Master Agent Featured Articles

A recent article written by Shawn Schmidt, president of Digital Planet discusses how at the recent Agent-Partnering Workshop at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, there was a reoccurring theme of VARs and master agents feeling as if the other side was invading their space.

Schmidt said in a statement, “There seems to be some distrust building and a general fear of losing their place at the table. The equipment folks feel the carriers are becoming competitors, not only with their premises-based offering), but in their cloud offerings as well. Ironically the agents also feel the VAR is getting into their space by offering IP PBX (News - Alert) solutions with SIP, and hosting infrastructure externally, which negates bandwidth requirements.”

So, the question remains—is it the fact that master agents and VARS are continuing to encroach on each other’s roles or are new technology solutions that are being introduced on the market forcing them into the same space?

At first, telecommunications technology required a voice equipment vendor, a data equipment vendor, the fax/copier vendor, a software vendor and the telecom connectivity vendor, the article revealed. However, current telecom equipment needs strong firewalls, handsets that connect to switches, routers, and voice mail systems that have the ability to send emails with .wav files. According to the article, data companies now power IP phone systems that can be seamlessly integrated directly into switches, routers and servers. And most copiers nowadays have the ability to print, fax, email, scan and post documents whether via a LAN or WAN network.

It is clear that it’s not simply competition that is causing this overlapping of these professionals, rather telecom technology that is erasing the line that once separated the responsibilities of both VARs and master agents. To benefit your organization, don’t worry about whose side is whose, instead focus on how you use these collaborative technologies to enhance your business.