You can choose to solicit proposals from several sales reps with varied providers. You will end up with a number of proposals to scrutinize and compare. Unfortunately, even with these in hand, it will be difficult to compare each offer apples to apples. Many companies brand their services and bundle them with confusing hierarchies and various promotions. The terminology—for certain—is never apples to apples.
Once you get down into the nitty gritty, you realize that one company has features and functionalities that another company has… but not exactly! In addition, most carriers offer a laundry list of services, but of those services only a core set are what they really do well.
Almost all network service providers, aka “carriers,” in the marketplace have an established indirect sales channel. The indirect channel, where ATC plays, is experiencing continued growth for a variety of reasons, one of which is its solution-agnostic approach. Currently, an estimated 35 to 40 percent of carrier revenue is generated by indirect vs. direct channels. The primary driver, however, for the growth is the convergence of IT and telecom. Solutions are becoming more complex and the industry is no longer transactional.
This new, converged landscape is a multifaceted motherland of scaled services and outsourced solutions. Navigating it can be difficult. Organizations need the senior-level expertise offered by the indirect channel to sift through the business complexities of researching, comparing, procuring, implementing and managing telecommunications and IT solutions.
It is rare that a single carrier can fill all the requirements of a complex, multi-location network with those core set of services that each carrier “does well.” Combining unbiased expertise with the ability to offer a wide array of carrier services is a unique combination, and an indispensable asset to organizations of all sizes. Moreover, many players in the indirect channel like ATC offer another layer of service and support above and beyond the carrier. Having the range of support offered by a consistent resource (as an extension of your team) across multiple carriers is something direct sales account reps cannot match.
Download “3 Steps to a Comprehensive Telecom Strategy.”
