CoreDial Puts Partners In Driver's Seat With Platform Updates, BroadWorks Integration

Channel-only VoIP and telecommunications provider CoreDial is making it easier for partners to sell, manage and invoice cloud communications with a slew of platform enhancements, new integration, and a mobile app.

Blue Bell, Pa.-based CoreDial wants to not only add new partners this year, but better position its existing MSP, VAR, and solution provider partners to sell cloud-based communications offerings, according to CoreDial’s CEO, Alan Rihm.

CoreDial is known for its Software-as-a-Service channel automation platform called SwitchConnex, which enables the end-to-end, quote-to-cash process for partners -- everything from doing proposals, tracking orders, provisioning and management, Rihm said. Partners can use SwitchConnex to white-label and sell, deliver, manage and bill a la carte cloud communications services or bundles that can include hosted PBX, VoIP, SIP trunking and unified communications services.

[Related: Broadvoice Bullish On Channel Strategy, Offers Cloud PBX, SIP Sales Incentives To Partners]

Now, Rihm said, BroadSoft’s BroadWorks platform is being integrated with SwitchConnex. The integration will give CoreDial partners – as well as their agent partners -- access to more features, increased scalability and redundancy, all on a recognized UC platform brand that will help attract larger end customers.

Centric Telecom, a telecommunications hardware and services solution provider and CoreDial partner that sells primarily to small and midsize customers, believes the BroadWorks integration will help convince larger customers considering cloud-based communications.

"The Asterisk platform today is great for the SMB marketplace because it's more cost-effective. But now we have options. Once the BroadWorks [integration] comes online, we're in much better position to pursue that marketplace of larger customers," said Larry Dressel, president of McLean, Va.-based Centric Telecom.

The SwitchConnex platform is integrated with Asterisk, Digum's open-source VoIP software platform, according to Rihm. Going forward, SwitchConnex will be integrated with both Asterisk and BroadSoft technology, he said.

CoreDial also has added two modules to it SwitchConnex platform to help partners with tax and commissions management. The tax automation engine powered by tax software company Avalara -- formerly known as EZTax -- and the new commissions management functionality will help automate the regulatory and tax calculations for customer orders and bills, which can help partners scale more quickly, Rihm said.

"This is making it easier for our partners to engage their agent partners to help them drive business by being able to calculate commissions and do reporting," he said.

Centric Telecom plans to use the tax automation engine to move into new markets. The company currently services customers in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Automating the tax process for billing takes work off partners' plate, and Centric plans to take advantage of the functionality to move into new states, Dressel said.

"It's great to have a partner that can help us figure out taxes owed as we move into other areas," he said.

CoreDial also unveiled its mobile app to the channel during its inaugural PartnerConnex conference, held earlier this month in Philadelphia. Rihm said that the mobile app will include features such as one-click-to-join conference calls, an embedded SIP client, auto-attendant management for administrators, and voice-to-text transcription tied to the business UCaaS offering.

"The functions that are available with that app and the fact that it's fully integrated with the [SwitchConnex] platform is huge," Dressel said. "We have some customers that use their cellphones more than anything, and the app does a very good job of turning your cellphone into a business phone."

The mobile client will be compatible with CoreDial’s Asterisk and BroadWorks UCaaS services. The app will first launch for iOS devices, with a follow-up release slated for Android devices.

CoreDial, an 11-year-old company, changed up its sales strategy to focus squarely on indirect channels about seven years ago and hasn't looked back. In fact, the provider has been on a partner binge recently. More than half of its 500 channel partners were added over the past year, with about 15 to 20 partners on average being added monthly, Rihm said.

Approximately 200 partners attend PartnerConnex, which focused on the efficiency, productivity and cost-saving advantages of UCaaS so partners can better position the offering to larger clients. The primary adopters of UCaaS have so far been largely small to midsize businesses, but enterprises are showing interest, Rihm said.

With larger business customers in mind, CoreDial has partnered with Mass Communications, a New York-based telecommunications and networking solution provider, to offer advanced MPLS connectivity solutions to CoreDial partners.

While private connectivity isn't typically a priority for SMBs, enterprise businesses often require MPLS connectivity, Rihm said.

"Smaller companies don't usually afford themselves a high-quality MPLS circuit, but bigger customers need that kind of connectivity. With this partnership, our partners will now have the option to sell multiple MPLS providers so they can get the right connection for the customer, depending on what geography the customer is located in," he said.

The partnership will give CoreDial's channel access to MPLS solutions from multiple service providers.

CoreDial wants to continue its channel momentum by rolling out new services and welcoming more "sweet spot" partners in 2016, Rihm said.

"We're not looking to just sign up any partner," he said. "We want partners that we can really bring value to their business, and we do expect to sign up a lot of new partners this year."