Planning for the Future

Last week’s blog we touched on new technology and how it can take your business forward and featured one of our partners Avaya. Moving forward in business (and life in general) requires a sound strategy with goals for both the short and long term.

Another one of our key partners Mitel is currently going through an important evolution which will only serve to help them and us reach new heights, and strategy development is at the forefront.

‘In any good strategy, there are stages. Clearly, in the Mitel strategy, acquiring many installed bases is great for short-term revenue, but does not ensure long-term success. In talking with McBee and some ShoreTel customers/partners, three things emerged that are the next big part of the plan:

• Keep the Installed Bases Happy — Clearly the first step is assuring that the installed bases of the acquired products see this as at least neutral and hopefully positively. Assuring the base that their platform is not going to be abandoned is critical. In talking to ShoreTel customers and partners, this emerged as a key factor in their excitement about the offer. One customer indicated that their recent purchase of a multi-user ShoreTel system was its biggest commitment since a Nortel PBX purchase 30 years ago. Another customer said he was excited because he felt that Mitel had the scale to succeed and was committed to maintaining his investment going forward. This was re-iterated by ShoreTel VAR channels — the relationship with the end customers is highly around protecting the existing investment. Everyone I talked to had heard about the Aastra acquisition and that these products were still available and supported, and that is going a long way to assuring the ShoreTel base that they need not worry.
• Enhance the Premises PBX with New Capabilities — Another topic that came up in my discussions was Mitel’s strategy with CloudLink: enabling new services for any of the platforms in the base. CloudLink is the answer to maintaining different bases and adding value to all through the cloud. One of the ShoreTel customers I talked to, an organization with over 4,000 user seats, indicated that this was where they saw growing, augmenting their existing premises with cloud enhancements.
• No-Brainer Migration Path to the Cloud — Finally, the handwriting on the wall is clear: Cloud is getting to be a big thing. The key to success in cloud is scale. Just look at the cloud leaders in other industries; Google in search, Facebook in social, Salesforce in CRM. With this acquisition, Mitel is positioned to grow for success in cloud. The ShoreTel and Mitel UCaaS subscriber base combination is number two in the UCaaS market. And, as I discussed previously on No Jitter, the cost of transitioning existing premises customers to the cloud may be significantly less than trying to win them on the open market.’ (Phil Edholm, nojitter.com)

At NuEdge Communications your business communication specialist our aim is to help our clients achieve their specific business goals by working closely with them to outline what those goals are and developing a tailored strategy based on that. Contact us to learn more!