News
Product & Services Updates
Atos opens first lab for artificial intelligence in Germany
Atos CEO and Chairman Thierry Breton officially opened Atos’ first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Laboratory in Munich, where Atos will develop business solutions for customers using AI and other cutting-edge technologies. The German AI lab is part of Atos’ global AI network as an element of its partnership with Google Cloud, and is aimed at companies and organizations that want to promote and develop the use of AI across their businesses. At the lab, Atos provides customers and partners insights into the digital future of the economy by various use cases.
Read the full press release here.
Refresh of Unify Sales Certification Training
The Unify Sales certification training has been refreshed, updated and is LIVE from 1st November 2019. This refresh will merge our current SMB and Large Enterprise courses into a single Sales certification training, covering our entire portfolio. The objective is to simplify and streamline the certification process and to make it easier for our valued partners to sell our solutions.
The new Sales certification training includes up-to-date information on OpenScape Business, OpenScape Voice, (OpenScape Enterprise and OpenScape 4000), OpenScape Contact Center, OpenScape Cloud and Circuit. The course will take approximately 2 ½ hours plus a 30-question test, that you must pass to achieve certification. A detailed study guide will be provided to assist you when taking your exam.
Once you have completed the Sales certification training, this will qualify you to quote and sell Unify solutions via the Partner Program. The sales certificate will remain valid for 2 years, after which time it will need to be renewed.
If you already completed and passed a valid Sales training certificate which is due to expire between 1st August 2019 and 31st December 2019, it will automatically be extended until 31st December 2019. You will then be required to complete the new certification course and pass the test between November 1st and December 31st to be recertified. Access to the course and test will be provided by the Unify Academy under course number STI 111.
Please contact your local Unify Channel Account Manager with any questions you have.
Marketing Updates
Become an advocate on Digital Envoy
For the next couple of months you are going to hear a lot about social media! Why? Because it is ever more important in our marketing toolkit. We constantly look for reviews when buying products – you, as parts of that sales process, are going to be looked up, on LinkedIn, on Twitter. This is important because we all need to realise it’s not just our company social account that matters – we need to be ambassadors of our product/services on social.
One of the great tools we have to help with this is Digital Envoy. Not only does it have links to our Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn posts (you connect your accounts so you can very easily share what you want), there are topic discussions and challenges to be a part of – a place where you can provide good customer stories to be made into case studies. The best part is that it’s all gamified – you get points for everything you do, and I want to start rewarding this with prizes, so start getting acquainted with it now! Give it a go here.
Meet the team
Every month we are going to introduce a member of our team to you, so you gain the right contacts and get to know the experts!
This month, meet Etien. Etien Yanev is the UCC Head of Customer Advocacy, master of the advocacy tool Digital Envoy. He is the perfect person to talk to if you have a customer reference to use and amplify or have any challenges to suggest for Digital Envoy! Etien is also a lecturer on digital marketing in universities and happy to engage with any digital topic-related discussions. His true passion is video games, now preparing to join the Bulgarian national team for the first EURO 2020 football championship in electronic sports.
Partner activity of the month
Each month we want to recognise the work that you are doing and this month, we want to give a special mention to Sievers Group. They created this video cartoon that talks about Circuit providing a modern and effective way of communicating with employees, even if they work in different locations.
If you’ve got some MDF that you haven’t spent yet, why not think about making something like this – or maybe a video case study?
Watch the video here (Video is in German but still worth watching, even if you don’t speak German, to see the style used)
Social monthly challenge
Summer is fading into a distant memory for some, and just around the corner for others! So where is your ideal place to work when the sun is shining? Post a picture on Twitter and tag @unifyco to join in. Find some inspiration below:
https://twitter.com/UnifyCo/status/1173517913325805568
https://twitter.com/UnifyCo/status/1171036052062199809
https://www.instagram.com/p/B21d2YhBtCE/
Promotions
Free OpenScape Cloud Training
We are excited to tell you we have extended our OpenScape Cloud Sales Excellence Training offer – the training is completely free, instead of the usual €899!
As I’m sure you will agree this is an offer that can’t be missed, make sure you take advantage before the promotion ends 31st March 2020. To find out more and register for the training, talk to your Account Manager.
Cloud Development Fund
We would like to draw your attention to the Cloud Development Fund (this has replaced the Cloud Value rebate). Those at an authorized level can earn 1% with Professional level partners earning 3% and Master partners earning 6%. Cloud turnover is considered for both MDF and CDF meaning that you can earn double! This is a great opportunity to generate more funds so please get in contact with your Account Manager to reap the benefits.
NEW overview brochure for Unify
We’re proud to present a brand new overview brochure for our Unify solutions. Please use this as a learning resource and an information pack for customers.
Click here to download the brochure
Sign up for Partner SalesConnect
Partner SalesConnect is a Circuit conversation dedicated to our Global Partner Network with the specific purpose of enabling our Partners to win with Unify Solutions, by developing stronger relationships between Unify and our Partners and providing the latest sales & product updates, initiatives, promotions and messaging.
