Leading IT and communications provider Giacom has launched a new campaign to showcase the powerful proposition Microsoft Teams Phone offers to businesses.
Openreach’s Stop Sell In September 2023 and the impending 2025 Switch Off is the biggest technological change the Channel has seen for decades.
As businesses transition from old copper-based services to a fully digital network, there is a significant opportunity to drive productivity and integrate voice and video calls into one simple, efficient platform. With over 50% of SMBs using Microsoft 365 and utilising Microsoft Teams on a daily basis, there is huge potential to maximise Microsoft profits by selling Microsoft Teams Phone to customers.
Microsoft Teams Phone provides businesses with a simplified yet rich, unified collaboration and communication solution, enabling people to stay connected while working from any location – whether in the office, at home, or on the move.
Giacom is uniquely positioned in the UK Channel to support the migration to Cloud-based communications services like Teams Phone. Its in-house team of experts can help partners make the most of the opportunities Teams Phone presents, in turn providing maximum value to their customers.
Giacom’s new and improved Cloud Market platform makes it easy for partners to buy and manage all of their products in one place, and Giacom is the only distributor to offer all three options to deliver Teams Phone – Direct Routing, Operator Connect and Calling Plan.
Claire Makin, Head of Voice Portfolio at Giacom, said: “Openreach’s Stop Sell marks a significant milestone in communications, as we phase out analogue telephone services in the UK and welcome a new digital era of telecoms ahead of the PSTN Switch Off in December 2025.
“The transition from traditional analogue methods of communication to a fully digital network brings with it exciting opportunities for businesses to drive productivity, efficiency and growth.
“One of those big opportunities is MS Teams Phone, which enables businesses to bring all of their voice and video calls into one place, saving time, reducing costs and improving performance.
“At Giacom, we’ve got the people and the tools to help make the move to MS Teams Phone as smooth and simple as possible. We’re perfectly positioned to support MSPs with the migration of customers to modern IP phone systems, and Operator Connect allows businesses to unlock the full potential of Teams in a flexible and cost-effective way, while we can help get them to market quickly.”
Giacom has been supporting and raising awareness to its partners in the transition to Cloud-based solutions such as Teams Phone since 2018, when Openreach announced the PSTN Switch Off would take place in 2025.
In December 2025, the UK’s traditional, copper-based telephone network will be switched off, as the country moves to a fully digital network.
A significant milestone in the transition came in September this year, when Openreach stopped selling new copper products and services to customers.
Giacom is one of the only providers in the Channel which can offer partners a full suite of communication products to enable the digital transformation and support with UC and Microsoft experts for Teams Phone.
With 30 years of experience in the communications sector, Giacom is a Microsoft Gold Partner, with thousands of IT businesses using the provider to resell Microsoft products.
While the migration from copper services to a digital network was already underway, the Covid pandemic in 2020 hugely accelerated the transition.
Claire said: “Covid forced businesses to think differently about the way they were communicating.
“When the pandemic arrived in 2020, businesses went from being largely office-based to spending their days on platforms like Microsoft Teams.
“What Teams Phone offers is a way to combine the video calling service, which many of us are now very familiar with, and their existing voice calling network.
“Microsoft has worked hard in recent years to develop and expand Teams Phone, responding to customers’ requirements and needs. It’s a really strong, rounded product and at Giacom we’re perfectly placed to help partners gain the maximum benefit from Teams Phone.”
Giacom’s focus is firmly on supporting its partners to ensure they have all the tools and support they need to best serve their customers.
Giacom offers simple, monthly billing to customers for all of its cloud services, with its tech support team on hand to provide rapid, reliable assistance.
- For more information on Microsoft Teams Phone, and how Giacom supports its partners with the migration, visit cloudmarket.com/cloud-services/voice-and-connectivity/microsoft-teams-phone/
About Giacom
Supporting a UK-wide network of over 5,000 local, expert technology providers, Giacom makes it really simple for technology resellers and MSPs to access everything they need to create brilliant technology solutions for UK businesses. Giacom’s market-leading platform, Cloud Market, provides one place where partners can procure and manage comms, cloud, hardware and billing product and services, from the world’s leading vendors and service providers, and access comprehensive resources to enable their business to grow.
- Working with its network of expert technology resellers and Managed Service Providers (MSPs), Giacom’s mission is for every small business to buy its IT products from a local expert technology provider.
- Giacom’s expert team works as an extension to its partners’ businesses, bringing a deep understanding of products and services as well as commitment to excellence.
- Giacom supports its partners with every aspect of running a successful technology solutions business – from guidance on product selection, training and enablement, to advice on accelerating business growth and support to resolve a technical issue.
- In July 2023, Giacom, Digital Wholesale Solutions (DWS) and Union Street came together under one single brand – Giacom. In Giacom and Cloud Market, the business has a recognised and trusted brand that will take the company forwards into the increasingly cloud-first future of the IT and Telecoms market.
About Giacom’s Cloud Market Platform
- Giacom has invested extensively in its digital platform – Cloud Market – a partner portal which delivers a unified experience across its entire product portfolio.
- Giacom is the UK’s only provider of Comms, Cloud, Hardware and Billing solutions through one platform, Cloud Market, helping thousands of UK businesses grow by being more organised, mobile and productive.
- Cloud Market features intuitive navigation, unbeatable performance, and the ability to explore all the company’s offers in one place, making it increasingly easy for partners to deliver a broad range of products and services to customers.
For more information about Giacom, visit Giacom.com
