Friday, January 11, 2013

UC Channel Challenges and 8x8's Approach

For this week's UCStrategies podcast, we tried something different. Our format is usually a closed shop with UCS Experts talking about a specific topic. That works well, and if you like what the usual suspects in our group have to say, then I'm sure you're eagerly anticipating  each podcast.

We're sticking to the formula, but are also mixing things up a bit. This week is the first time we had a guest join us, namely Don Trimble, VP North American Sales, 8x8. As you likely know, 8x8 is one of earliest players in the hosted services space, which has now come into its own under the amped up cloud umbrella.

This is not a long infomercial for 8x8 - far from it. Rather, the focus was on channel-related issues and challenges for selling/supporting cloud, so we took turns posing our questions to Don. We found it a great opportunity to explore these topics first hand with a provider who is living it every day. Overall, the results were pretty much as advertised, and the conversation was balanced on both sides. Am sure we'll do it again soon, but for now, if channel is on your mind for UC - or if you're an 8x8 fan, the podcast and transcript can be found here. Enjoy - and kudos to Dave Michels for keeping the conversation and giving all of us a chance to jump in.

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