In 2022, Rev.io introduced the idea of the “commvergence” into our lexicon. We frequently use this term day-to-day at our own company, and we are proud to have made it part of a wider conversation within the ecosystem of communications service providers (CSPs) and the vendors that serve them.
What is the commvergence?
Commvergence is a play on words between “communication” and “convergence,” as well as a commentary on where the B2B communications market is headed.
Over the last several years, traditional resellers of communications services (including everything from traditional POTS or wireline to unified communications) have become more active in managed services. This move can create better customer loyalty and increase retention in an increasingly commoditized product environment.
Additionally, many managed service providers (MSPs) have moved away from traditional break-fix and basic service contract models to both resell and service B2B communications tools. By getting into this business, MSPs can generate recurring revenue in an extremely competitive marketplace.
How competitive is the CSP & MSP marketplace?
It’s hard to pin down an exact number, but there are many firms of all sizes within it. Among telecommunications resellers, IBISWorld pegged the year-end 2022 number at over 3,200, encompassing sales of over $22 billion.
The MSP market is even bigger in terms of number of firms, even after over 2,000 mergers and acquisitions since the beginning of 2019. Depending on what source you use, it’s estimated that there are between 35,000-38,000 MSPs operating in the US alone.
The challenge for CSPs
At Rev.io, we are very optimistic on the entire communications service provider space, and we believe that the best-run companies will reap major rewards in the coming years.
Even as we head into a period of economic uncertainty highlighted by inflation and job loss, enterprises still report that their spending on technology will grow in 2023 and beyond. This would make sense to anyone who works in a team environment with significant collaboration through software. Even with pandemic in the rear view mirror, the trend of employees working in a distributed fashion is here to stay. Employees are asking their companies for the best tools to communicate and share information effectively, with service and support to match.
Speaking of the pandemic, CSPs benefited greatly in 2020 and 2021 from a spike in demand as business customers scrambled to set up their employees for success in makeshift home offices. But that growth leveled off starting in 2022, and now both enterprises and SMBs are in a position to consolidate tools and pick the best vendors on products, service quality, and price.
What does this mean for communication service providers?
This significant marketplace change means that the commvergence has morphed from a new opportunity to an imperative for service providers. CSPs are now expected to be complete vendors and partners for their end customers. That means that leadership teams are going to have a lot to think about and decisions to balance in the years to come. These teams will need to be product visionaries, tech stack experts, sales and marketing machines, economic prognosticators, and purveyors of top quality service.
Fortunately, there’s help out there for CSPs. At Rev.io, we benefit from our unique position as the back office and billing solution for over 250 CSPs, who are successful in executing a wide range of product and go-to-market strategies. We’ve been integral to our clients’ success for over 20 years, and we have learned from some of the best operators in the industry as to what makes them successful.
That’s why we are proud to kick off this blog series for CSPs this year. We will cover what we see as the most important topics for service providers to consider as they undertake their own commvergence journey in 2023. You’ll hear from Rev.io experts on the importance of:
- Service and Product types – why there’s no “perfect mix” and how you can be successful with a wide variety of offerings
- Interoperability and Integrations – how to think about your services as part of a wider ecosystem to benefit customers
- Going Upmarket – best practices to sell and market effectively to large prospects
- Expanding geographically – how to work around common pitfalls to selling in new markets
- Providing excellent service – Ideas to be both reactive and proactive in your approach to customer support
Given that Rev.io’s mission is to help CSPs grow revenue efficiently, we are proud to drive success for those clients through both our software and the people that build and support it. We look forward to sharing our insights with you!
If you are interested in the series and want to learn more, please contact marketing@rev.io today!