Intermedia Launches UCaaS Analytics Platform Envision At Xchange 2019

Cloud communications specialist Intermedia unveiled a new analytics offering to inject more visibility into communications performance as the firm aims to help more MSPs add unified communications to their repertoires.

The privately-held company revealed UCaaS platform Intermedia Unite last year, an offering that combines cloud-based voice solutions with video technology it gained in September 2017 when the company acquired web conferencing provider AnyMeeting. On Monday at The Channel Company's Xchange 2019 conference in Las Vegas, the company announced its new analytics platform, Intermedia Unite Envision.

Envision lets partners and end customers monitor the performance of Intermedia Unite's UC and collaboration tools in real-time. Users and partners can use Envision to keep an eye on their voice and video call quality and identify any issues or trends that could be causing issues via a QoS Dashboard for customers and a Partner Dashboard for solution providers. Partners and users can also create customizable notifications based on quality thresholds.

The ability to provide "actionable insights" to partners should only encourage more solution providers who aren't selling voice today to consider dipping their toe into the market, especially MSPs, said Mark Sher, vice president of UC for Intermedia.

[Related: Solution Providers Urged To Show Their Caring Sides To Win Word-Of-Mouth Referrals]

"The portal for partners ranks all of its customers, and partners can go in and look at all these environments, really easy. We show you the entire round-trip of the call," Sher said. Using Envision, partners can click into specific calls and meetings, and even identify potential network issues that could impact voice and video services before a customer is aware. Partner and customers can also use Envision to create specific performance thresholds that will trigger an alert if the threshold has not been reached.

"Partners using [Envision] in beta said that this platform has been very helpful. They can answer questions, find problems, create solutions, and just move on," he said.

Partner-friendly Intermedia has been offering UCaaS, email, and other cloud services to business customers since 1995, and the company has always relied on partners. Intermedia differentiates itself from other cloud communications players in the market via its two distinct channel models -- an agent model, or the more traditional path to selling UC, and a reseller model, which gives ownership of the customer to the partner, but removes the hurdles to selling voice solutions, such as billing, said Intermedia's chief operating officer Jonathan McCormick.

"This reseller model and the opportunity for you is perfect for a MSP. This fits your current model where you are the service provider for the customer," McCormick said.

Cindy Phillips, director of marketing for CMIT Solutions, said she is always "shopping" for new IT products and services that are specifically great fits for small businesses. Intermedia's portfolio, she said, is compelling because its communications offerings removes the biggest barrier to entry for most channel partners when it comes to selling voice services -- taxes.

CMIT Solutions, an Austin, Texas-based provider, serves as an IT distribution and support arm for small businesses looking for enterprise-grade IT solutions.

"Intermedia does a really great job of breaking out the technology issues from the business issues, and they are focused on the problems that MSPs have. It's all about how to make things easier for [partners,]" Phillips said.

Intermedia will continue to make UCaaS selling easier for existing partners, as well as perspective MSPs looking to add another solution to their portfolio. Businesses are buying voice from someone, so it might as well be their trusted advisor, Intermedia's McCormick told the audience of solution providers.

"We know your time is valuable and profit matters," he said. "We want to make things efficient for you and help you maintain as much profit as you can."