IP technologies such as the cloud and managed services have brought big changes to telecom companies’ business models in the past couple of years. So has the need for more automated processes. Both of these evolutions have happened so fast that it’s perhaps been difficult for some providers and master agents to keep pace on the back end, particularly when it comes to agent portals. Even in times of growth, these have remained legacy products — heavy and slow to automate certain documents. This year, however, several firms – from CSPs to developers to agencies – have updated their channel partner software with an eye toward future-proofing and partner productivity.
Expanding Portfolios. For tw telecom, the key to a portal upgrade was allowing agents to quote SIP-based voice services, Internet access and security and IP VPN products from one interface. One improvement is that agents now can validate service addresses and generate quotes for single-site businesses wanting to buy legacy and next-generation services. In a follow-up request for more details, though, the company shed little new light on what those changes mean. “Our goal is to be considered a pragmatic thought leader by informing and engaging our audience on all channel-related issues," a spokesman said.
Indeed, the prevalence of IP services is pushing more providers to include those products in their systems. That may seem long overdue but cloud and managed services seem to be the key drivers — at least, that was the case for Salestream Software in its latest upgrade for its MasterStream platform. “Our clients were all investing more in cloud services and needed MasterStream to reflect that," said Salestream President Jeff Fraser. So Salestream developed the new UNITY plug-in, which lets partners quote VoIP, SIP and IP PBX services, for starters. Without UNITY, MasterStream continues to accommodate just legacy products such as Internet, PRI, POTS and integrated T1s. The problem, said Fraser, has been a programming one — the technical variables and categories for traditional products were narrow and couldn’t fit into the structures needed for next-generation services.
Automating Documents. But for some companies, next-generation services weren’t as great a driver as the general need for efficiency. That has translated into a new emphasis on paperwork completion. Within MasterStream-UNITY, for example, document automation soon will be available for agents, not just carriers. In other words, instead of requiring agents to determine which form to use, MasterStream-UNITY will generate that data. The system further will auto-populate fields if it knows the proper inputs; that means agents no longer will have to enter the same information multiple times on one form. That functionality will cut down on time spent on the computer and prevent orders from being kicked back, something that drove agents “crazy," Fraser said. Finally, when an order is complete, MasterStream-UNITY — a free, automatic upgrade to MasterStream — spits out all of the necessary paperwork for customers, providers and agents. “For example, a hosted PBX quote that includes toll-free numbers, bandwidth, a router and some phones would likely generate the service order, credit app, RESPORG and LOA forms," Fraser explained.
