US cloud communications supplier 8×8, Inc. is partnering with UK community operator KCOM in an try to carve a bigger share of the British enterprise communications market, combining its software program stack with KCOM’s carrier-grade community.
The deal underscores rising curiosity in totally built-in cloud communications platforms that promise larger reliability and safety than standard public cloud deployments.
The collaboration will see KCOM host 8×8’s Platform for CX by itself infrastructure, giving UK organizations unified entry to voice, messaging, video, and speak to centre instruments – aiming to scale back reliance on third-party networks, a promoting level for sectors the place outages are unacceptable.
KCOM says its enterprise consumer base consists of roughly 8,000 organizations, spanning healthcare, emergency providers, and different important infrastructure.
“For carriers similar to KCOM, reliability, safety, and buyer belief are non-negotiable,” stated Jamie Snaddon, GVP, Managing Director of EMEA at 8×8, Inc.
“By combining KCOM’s community experience with 8×8’s unified communications and speak to centre platform, we’re delivering an end-to-end answer that helps organisations help their prospects, modernize their operations, and innovate with confidence.”
A Market Below Stress
Enterprise communications within the UK is present process speedy change.
Hybrid working, rising cyber threats, and tighter regulatory scrutiny round knowledge privateness have pushed corporations to hunt platforms which can be each versatile and dependable.
Whereas public cloud suppliers dominate the broader communications area, a rising variety of UK enterprises – notably in delicate sectors – are cautious of options that depend upon US or international community paths.
Internet hosting a cloud communications platform on a home service’s infrastructure is usually a compelling risk-management technique.
KCOM’s Strategic Play
For KCOM, the deal represents an try to broaden its enterprise portfolio past connectivity.
Providing 8×8’s cloud software program alongside its community may let it compete towards bigger, international telcos within the built-in communications area.
“Deciding on the best companion was important for us,” KCOM Enterprise managing director Jan Collins stated. “8×8 stood out not just for the platform however for a way our groups may collaborate operationally.”
Collins’ remark underscores a wider development amongst carriers making an attempt so as to add worth by means of software program partnerships reasonably than merely promoting bandwidth.
For KCOM, which has confronted competitors from BT, Virgin Media O2, and CityFibre, bundling cloud providers with community connectivity may enhance stickiness amongst enterprise purchasers and open recurring income streams.
8×8’s UK Push
For 8×8, the UK has been a difficult market dominated by Microsoft Groups, Cisco, and Zoom. Partnering with a home service presents two benefits: entry to KCOM’s present buyer base and the flexibility to market a “carrier-grade” answer that differentiates from customary public cloud choices.
Whereas company messaging emphasizes these factors, analysts recommend the transfer can also be defensive: 8×8 wants home partnerships to stay related in markets the place knowledge residency and community reliability are more and more cited as key choice components.
Prospects in regulated or mission-critical sectors may benefit from having cloud communications on a UK-based community.
Diminished dependency on worldwide routing and fewer third-party suppliers might decrease latency and decrease publicity to outages. Nevertheless, the precise influence will depend upon integration high quality and the flexibility of KCOM and eight×8 to keep up the mixed infrastructure at scale.
The broader development factors to a “hybrid carrier-software” mannequin rising throughout Europe. Conventional community operators more and more see partnerships with SaaS suppliers as a option to defend revenues in declining voice and legacy telecom markets.
In the meantime, software program distributors like 8×8 leverage home community credibility to win purchasers who may in any other case favor Microsoft, Cisco, or Google.
Wider Outlook
The partnership is beginning with joint go-to-market initiatives throughout the UK, together with coordinated gross sales and buyer engagement.
Over the subsequent yr, each corporations plan to increase the service with AI-powered contact middle capabilities.
Success will in the end depend upon a myriad of things, together with pricing, reliability, and the way convincingly the joint platform can differentiate from entrenched rivals.
In a market the place cloud communications is more and more a commodity, the 8×8-KCOM partnership highlights a key development: software program distributors want robust home infrastructure companions to persuade enterprises that cloud just isn’t solely versatile, but additionally resilient and safe.
