Telecom carriers large and small are courting the channel – again – but this time there may be a more natural fit for solutions providers and the telco market, thanks to digital convergence and unified communications.
While telecom companies have attempted to embrace the channel in the past, more VARs today are offering managed services, hosting and business connectivity services instead of simply reselling computer hardware. And as telcos move beyond traditional telephone and Internet services and into new areas such as cloud computing and infrastructure-as-a-service, they are looking to expand their reach through solution providers with strong customer relationships.
How are the telecom carriers courting the channel today? What are the lucrative telco services that solution providers should be offering? And what are the challenges for both sides?
CRN editors Chad Berndtson and Rob Wright discuss those questions, as well as Cisco's restructuring woes, in the latest CRN Podcast.
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