of the business that would make the partner accredited.
“It also has an attractive pricing model that works off our retail price, which we’re currently selling direct to the market with. It brings down the margin of that. It also bundles in telco costs and margins around that and other peripherals such as telecoms systems such as PABX if required,” Neil added.
The company has also announced plans to expand into new markets such as Indonesia, and is in discussions with other multi-national vendors to take the company and its product into markets in Europe and North America.
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