Avaya, a provider of conventional and cloud-based telecommunications equipment and systems, launched an online marketplace designed to expedite the sale of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Centers as a Service (CCaaS) through partners and direct to SMB and midmarket customers.
The Lowdown: With the launch of the new marketplace, Avaya joins a growing list of vendors choosing to sell their products and services through automated digital sales. Avaya says the intent is to make it easier for SMB and midmarket customers to acquire and quickly deploy cloud-based services. Avaya intends to work through its telecom master agents to facilitate sales through the online platform.
The Details: The Avaya online store includes UCaaS and CCaaS bundles, smart desktop devices, and collaboration tools. It’s unclear whether telecom master agents, agents,
Upon implementation,
Background: Automated digital sales through marketplaces and e-commerce capabilities are growing in popularity among technology vendors as they have the potential to shorten sales cycles and costs. According to The 2112 Group’s 2018 Channel Chief Outlook report, 11 percent of vendors expect marketplaces to generate the majority of their indirect revenue by 2023. According to Forrester Research, 60 percent of all B2B sales will flow through automated digital sales channels by 2020.
The Buzz: “Avaya is a leader with this first-time offering of both CCaaS and UCaaS solutions through an online store that makes it easy to ‘swipe and buy’ exactly what customers need, when they need it,” said Gaurav Passi, president of Avaya’s cloud business group. “This latest development in our evolution as a cloud communications company continues to expand our cloud offerings and unlock significant value for customers and partners of all sizes.”
Channelnomics Point of View: Marketplaces such as Amazon and Alibaba are showing vendors that businesses will buy through automated digital sales channels just like consumers. The potential for vendors is enormous, as marketplaces can reduce cost of sales and remove layers in the go-to-market chain. While marketplaces could displace traditional resellers, they also could become a potentially valuable source of professional services leads that vendors cannot fulfill independently.
