The expo hall at the latest ChannelPro SMB Forum event, which took place online and in Dallas this Wednesday, featured a collection of leading names in cybersecurity, managed services, distribution, and other categories, several of which shared news of forthcoming enhancements and product launches with ChannelPro. Here’s a roundup of what they revealed.
1. ConnectMeVoice Planning for Videoconferencing, Enhanced Training
On the heels of its new VoIP Cloud Connect UCaaS solution, delivered at year-end, ConnectMeVoice is planning to release a videoconferencing system in the third quarter, according to channel chief Frank Seltzer.
The company is also in the process of revamping its knowledge base. “It’s going to have a lot more documentation on implementation for phone systems and making ordering phones a lot easier [for partners],” Seltzer says. “It is a white-label service, so we try to train them to be self-sufficient as much as we can, obviously we’re still there as backup support, but the knowledge base will definitely help with that.”
The VoIP and UCaaS provider accelerated its roadmap during the pandemic to meet the needs of a work-from-anywhere business environment. VoIP Cloud Connect is a UCaaS solution that links a mobile app with web phones and softphones to traditional physical desk phones. “It was always something we wanted to do, but we definitely revved up the gears to set us apart during the pandemic. … Having those options, having a web phone, having the hard phone, all this other stuff, it made it a lot easier for people to stay connected with their co-workers when they’re working from home.”
2. GreenLink Adding SMS, Fax Services, and More
GreenLink Networks, a VoIP and UCaaS provider, will launch an SMS text service in the next few weeks featuring a variety of collaboration and automation features, according to Jhovanny Rodriguez, the company’s vice president and co-founder. In addition to the ability to text a business’s main number, employees will be able to monitor and respond to that number as well as collaborate with their own personal numbers. The system will also support auto-response text messages for after business hours, so customers aren’t left waiting on a response. Cytracom added similar functionality to its UCaaS platform last month.
Next quarter, GreenLink is rolling out a hybrid fax service that will enable users to send a fax to a machine as well as the portal. For security purposes, many companies still want the ability to fax, Rodriguez says, but with the ATA device typically required by other VoIP services, “there’s an analog-to-digital conversion that happens multiple times in order for that fax to go out, so it becomes unreliable. So what we’ve done is partner with a company that is helping us develop the solution where the fax is digitized on the spot, so there’s no conversion in transit.”
He adds, “You’re actually getting the best of both worlds for a fraction of the cost of an analog line.”
On the roadmap for next year are APIs, enhancements to the ticketing platform, and the creation of a slate of training and educational content for MSP partners, Rodriguez says. In addition, GreenLink plans to provide an option for MSPs to manage customer implementations. “Right now, GreenLink is the company that sets up everything for the partner and the customer, and then they manage it. So, we’re going to be allowing partners, if they want, to onboard the client from beginning to end.”
