Viewpoint/Commentary
Mitel U.S.: A New Paradigm for Success
by Rick Dell, U.S. President, Sales
As the newly-appointed president of sales for Mitel U.S., the subsidiary organization that oversees Mitel’s sales and distribution activities throughout the United States, it gives me great pleasure to introduce myself and update you on some of the significant milestones we have reached in integrating Mitel and Inter-Tel into a single visionary, resourceful and customer-centric supplier of business communications solutions.
Having worked in the industry for over 25 years with the last 10 spent in various executive capacities with Inter-Tel, I can assure you the excitement and anticipation is palpable. Everyone associated with our company, whichever side of the house they come from, is committed to ensuring we have the resources needed to succeed at every level. From a product, services, applications and channel management standpoint, Mitel is in the midst of aggressive transformation.
The synergies that existed between Inter-Tel and Mitel made the merger logical from many perspectives. Mitel had historically served medium- and large-sized businesses while Inter-Tel’s strength resided in the SMB sector. Both companies have been successful in creating portfolios of applications and delivering solutions to serve customer needs. This heritage is a great foundation on which to build the combined company, and it gives Mitel U.S. a competitive advantage that we expect will benefit partners and customers for many years to come.
Read more...Interview
A few minutes with Don Smith
As chief executive officer of Mitel Networks, Don Smith is responsible for setting the vision and building the organization for this global provider of business communications solutions. Mitel Report recently spoke with him to gain his perspective on the integration of Mitel and Inter-Tel, and to get a sense of where he sees the combined company’s opportunities in the coming years.
MR: Practically all of Inter-Tel’s employees and dealers are aware of Mitel, particularly its product line. But what would you want them to know about your company, particularly from a cultural perspective?
DS: Probably the one message we want to convey is that from a cultural standpoint Mitel and Inter-Tel were very similar, and I would hope they find working with and doing business with Mitel just as rewarding as they did with Inter-Tel. Both companies have enviable track records in creating technology solutions that address customer needs. In addition, both have always had the utmost respect for channel partners, and have worked hard to help them build their businesses. This commitment will only intensify as we continue to integrate the two companies. We want all of our partners to know regardless of which product line they sold, they can continue to count on the Mitel and Mitel US organizations to remain an indispensable resource.
Read more...Company News
Mitel Exclusive Business Partner Program: Giving Dealers the Fast Track to Success
Now that the promise of offering expanded communications portfolios and extensive applications and services has become a reality, a growing number of Mitel resellers are flocking to the company’s Exclusive Business Partner (EBP) program, which gives resellers several strategic advantages in selling and servicing Mitel communications solutions.
“Initially we had expected that the program would attract some 35 to 40 partners over the course of the year,” reports Carter Chapman, who oversees channel sales for Mitel US. “In fact, the response has been overwhelming. We now have close to 60 EBPs signed up, and it’s very possible that we’ll end the year with over 80. It clearly demonstrates that our channel partners recognize the potential an exclusive relationship with Mitel represents in terms of increased revenue, greater margins and enhanced service and support.”
According to Chapman, there are several key factors that are igniting interest in the program. First, the expansion of the Mitel communications portfolio featuring the Mitel 3300, a proven mid- to large-size platform, combined with the SMB-centric Inter-Tel 5000, gives distributors two completely viable and compelling platforms to address virtually any customer requirement.
“It’s interesting that many traditional Inter-Tel dealers are chomping at the bit to sell the Mitel 3300 into larger environments, while many Mitel dealers are equally enthused at the prospect of offering the Inter-Tel 5000 to the SMB space. The combination of the two systems has convinced many partners that they don’t need the overhead or headache of working with another manufacturer to address specific customer requirements. Our systems, along with expanded suite of applications, desktop appliances and comprehensive services, can help them address any opportunity today and well into the future.”
Another important element of the program goes beyond technology. It involves numerous sales support and training opportunities that Mitel makes available to its Exclusive Business Partners.
Case Study
Arizona Opera and Mitel
Arizona Opera is a statewide company celebrating its 37th year with performance centers in Phoenix and Tucson. Internationally-acclaimed and local artists and production staff stage some 30 performances each season. They also offer educational programs across the state for students of all ages.
In moving to IP the company was seeking to improve the effectiveness of communications with stakeholders state- and worldwide. In evaluating needs which included ease of use, local support and maintenance, the ability to easily upgrade and potential benefits offered by desktop integration were tops.
"Communication is such a vital part of our organization," said Joel Revzen, general and artistic director. "We are thrilled with the improvements which will benefit all of our operations at reduced cost."
The ability to reduce cost was met with a new system based on the Mitel 3300 IP Communications Platform (ICP). Its wide range of applications including unified messaging, auto-attendant, ACD and wireless can easily be implemented to further improve the ability to respond.
"Arizona Opera is setting the stage for others to follow," said Rick Dell, U.S. president for sales for Mitel. "Beyond the immediate cost-savings of operating one voice and data network for both locations, the company is now in a position to leverage its investment by streamlining operations and further improving service with patrons and artists."
Analysis
Gain Without Pain - Minimizing the Complexity of Converged Communications with Managed Servicesby Bruce Clark, Partner, IntelliCom Analytics
If you were asked to name the areas of business technology that have experienced the most innovation in recent years, chances are converged voice and data networking would be on the shortlist. As is the case with most advanced technology, converged communications presents decision-makers with tangible opportunities as well as challenges. While there are dozens of case studies that underscore the ability of VoIP to help improve worker productivity and reduce communications-related spending, the challenges that accompany these benefits are frequently downplayed.
Despite persistent rumors, current technology is not fully plug-and play. To the contrary, the vast majority that have adopted VoIP systems and applications have utilized some degree of external support during planning, implementation, maintenance and management.
With the pace of change and innovation showing no signs of letting up, even the large enterprise with a well-equipped IT department is finding it difficult to remain 100% self-supporting. Increasingly businesses of all sizes are looking for a partner to provide expert support, whether for a specific task like performing software upgrades or for ongoing support such as day-to-day maintenance.
In our research studies that track decision-maker expectations and requirements, we have seen a growing year-over-year interest in Managed Services. This encompasses a wide range of externally-provided support from limited out-tasking of periodically-recurring activities to broad steady-state outsourcing of entire functions that can also include asset ownership by the external partner.
This increasing interest tracks closely to the expanding role of VoIP as the technology progresses from the initial pilot stage through phased replacement of all traditional telephony systems and then on to maximum value with rollout of end user applications and integration of telephony capabilities into core business processes. In the course of this progression, the scope of commitment to VoIP increases as does the complexity of the technology and importance to the fundamental operation of the business.
In a recent conversation, an IT director at a regional bank succinctly summed up their gain-without-pain perspective. “Our support philosophy is pretty straightforward. We don’t want to invest the time to become technology experts. We want the systems that are right for the bank and for them to work. When it’s time to upgrade we want a process that is as pain-free as possible. After kicking quite a few tires, we found a Managed Services partner that can actually deliver this. N
ot only are we getting the expert support needed but at a cost that’s less than we could do it ourselves.”Although there will always be enterprises that want to control their technology with internal resources, our research strongly suggests that going forward more and more businesses will be opting for support approaches that deliver benefits of IP while minimizing internal overhead, cost and risk.
Contact bclark@intellicom-analytics.com.
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