The Master Agency Model and How Partners Can Benefit

In February 2021, Nuvias UC was announced as a Zoom Wholesale Partner across Europe. This is in addition to our existing Master Agency programme with Zoom and provides us with a very unique position across the continent.

We are now able to offer all Zoom products, including Zoom Phone (only available to Zoom Agents) plus our portfolio of hardware, devices and professional services as well as our own exclusive Zoom+ bundles for Poly, Yealink and DTEN.

What is a Master Agency model and some of its benefits?

The Master Agency model has been popular in the US for some time, growing over the past couple of years with SMB and Enterprise channel partners.

Already well established in the US, this model is comparatively similar to the standard two-tier distribution system. However, this model affords partners the flexibility and time to focus on new business opportunities while letting the Master Agent and the vendor do the heavy lifting on behalf of the Sub-Agent.

The pandemic restrictions have also contributed to encouraging the uptake of this model. It is now slowly gaining ground in Europe too, driven by some vendors who are focussing on a more transactional model of operation – Zoom being a prime example.

This also lowers the barrier for entry for smaller partners to realise and scale their business opportunities. With this model, partners don’t necessarily need high levels of technical knowledge or big bank balances to get started.

One of the primary benefits is an extended reach for channel partners at low cost, enabling them to run accounts across a large geographical area. Essentially, this is enabling the globalisation of the channel. It can also assist in cash flow enabling partners in the SMB space to open up another line of credit.

For larger resellers it can enable them to hit the mid-market with little to zero expense whilst focusing on their large enterprise customers. Nuvias UC offers services focused exclusively on providing next generation Cloud and XaaS technologies through an easy to consume Wholesale and Master Agency business model. It incorporates billing automation, Master Agent referrals, a finance option and a fully co-brandable interface. This enables partners to easily introduce, automate and accelerate their own digital offering, leveraging industry leading Cloud vendors.

Partners who wish to adopt the Master Agency model and become a Sub-Agent, simply need to refer end-user opportunities to the vendor who then put in the work to close the deal. Partners will receive commission on the sale of the license(s) while retaining a recurring revenue stream for the life of the deal.

This takes away a lot of the stumbling blocks for Sub-Agents. Not only can Nuvias UC – as the Master Agent – represent partners with the vendor, but also have the capacity and the experts to support and train Sub-Agents on all aspects of the solution and sales process.

This is a great way for partners to benefit from, and add, a vendor and Master Agent’s experience and knowledge without the need to be experts from the get-go.

Comparing the two models

Master Agency

• Partners recognised as ‘Sub-Agents’
• Easy scalability
• Streamlined sales processes – customer buys from Zoom
• Recurring commission
• Able to refer Zoom Phone

Wholesale

• Partners recognised as ‘Resellers’
• Enhanced control for working Zoom into existing offering
• Direct relationship with customer
• Lucrative margin opportunity
• Not able to sell Zoom Phone
• For partners who can present the opportunity of 2,500+ seats or $25,000+ Monthly Recurring Revenue within 12 months

Additional benefits of working with Nuvias UC

There are a wealth of additional benefits of partnering with Nuvias UC for your Zoom business. The Nuvias UC team have over 10 years of experience in deploying solutions from ecosystem vendors of Zoom including Poly, AudioCodes, Yealink and EPOS.

Our full range of support services across Zoom and ecosystem vendors include:

• Automation
• XaaS Finance
• Deal Reg Support
• Marketing Support
• Renewals
• Online Webstore
• Partner Enablement
• Professional Services
• New Technology Introductions
• Technical Support

Of course, partners shouldn’t feel like they have to move to either/ or model. Both models can be implemented and work in tandem with each other to fully realise the benefits of both.

Being able to offer both models puts Nuvias UC in the unique position. We are able to give partners expert advice and assistance throughout the decision making process and continuing support thereafter.

Contact us today to find out more.