8×8 announced a global distribution model that enables master agents and distributors to accelerate their marketing and sales of 8×8 Communications Cloud™ services, and provide a clear blueprint for expanding their partnership with 8×8 into new regions.
The new enhancements to 8×8’s international channel program will allow master agents and distributors to increase revenue and profits from sales of 8×8 solutions, while enabling 8×8 to further scale and increase its global sales velocity and go-to-market strategies.
“Mid-market and enterprise companies rely on their trusted partners for guidance on communications and collaboration solutions to increase business productivity and profitability. Under the new global distribution model, 8×8 is investing in Master Agents and Distributors that will allow us to take our products and services to market at greater scale and to better address customer needs,” said Christopher Peters, Global Channel Chief of 8×8. “A consolidated distribution model aligning partners with those Master Agents and Distributors that provide sales enablement and support for 8×8 Communications Cloud solutions will benefit the entire global partner ecosystem’s ability to enable and support their customers.”
“We believe education is the cornerstone of partner enablement. 8×8 agrees with this principle and has collaborated with us on educating our partner community and the broader channel through CloudServicesUniversity.com. This has resulted in our Sales Partners moving way upmarket into five and six-figure deals as they position 8×8 with their clients,” said Andrew Pryfogle, SVP Cloud Transformation, Intelisys. “8×8’s integrated cloud communications, contact center and team collaboration solutions offer attractive solutions in a competitive market. Their investments in the channel and in education are exciting, as they enable our Sales Partners to drive greater revenue. We have a bright future together for sure.”
In addition, as part of this new program, partners with international reach will have the option to enter into a Global Framework Agreement with 8×8. This approach allows a distributor or master agent to sign a single contract with 8×8 that establishes a core set of global terms for their partnership, and then easily add other regions (UK for example) within those parameters. This helps streamline the contracting process, remove legal hurdles and time-to-market, while ensuring consistency of key business terms across multiple affiliates and multiple regions, subject to appropriate local market variations. By combining 8×8’s Global Reach® network – including 14 global data centers, service delivery in 89 countries, and follow-the-sun customer support model – with training and certification via the 8×8 Academy, partners can quickly take their business to the next level.
“As part of AVANT’s expansion strategy into the UK and European markets, partnering with a proven leader that has demonstrated success repeatedly was an easy decision,” said Ian Kieninger, CEO AVANT Communications. “Given the synergies between AVANT’s channel sales enablement strategy coupled with 8×8’s market-leading business communications solutions and global resources to support mid-market and enterprise focused partners, this was a natural evolution of our partnership. The Global Framework makes it that much easier to support new partners in Europe with proven vendors they want to represent. It’s a win-win.”