Verizon Business, RingCentral Join Forces To Launch Enterprise UCaaS Offering

The carrier giant and cloud UC provider are developing a co-branded UCaaS offering for enterprises, which will be a part of Verizon’s network as a service strategy, according to the two companies.

Telecom giant Verizon is teaming with cloud-based unified communications leader RingCentral to develop a co-branded UCaaS offering for enterprises.

As part of the new partnership, Verizon Business and RingCentral will work on cloud communications solutions with integrated team messaging, video meetings, and a cloud phone system for enterprise business users, regardless of their locations, the two companies announced on Monday.

The co-branded offering, RingCentral with Verizon, will be part of Verizon Business’ network-as-a-service strategy, which includes 5G, mobile edge computing, SD WAN, and security, according to the Basking Ridge, N.J.-based carrier.

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RingCentral with Verizon relies on RingCentral’s cloud communications platform, the company said. RingCentral has a similar partnership with Avaya for its UCaaS offering, Avaya Cloud Office with RingCentral.

RingCentral has seen demand for its collaboration solutions increase significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which sent millions of employees and students around the globe to work and learn from home, RingCentral Channel Chief Zane Long told CRN in January. The provider’s Q3 2020 saw enterprise annual recurring revenue increase 55 percent year over year and channel annual recurring revenue increase 59 percent year over year.

“RingCentral’s mission is to bring the benefits of cloud communications to organizations globally — and the demand for UCaaS solutions has never been greater,” Long told CRN in an email on the Verizon partnership. “Partnering with an industry leader like Verizon Business extends the ability to bring the RingCentral platform to new customers at an increased scale. Our unique partnership strategy is a driving force behind RingCentral’s growth, and this announcement with Verizon Business further reinforces our position in the market for long-term success.”

However, a spokesperson for Verizon said that the co-branded UCaaS offering, RingCentral with Verizon, will only be sold directly initially and isn’t available through the channel.

RingCentral with Verizon will give enterprises one solution, relationship, contract, support center, and implementation team for their deployments. The offering will be integrated with Verizon’s 5G and networking solutions and allow for custom integrations with CRM and other tools via APIs, according to the carrier.

“The ‘work from anywhere’ model will continue to be a major factor for businesses, and we’ve seen the importance of cloud communications growing stronger for enterprises in the past year,” said Tami Erwin, CEO at Verizon Business in a statement. “Through this partnership, we’re leveraging our best-in-class network with RingCentral’s expertise in cloud collaboration to deliver game-changing cloud-based solutions that meet the needs of enterprises today and future proof how they operate moving forward.”

Verizon last May acquired cloud-based videoconferencing specialist BlueJeans Network to boost its video meeting solution for enterprise customers to better compete against the likes of Zoom Video Communications and Microsoft Teams.

Verizon stock was up near 2 percent Monday morning to $59.82, while RingCentral shares were down 2 percent to $251.90.