Bicom Systems had a magical few days just outside the gates to Disney World in Paris, France last week. We were at IT Partners collaborating on a booth with Fonia, our newest partner in France.
Day one was animated and insightful. With a constant flow of visitors to the booth, the reactions to our demos and solutions were a bit like kids in, well, Disney World. But not everything is fairy tales and pixie dust, we heard quite a few complaints about other providers as people stopped by to chat.
The common theme from resellers of these providers coming by the booth was that they are tired of their provider not playing fairly or as a team. These companies pour their time and resources into a solution only to have their provider revise the game plan, forcing them back to square one. It is frustrating to work with a partner and solution that seems to be pushing them out of the equation in an attempt to eliminate the channel and sell directly. Roller coasters may be fun inside the park, but they have no place in a successful business relationship.
One theme of note was with 3CX now offering free extension licenses. Resellers were of the opinion that this policy now ended any prospect of them working to build up their portfolio of End User customers. The risks of their working in vain were becoming too strong.
Fonia sympathized with their frustration, but then went one step further. The booth presented PBXware as an alternative solution, delighting visitors with a breath of fresh air. The new interface in PBXware 5.0 has been a real crowd-pleaser; but even more than that, visitors are excited to find a new face in town that is willing to work with resellers. Far from inexperienced, Bicom Systems has been delivering solutions throughout the world for nearly 15 years, but the partnership with Fonia has afforded us a much more tangible presence in France.
And that reseller relationship is exactly what has so many people enchanted. Our success is no more than that of our smallest partner, so we invest in those relationships long-term. As they say just inside the park, “happily ever after” is our goal with each of our resellers. Another highlight at the booth was that Bicom Systems offers a complete VoIP and UCaaS solution. There is no need to deal with other vendors or try to fit mismatched pieces together. A one-stop shop plus a partnership.
We have given some sneak peaks about what’s coming up in PBXware 5.1 and the feedback has been astounding. Suffice it to say: people are asking how to sign up on-the-spot.
We’d like to express a big thank you to Fonia for hosting the booth and helping to get the word out about Bicom Systems establishing a presence in France. With over 5,000 resellers in attendance and Fonia already well-established in the market, this experience has been worth every minute. Bicom Systems sent out staff from Canada for the event and for a road trip to visit resellers in France next week.
To end with a quote from Walt Disney himself: “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” If you are ready to get started, contact us today: www.bicomsystems.com/contact