CRN Exclusive: Telarus Goes Global, Bringing Master Agent Model into Australia And New Zealand
Telarus wants to introduce the master agent model to Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
The Sandy, Utah-based master agent is expanding internationally and has elected to start in the South Pacific by building out the region's first full-service master agency offering cloud, contact center, security and connectivity services to telecom agent partners.
To that end, Telarus has brought on telecom and channel veteran Tony Heywood to lead its expansion efforts. Heywood, based Sydney, will serve as Telarus' vice president of international sales, Telarus CEO and co-founder Adam Edwards told CRN exclusively.
Heywood previously served as vice president and country manager for systems integrator AGC Networks. Prior to that, he ran Westcon Group’s Cisco sales team and services business.
In his new position with Telarus, Heywood is taking on the roles of partner development manager, supplier manager, commissions analyst, marketing expert and events coordinator. As Telarus' presence grows in the region, Heywood will establish a permanent office in Sydney and hire staff to take over the partner support roles while he focuses his efforts on growing sales and vendor partnerships, according to the master agent.
Unlike the way most master agents got their start in the United States market with wireline products, Telarus is kicking off its international expansion with a cloud-first approach, Edwards said.
"We see a huge opportunity as these cloud companies expand into other geographies," he said. "If we can help partners embrace the broker model, it's good for suppliers and for partners."
Telarus is starting with several global suppliers in its AZN portfolio, including UCaaS providers RingCentral and Mitel, and cloud infrastructure providers such as Rackspace and Chinese cloud giant Alibaba.
While the reseller model is deeply entrenched in Australia, the broker model is a new concept in the ANZ region, said Patrick Oborn, Telarus' co-founder alongside Edwards.
Telecom services, unlike IT services and equipment, haven't been resold in other countries in the same way it has in the U.S. Telecom taxes and local regulations can make the sale challenging for channel partners. As such, the telecom brokerage model has taken off in the U.S. first with the model is set to take off outside of the U.S., especially as cloud services sales pick up steam, he said.
In addition to education, Telarus will be offering agent partners in Australia and New Zealand engineering support and financing resources. Partners will be paid out in a recurring revenue model.
From Australia and New Zealand, Telarus plans to expand into Asia.
"A good number of suppliers are expanding into these regions, and with a combined effort between these providers and master agents, we can educate partners and show them these opportunities," Edwards said.
Telarus said it will officially launch its presence in Australia by mid-year. The company will also reveal the new company name it will use for its Australian presence at the same time.