There’s a lot of talk in the Channel about hardware dying out. Having specialised in its distribution for over 20 years, we can vouch that it still holds a great significance to our partners’ offering and is still very much alive.
In many cases hardware enables the end user to adopt new services and, of course, adds an additional revenue stream to many of our partners’ businesses.
Desk phones continue to be one of our top selling product lines with over 150,000 units shipped in the past year. But we know what we’re using now will most definitely shift in the future.
We’ve been hearing about 2025 and the ISDN switch off for what seems like a very long time now. While the Channel are well prepared to handle this, it seems there’s still a lot of people who aren’t fully in order to maximise their opportunities in the ‘new world’.
Take Access Control Systems for example. They have been used within businesses and residential buildings for decades, but many of the existing solutions are still using analogue connections.
While we are starting to see some partners identify the need for such hardware and working hard to deliver it, there is still a large proportion of telecoms resellers who are perhaps unaware of the opportunities IP access control holds. The key thing here is that you don’t necessarily have to work hard to deliver it. We offer a white label survey and installation service, meaning resellers go and sell the kit and we will install it. Leaving you free to benefit from the additional margin and potential recurring revenue if the customer opts for a cloud offering – it really is that simple!
2N’s IP intercoms and access control solutions are designed to integrate seamlessly with other devices making them a great addition to any portfolio. Interoperable with most third-party devices and platforms, they complement existing systems, enabling resellers to enhance system functionalities and usability.
What are the opportunities?
Adding in intercoms - Gone are the days when the door has to be answered at reception on a standalone device. Enable access from anywhere, anytime with all-IP solution. And we mean anywhere; simply answer on your mobile phone and remotely grant or restrict access. Visitors are even able to leave a message on the intercom as they would a voicemail with 2N’s offering.
- Expanding access control – Access control doesn’t stop at the door. We’re seeing more and more partners working on solutions which can restrict access to specific areas within a business such as server rooms and areas where high value goods are stored. There’s a lot of features that can be added and easily managed through one easy to use, centralised system.
- Accessing additional features/enriching the experience – Think outside of the box. 2N’s devices can be used to maintain employee working hours through an intuitive clocking in/out system or even to create a smart building solution with reporting.
- Managed services – All of this, of course can bring additional revenue to your business by increasing your offering and tying in a more integrated, future-proof solution which can be remotely managed.
There’s a vast range of additional functionalities which can be added to systems all at little to no additional cost.
The obstacles
We know there are obstacles involved with adopting new hardware; one big thing we hear is the lack of skills or resources available for the installation. But with training and white label installation services at one’s disposal, there’s little reason to not explore the opportunities out there.
When it comes to hardware, there’s more than meets the eye. The ISDN switch off poses a huge obstacle to many businesses, with some potentially losing capability in their systems. 2N’s hardware offering holds a valuable proposition in the Channel ecosystem, one which resellers can benefit hugely from.
ProVu distributes a wide range of quality VoIP products from many of the leading brands and manufacturers. Partners can place orders with the company online and ProVu will white label and drop ship directly to the end user anywhere in the UK and Ireland.
The company also has a hosted provisioning platform that can automatically provision devices as soon as the customer connects them. In addition, resellers can control and manage their entire IP phone deployment using ProVu's ProSys phone management service.