Allworx Finds a Lucrative Niche as Part of Cloud Provider and MSP Windstream Communications

By Laura Stotler, TMCnet Contributing Editor

As part of giant networking, cloud and managed services provider Windstream Communications, Allworx (News - Alert) has a unique perspective on the technology market. The company, which was acquired by Windstream in 2011 when its holding company, PAETEC, was bought up, has been able to retain its own product lines and marketing while benefiting from being part of a larger organization.

Chris Hasenaur, vice president and general manager of Allworx, got to chat with TMC’s (News - Alert) Erik Linask recently at the IT EXPO Miami event about what’s happening at his company and how they’ve adjusted to their new role within Windstream (News - Alert). According to Hasenaur, one of the benefits of being part of a larger organization is that Allworx can benefit from its existing external sales channels as well as Windstream’s internal channel.

Windstream is selling Allworx VoIP phone systems and unified communications solutions as part of their IP Simple bundled product set. The company also recently made enhancements to its Allworx Reach application, which acts as a virtualized handset to bring UC and server functionality to mobile phones. The solution works with iOS as well as Android (News - Alert) phones.

 “It’s a really unique interaction between server and mobile phone that allows you to feel like just another handset on the server,” said Hasenaur. And because all the hardware and software is developed by Allworx, the company has been able to offer a unified environment throughout its solutions, which extends to its bundled offerings through Windstream.

While Allworx has been experiencing phenomenal growth since becoming a part of Windstream, a majority of the company’s offerings are still sold as on-premises solutions as opposed to cloud-based ones. Hasenaur believes that resellers are the main reason on-premises offerings are still so popular and that the industry as a whole needs to do a better job coming up with a cloud business model that works well for VARs.

“We haven’t done a good job as an industry in finding a place for that reseller in the products we’re coming out with for the future,” said Hasenaur. “If you’re an equipment vendor, the cloud is your friend because it’s really going to drive a whole lot of new network sales – a whole new line of business.” He added that the key to increased uptake will be educating resellers and coming up with a pricing and sales model that they are comfortable with.

(source: http://www.msptoday.com/topics/msp-today/articles/375348-allworx-finds-lucrative-niche-as-part-cloud-provider.htm)