Unify has expanded its route to market following a distribution agreement with ScanSource Communications, it's first distributor signing since the annulment of its relationship with Westcon and the instatement of Nimans as sole UK distie in October 2013.
The partnership will focus on the UK from the outset, and kicked off with a partner event staged at Mercedes-Benz World in Surrey on May 15th. The deal also presents Unify with an opportunity for future expansion into Europe where ScanSource operates extensively.
Under the agreement, the full range of Unify's UCC technologies will form part of the ScanSource Communications portfolio.
The move complements Unify's existing modus operandi in the UK with Nimans as distributor, giving partners more choice.
"Nimans is a well respected, experienced and professional distribution partner that is used to operating in a competitive market," said Tony Smith, the vendor's UK&I Channel Sales Director.
"Unify's decision to partner with ScanSource Communications will not affect the strong and professional relationship we have built up with Nimans.
"The decision to expand our routes to market in the UK is based on market conditions, our evolving strategic aims and the opportunity for our organisations to enter into this partnership. The time was just right for both parties ,and most importantly the reseller community."
According to Smith Unify will continue to invest in partnerships where it makes 'commercial sense' to do so, but he has no further plans to expand the vendor's distribution relationships at this time.
"In the UK, our focus over the next year is to pursue a disruptive channel recruitment drive focused on quality rather than quantity," added Smith.
"We are specifically looking to recruit high calibre partners not just from the traditional voice space, but also IT and software partners that can drive our virtualised solutions and our new SaaS solution, Circuit."
Smith has witnessed strong demand for software-led communication and collaboration technology offerings driven through the channel.
"We believe it's the right time to invest in partnerships, such as the one with ScanSource Communications, where both sides will benefit from enhanced competition in the market," he added.
"The timing also ties in with our drive towards a more channel centric model and the expansion of our partner community. Both parties believe that this is a strong relationship that will deliver great mutual growth benefits in the future."
The need to address the changing face of the market today is a strategic driver that Unify has not ignored, noted Smith. SaaS is becoming prolific and Unify's portfolio is positioned to allow partners to leverage this and ultimately make more long-term, profitable recurring revenues, he emphasised.
"We have to ensure that we are addressing the UK partner community sufficiently to support this opportunity," commented Smith. "There is no exclusive focus for joint opportunities. Unify and ScanSource Communications' joint expertise enables us to support partners and customers in small, medium and enterprise categories across all verticals."
Unify will also benefit from ScanSource Communications' focus as being distributor that provides a full suite of value added services in support of these solutions, including trained technical and pre-sales support, financial assistance in expanding resellers' purchasing power, in-depth training and education and channel marketing solutions.
ScanSource Communications has a proven track record in helping partners scale across multiple countries, driving efficiency and expertise into relationships that will deliver additional value to our partners. "ScanSource Communications' ability to drive SaaS and cloud-based recurring revenues aligns with Unify's portfolio," added Smith.
"Working together we believe that Unify will greatly benefit from ScanSource Communications' access to the broader pan-European market.
"As the relationship develops, and as market conditions prove suitable, we will expand into other European territories. Any territory we expand into will fall under the same distribution agreement as we are focusing on in the UK at present."
"The agreement enables us to engage with new partners, boosts our European presence and in time will ensure a significant increase in market share."
This is a viewpoint shared by Phil Boyd, VP of Merchandising at ScanSource Communications Europe, who reaffirmed: "Unify's portfolio of products and services, coupled with ScanSource's knowledge, value added services and support, will enable resellers to effectively meet the needs of their end users."
Unify aims to drive business for partners through its software portfolio which has already seen growth of 25-plus per cent. "The profile of what we and our partners sell today will be the biggest change we will see over the next two years," added Smith.
"We have have also invested heavily in generating leads for our partners. This has been one of our core strategic objectives and we will continue to invest in this area to ensure our channel grows and profits from their partnership with Unify.
"Additionally, we have invested in expanding the UK channel team to ensure we, in conjunction with our distributors, offer high levels of support to our partners.
"Working closely with ScanSource and our channel partners, Unify is helping to address the business world's long-time challenge of how to enable greater flexibility, new ways of working and increased collaboration.
"This is an incredibly exciting time for us all. The evolving market presents opportunities but also risks to those that do not move with the changing times," observed Smith." We are well placed with our partners, our distributors and our portfolio to ensure we maximise on this opportunity."