Gamma pitches cloud voice to MSPs to boost retention

Gamma is pitching cloud voice services to managed service providers as a way to improve customer retention and protect margins. Voice, it argues, can reduce the risk of rivals gaining access to existing accounts.

In a podcast featuring Will Morey, Managing Director, Gamma Business, and Jed Easton, Senior Partner Acquisitions Manager, Gamma Business, the pair argued that voice has become more relevant to MSPs as customers buy a wider mix of networking, data and cyber security services from fewer suppliers.

Easton said customer retention is central to the case for adding voice. "I think that the biggest part for them is customer retention, and it's making customers more sticky by having more services with them. The customer has got their networking capability already, their voice services, their data services, amongst all the other cyber security things that they do. The customer is much less likely to move away."

He added that this can also shut out narrower competitors. "And also, you're locking out your competitors that only deliver a small part of that. And I think that's where we're seeing IT MSPs coming to the market really have that upper hand on a lot of the traditional telcos who only delivered that one part of the overall portfolio, which is changing massively."

Morey said many MSPs still see voice as a low-value addition that introduces operational risk. He argued that the bigger threat may be leaving telecoms specialists inside customer accounts, where they can expand into adjacent services.

"And I think last time we talked about the risk of bringing voice into your portfolio. We thought we'd be quite open about the fact that a lot of MSPs perceive risk in that way, adding in a product that's relatively small that increases the risk for me with that customer. But I think what we're identifying today is the opposite to that. The risk of not bringing voice into the portfolio because you're leaving a competitor with a foot in the door who typically will be trying to move to an MSP model or other services, and they'll be trying to take more than their share. And I think that is a real risk. We need to make sure we can equip MSPs to be confident and comfortable with delivering voice services," said Morey.

Execution risk

Easton said the opportunity comes with a warning for providers that choose the wrong product or support model. Poor implementation, he said, can damage other, higher-margin parts of the customer relationship.

"And there's also that risk of doing it and not doing it correctly as well. Bringing in the wrong partner or bringing in the wrong product is understanding the customer's needs and requirements and implementing the right service. If you don't do that, that can affect the rest of what you already do and then again lose margin in some of the other areas that you're earning high margins in, in terms of cyber security and other areas. So, it's the risk of not doing it, but also the risk of doing it and doing it wrong and not having the right partner that can support you with that journey," said Easton.

The discussion also highlighted how established software vendors have changed the way MSPs assess voice. Morey pointed to Microsoft and Cisco as examples of brands that can make voice look more familiar to IT channel partners, both in deployment and billing.

He said Gamma's aim is to present voice in a format that resembles other software services sold by MSPs. That includes all-inclusive minutes and provisioning models designed to fit existing software-led sales processes.

Cross-border demand

Another focus was the challenge of serving larger customers with international operations. Easton said many of the MSPs Gamma works with support clients across multiple countries and need to deploy services remotely while dealing with local telecoms rules.

"A lot of customers and a lot of the IT MSPs that we work with are multi‐international. They deal with much larger clients who have got international offices, so they can do remote deployments. We can deliver that into those countries and remove that complexity of having to deal with the regulations in France and Belgium and Germany, wherever it may be, and we can deliver that very seamlessly through things like Microsoft," said Easton.

Morey said compliance remains one of the main barriers to voice expansion beyond a company's home market. "Voice is a regulated environment. Deploying voice into France for a company who's got an office in the UK is difficult in the main. What Gamma have done with our Operator Connect proposition is just made that easy."

Easton said Gamma now supports service delivery in more than seven countries and bundles monthly minutes into the offer. He said this removes one of the traditional complications for partners serving international customers.

Partner support

Gamma also used the discussion to outline how it supports MSPs that are new to voice. Easton said onboarding includes training across sales, provisioning, billing and marketing, followed by accreditation through Gamma Academy and support from product specialists.

He said MSPs often need help selecting the right offer rather than being presented with a single product. That can include call recording, integrations and compliance tools, depending on the customer's requirements and size.

Morey said the company's "sell-with" approach matters for MSPs building confidence in a new category. Easton added that Gamma also provides marketing materials and customer insight data to help partners identify cross-sell opportunities across telecoms, mobile and cyber security.

The operational side remains a concern for many providers, especially number porting. Easton said the issue still carries a reputation for complexity in telecoms, and argued that ongoing support is often the deciding factor for MSPs considering whether to enter the market. "Having that trusted advisor role through account management, senior leadership, and backend support teams is vital, especially for complex issues like porting. Porting is a bit of a dark art in the telecoms world, but we've got a dedicated porting team and training to support partners."

Want to find out more about what voice means to MSPs? Get in touch with Gamma Communications today and learn how MSPs can start leveraging voice as a growth lever.