Old McDonald had a farm
E-I-E-I-O
And on his farm, he had some… crows?
Wait, that doesn’t sound right. But that is not the only thing that will sound “off” in this post.
Once upon a time, there was a farmer named Kevin. He was a dedicated farmer who rose with the sun and worked until it set. Kevin not only invested many man-hours into his cornfields, but also thousands of dollars in farming equipment. His farm was profitable, and he was proud of it.
It was the night before harvest and Kevin couldn’t wait to haul his corn stalks! Harvest day is important for farmers in Kevin’s town because it means they can sell their corn and replant new seeds.
The morning of harvest has finally come. But unfortunately, the crows woke up before Kevin did. They swooped in and stole EVERYTHING. All the corn was picked at and ruined. They spread the husks across the field like something you would see from a horror film. All of Kevin’s hard work has gone to waste! He will no longer make a profit at the market and must start from scratch.
You must admit, that was a sad story. What is even sadder, is this happens all the time. Not only in the agriculture industry, but also in telecommunications.
Back in March, Bicom Systems attended IT Partners. While exhibiting we heard the familiar story of the farmer and the crow. However, the farmers in this story are resellers and the crow is their service provider.
The recurring theme we heard at the show was regarding 3CX resellers. When it came time for the resellers to renew the annual licenses with their customers, they were shocked to find 3CX had already approached them. Allegedly, 3CX is going directly to the end user and leaving the reseller in the dark.
We believe this is possible because the 3CX logo is present on all products. It is safe to assume that when an end user is approached by a company with the same logo as what’s on their operating system, they will trust it’s not spam. They would not know any different and pay their fees like normal.
If this were to happen, the resellers will end up like the farmer in the story above, with no profit. Just like the farmers, resellers invest time, money and resources into their customers. Unfortunately, they both are at risk to have the payoff of these investments stolen in front of their eyes.
Although what is happening isn’t ‘illegal’ it is unethical. So, what should the resellers do?
The farmer needs to invest in a scarecrow, but the resellers need to invest in a company that offers real branded options. For example, Bicom Systems has different branding options to suit your company’s needs. This gives you the opportunity to offer unified communications with your company’s identity. (It also wouldn’t hurt to work with a company who has ethical business practices).