Vocus sketches channel vision in annual report

Vocus has released its 2018/19 annual report (pdf) and it offers a few insights into the company’s plans to nurture around 50 partners as it plots its turnaround.

The report explains that Vocus has a plan to do better with its direct sales and that “a highly targeted approach has been adopted to focus on key verticals whose needs align to our core assets and capability.”

That focus will see Vocus’ core Enterprise, Government and Wholesale segments “… strengthening our sales capability and further differentiating from our competitors by delivering enhanced customer experiences and engagement. This will involve the rationalisation of products and services along with investment in our people to drive our growth ambitions.”

That push complements a plan to address wider opportunities with the channel.

The report says “the indirect sales channel and partners will be reinvigorated which to allow the Vocus direct sales team to focus on higher value customers in key market segments.”

There’s also news of “… increased focus on strategic partnerships with major technology players to extend our reach and branding, particularly in products such as public cloud, SD-WAN, and voice and collaboration.”

Which explains this week’s new that Vocus will become a Google Cloud reseller and user.

It also explains the significance of Vocus’ relationship as a virtual mobile network operator on the Optus network, which is cited as offering “a path to 5G and fixed wireless broadband which also broadens the mobile product offering.”

That matters because the report says its Commander brand is the tool it will use to address small and medium businesses. The report opines that Commander “is uniquely placed as an SMB-only brand to grow mobile penetration.”

The report is also peppered with references to the NBN, including the impact of NBN connections replacing Vocus services. There’s also the observation that “NBN Co has also entered the competitive Enterprise segment, which has implications for strategy and our ability to compete.”