Resellers: It’s time to do a gut check on the quality of your cloud PBX provider. There is a list of factors that make up a best-in-class provider, so if yours isn’t meeting your expectations, it may be time for an audit.

And, quite frankly, there’s no time to waste in seeking out a new provider if your current one isn’t doing the job. Telecom channel sales are heating up like never before so  to preserve your business, you must ensure that you have the most advanced portfolio of products for your customers as well as a partner that provides comprehensive training and management solutions for your reselling needs.

In fact, a recent report from Infonetics research stated that the competitive landscape for business services is highly fragmented, with an increasing number of PBX and unified communications vendors, enterprise agents, system integrators, and resellers expanding into the market. As such, the need for telecom resellers to guarantee their products and best practices are unmatched by their competitors is critical to their continuing success.

But maybe you aren’t feeling let down by your cloud provider; maybe your business is booming. But maybe it’s because you aren’t yet aware of the upgrades and advancements that have been occurring right under your nose over the past year—advancements that you must be aware of in order to maintain your successful business.

Try measuring your cloud PBX provider against the criteria listed below to see how it matches up. Here are three sure-fire signs you partnered with a best-in-class provider:

Offers enterprise features

First and foremost, the product itself must be a frontrunner in the market. That is, your cloud PBX must be able to offer enterprise level solutions to businesses of all sizes with flexibility and ease. Specifically, your cloud PBX should offer the same conveniences and sophisticated collaboration tools a local PBX would be able to provide. Businesses large and small are looking for more tools to streamline their day-to-day communications; therefore features such as unified communications (UC) and clients for smartphones and desktops are integral.

Empowers the reseller

All too often cloud PBX providers take control of customer accounts, leaving the reseller with limited ability to manage their customers’ needs. A cutting-edge provider will design its cloud PBX product to empower resellers, not restrict them. For instance, your cloud PBX provider should enable the reseller to gain complete control of customer accounts in order to choose preferred SIP trunk providers, sell add-on services, hardware and further integrations, as well as offer on-premises or hosted deployment depending on customer preference. This empowerment enables the reseller to pivot with customers needs which makes for heightened levels of customer service and technical support—which all resellers need to remain competitive.

Provides flexibility and scalability

Your cloud PBX provider’s model should be designed with the end-user and the reseller in mind. That is, the product should be flexible and scalable to engender simpler management for the reseller as well as better responsiveness to customers’ changing communication needs. For example, the reseller should be able to host the provider’s product in their centers, with the flexibility to start small and add more instances as their customer base grows. Additionally, when the reseller gains full control of their customers account they can respond quickly and easily to their changing needs. For example, customers can choose their preference of VoIP gateways, SIP trunks, etc. so that their PBX is configured just the way they need.

So how does your current provider match up now? Learn even more about what a superior cloud PBX provider has to offer your reselling business, here.