Tellumat extends channel to meet demand for ShoreTel IP solutions
Bennie Langenhoven, Managing Executive of Tellumat Communication Solutions, says with the new additions, Tellumat can serve a good cross-section of markets in major centres, adding that it will keep growing its reseller base in line with the current spike in demand.
Strong portfolio
Resellers will market the entire ShoreTel range of IP telephony and unified communications systems, with a focus on the vendor’s mobility solutions coming soon.
ShoreTel is currently the second-largest IP communications vendor in North America after Cisco, and Tellumat wants to recreate that success for the company locally, says Langenhoven.
“Our customers should have clear access to leading IP and unified communications technology and service, to help grow their efficiency and profitability.”
Managing conflict
At the same time, Tellumat won’t over-trade the market to the detriment of the channel. “In designing our channel we have mapped out the market carefully, to ensure there is no overlap of providers in any customer segment or territory,” he says.
Nor will Tellumat sell direct in competition with its channel, and it will maintain a clear demarcation in functions between itself and resellers. Tellumat imports, distributes and delivers equipment, offering third-line technical support to augment channel support to customers. Resellers are responsible for installation, maintenance and initial support.
Tellumat and ShoreTel’s marketing efforts will benefit resellers in creating brand awareness, and the company will provide resellers with sales and technical support as well as leads, he adds.
Both partners and customers will benefit from the easy installation of ShoreTel systems, Langenhoven continues. “The investment in the system, installation and training is not onerous at all, which speeds up time to value and frees resellers up to pursue other business.”
Bang for your buck
Steve Briggs, CEO of ARC Telecoms, an IP solutions provider for mid-sized businesses, says a long-standing relationship with Tellumat led to their appointment as a reseller. He says ARC is delighted with ShoreTel’s performance and acceptance in the market.
“ShoreTel has been doing well within the mid-market – a natural fit for us. We see a strong alignment between our value propositions, with the ShoreTel solutions thoroughly complementing our expertise and product range. ShoreTel further offers a strong sales and technical support structure, allowing us to drive, sell, support and manage our own customers.”
Louis Botha, CTO of THINK iT, another mid-market solution provider, says their appointment fills a gap that the company’s previous solution set couldn’t fill. He commends ShoreTel for adding real value and providing “bang for your buck” in terms of acquisition, renewal, maintenance and support.
“ShoreTel provides an excellent offering for any business wanting to adopt IPT on a reliable, easily manageable system. Tellumat runs a solid business, understands its customers’ needs and are easy to deal with. We are looking forward to going to market with this. Realising a return on investment with ShoreTel is remarkably short and customers are free to adopt the solution on a cloud platform, should they wish to.”
The word is out
So the word is out – there’s a new IP contender in town, and it has the technology and services to boost customer and channel businesses, and to begin to dominate the market as much here as it does in the States.
