Three Companies to Launch CloudFuel Program to Accelerate Transition from Legacy On-Premises Business Communication Systems to Leading Cloud Technology Platform and Equipment

8×8, Inc., Plantronics, Inc. and ScanSource, Inc. — announced they are joining forces to help companies easily move away from legacy on-premises business communication systems to true cloud-based communication solutions. The joint global program, named CloudFuel, will accelerate the process of ensuring organizations have proven cloud technology to meet all of their needs across unified communications, collaboration and contact center. This is the first time a comprehensive, frictionless hardware replacement/cloud migration program will be offered to the VAR channel, combining award-winning UCaaS and CCaaS solutions on 8×8’s single technology platform, best-in-class equipment from Poly and powerful financial incentives for ScanSource resellers, who are the critical parties with the end customer relationships.

“Our previous on-premises telephony system could not provide the critical integrated contact center functionality we needed”

The cloud offers many advantages to organizations, including improving efficiency and lowering cost for IT, providing AI-driven data to enable actionable insights, maximizing uptime through reliability, security and resiliency, and providing modern communication tools to unify employees and contact center agents while improving productivity.

The move from on-premises systems to cloud-based communications is accelerating regardless of organizational size, with 82 percent of businesses surveyed recently by Frost and Sullivan reporting they have moved or plan to move part or all of their enterprise telephony solutions to the cloud. However, there are still more than an estimated 350 million on-premises seats globally, with less than 10 percent migrated, providing a huge opportunity to move businesses to the cloud as part of an overall digital transformation. In addition, for the period 2018 to 2023, Gartner forecasts contact center agents worldwide using CCaaS to grow at a 19.8 percent CAGR. The on-premises contact center infrastructure agent installed base is forecasted to decline by 7.5 percent over the same period.

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The CloudFuel program will be offered through the extensive ScanSource network of more than 35,000 resellers and will provide access through their direct relationships to hundreds of thousands of customers across the globe. The CloudFuel offering will include the full range of 8×8 X Series and standalone solutions, built on top of the best voice quality and reliability in the cloud, along with integrated analytics and data, frictionless migration tools and deployment services. As part of the full-service program, customers will receive incentives on Poly equipment including highly favorable leasing terms, pricing and a buyback program for current on-premises equipment. The companies will invest in joint marketing development, equipment buyback programs, special incentives, and migration tools to accelerate the transition to cloud.

“For many years 8×8 has been helping businesses replace their legacy on-premises solutions to modernize their communications and increase service quality, system resiliency, IT agility and performance visibility all with a single cloud technology platform,” said Vik Verma, CEO at 8×8. “Today’s announcement takes our relationships with ScanSource, a leading provider of technology products and solutions, and Poly, the leading phone equipment provider, to a new level, uniting industry leaders together with a joint purpose – to deliver cost effective, packaged programs that will enable countless organizations to easily and quickly take advantage of the cloud.”

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“Our previous on-premises telephony system could not provide the critical integrated contact center functionality we needed,” said Bayard Carlin, Senior Director of Technical Operations at Colibri Group, a family of brands that provide learning solutions for licensed professionals in real estate, healthcare, and 22 other industries. “We moved to 8×8 for a single Unified Communications and Contact Center solution. I was impressed with how fast the switch-over took place and how seamless the project was from day one. We have realized 30 percent cost savings, and more importantly, we have less complexity and more functionality, including rich contact center analytics and an easier process for adding new agents or locations quickly.”

“This strategic partnership between ScanSource, 8×8, and Poly enables our VARs to resell 8×8 cloud communication services aligned with their existing, preferred business model that allows them to own the customer relationship,” said Mike Baur, Chairman and CEO at ScanSource, Inc. “This program will allow our VARs to manage the customer billings for the 8×8 and Poly solution, while also giving VARs the ability to add additional services that they provide.”

“For years, Poly has been leading the charge helping our customers move from on-premises telephony to cloud-based communications,” said Joe Burton, President and Chief Executive Officer at Poly. “With stellar partners like 8×8 and ScanSource, along with these new incentive programs, we will make the migration process to UCaaS as seamless as possible for our collective customers.”

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