Telstra expects that T-Suite will become an effective low-cost channel for upselling new services to Digital Business customers over time as customers select new apps from the T-Suite menu.
While face-to-face channel partners will be essential for creating momentum for Digital Business, they will need to adapt as SMEs become more comfortable with a purely online channel.
Digital Business is a good example of the impact of cloud computing on the industry and its sales channels. As more services are bought and managed online, traditional channel partners will need to develop skills beyond selling and distributing devices and shrink-wrapped software. They will need to move upstream into assisting their clients to integrate the systems and use them effectively to grow their businesses.
The change will not happen overnight, but growth in the number of customers using T-Suite will be like the proverbial canary in the coalmine for the face-to-face channel partners. As devices become simpler, and as more functionality becomes embedded in SaaS solutions, channel partners will need to move with the changing times or be left behind.
Developers may become a new sales force
The portfolio of SaaS apps in T-Suite is currently somewhat limited – essentially some Microsoft online apps, a few locally specific HR and finance apps, and some IT security software.
However, Telstra has also announced that it plans to create a services and applications marketplace and developer centre. We think this is an important step. Telstra would benefit from creating a predefined framework for a larger number of application developers and entrepreneurs that would use T-Suite as a way to reach their customers.
A large base of application developers will help Telstra to address a growing number of verticals and specific applications, and also multiply the sales force. Successful developers will not just sit down and wait for the online orders to come; they will chase customers and ultimately drive the network infrastructure and services that are part of the offering.
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