If you haven’t already joined the ‘Partner SalesConnect’ Circuit conversation, please register now! To access the webinars, you must have a Circuit account and be registered via the Partner Portal. In this section you will also find a link to apply for a circuit account if you are in a non released country – special provision has been made.
Circuit is about communities and conversations. You don’t have to wait for the monthly calls – you can ask questions, share information and engage our subject matter experts whenever you like in the Partner SalesConnect conversation. Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Blogs
Four Learnings from a Year of Remote Working
Atos’ Rebecca Ellis, Global Channel Communications and Events Manager, shares her insights into successful remote working after a year of full time remote work. The transition from office to home worker can be rough, but having a defined work space, nearby coffee shops or wi-fi zones to escape to, and maintaining personal relationships with colleagues make the move smoother and more productive.
Click here to read Rebecca’s blog
Success Stories
St Francois County joint communications
St. Francois County Joint Communications, a consolidated dispatch center in rural southeast Missouri needed to replace an out-of-date analog system. The center needed a solution that could meet current standards for call delivery, including better support for wireless callers, and quickly adapt to evolving requirements.
St. Francois County became the first agency in the U.S. to implement Atos’ OpenScape First Response system and network services – OpenScape First Response accommodates changes in communications technologies to optimize resources, reduce response times and improve reliability.
Read the case study in full here
Voice Platform case studies
We all know a success story can help you show a potential customer how you can transform business for them – it’s a tangible way of seeing the results they could achieve by working with you. Each week we will share some of our case studies to make sure you’re aware of the library available to you. If you’re looking for a success story to fit a particular solution, you can find them all on our website.
This month we’re highlighting a couple of success stories involving voice platforms:
- University of Vienna – The University of Vienna is the biggest and best-known university in Austria and wanted to replace it’s old legacy system, offering a complete UC solution for 7,000 to 10,000 end users. The university now has a state-of-the-art IP communications system that was rolled out in a flexible, modular manner – a quick video sums up the work done which is great content to share on your social media channels.
- CADCON – Technology solutions provider CADCON has a team of more than 500 engineers and specialists working out of many locations. To support its rapid growth and accommodate vital communication capabilities for their teams, the company relies on OpenScape Voice from Unify supported by its experienced solution partner PTC Telecom.
- Schloss Fuschl – The communication infrastructure of Schloss Fuschl, a luxury collection resort & spa, needed an innovative upgrade. Together, Unify and MEHOKO Meinhart & Heldele Gmbh were able to transform this allowing guests, whether on the golf course or in the spa, to get onto the internet quickly and make calls with IP technology.
Thinking about what to do with a good customer story/reference site?
Nowadays, people are more concerned than ever with good reviews. Whether searching for a pair of trainers or looking for a service, you want to know you are in capable hands, with a trusted suppler. The best way to do this is through reviews – and working in a B2B industry, the best way for us is through reference sites and customer stories.
So have you got some happy customers but don’t have time to create anything? Or do you already have some signed off quotes from a business but don’t know what to do next? We can help.
- I have some potential case study candidates
Talk to us – we can have a quick phone call to identify the points that would make a good story and write a story. We can then work with you and the customer to get sign off and those all important quotes. We are happy to talk to you about how you then use this content to your advantage and can help you push it out on social channels. Contact Etien.Yanev@atos.net for more information. - I already have some signed off content
Great start! We can help you use the right medium for your case study – could it become a video case study, be made into an upshot or be put into a written format. Contact Etien.Yanev@atos.net to get started.
Events
Did you miss our Marketing Hub webinar – Let’s get Social?
On the 15th October, we hosted a webinar talking about why improving your company’s presence on social media channels can help you sell and raise your profile. Rebecca Ellis, our Global Channel Communications & Events Manager, gave tips on how to get your LinkedIn profile up to scratch, and how to use it more for customer research and engaging prospects.
Then Iliyana Genova, our head of Global Social Media, reminded us of quick and easy ways to get active on all social media channels using the different resources we provide.
If you missed the session, don’t worry, we have a recording and the slides available on our Circuit Marketing Hub conversation. If you are not a part of the Marketing Hub conversation and want to be, please email us here.
Contact Center events
We’re hosting and presenting at a couple of contact center events over the next couple of months – stay posted for social media coverage, and if in your area, come and see us!
Find us on stand F03 at the CRM Event in Cannes on the 6th & 7th November.
Join us for a Contact Center Roadshow in Illinois on 14th November.
Save date for Global Partner Business Update
You may have attended one of our quarterly partner business updates before – if so, you will know how important they are. This webinar is the best place to find out what’s going on in the world of Unify & Atos. Our executive team will update you on product, let you know what the strategy is for the upcoming year and advise of any promotions. We will send you a save the date in due course, but please save 10:00 – 11:00 (BST) 26th November to your calendars. The session will be recorded for those who can’t attend and made available after the webinar.