Masergy Launches Global Cloud Communications Service

Following acquisition of Broadcore last July, Masergy Communications, last week, launched its Global Cloud Communications (GCC) service which combines Broadcore’s UCaaS solution based on BroadSoft’s BroadWorks platform with Masergy’s global Ethernet services delivered across a native MPLS network. Together with Broadcore, Masergy is focused on the platform and the infrastructure to deliver cloud-based UCC and business process application integration on a global scale to customers who: (1) want to integrate new cloud-based UCC capabilities in specific cases with their mix of TDM and IP PBXs for controlled evolution; and (2) have been scaling down their IT departments and, as a result, want one carrier to go to globally for both voice and data. Masergy’s typical client has a lot of geographic as well as network diversity. A 100- to 200-person law firm with 15 to 20 global offices would be a prime candidate. Client companies typically have sites in the US, in the UK and several sites in the Asia-Pacific Theater. Today, two-thirds to three-fourths of their business comes from financial service, global manufacturing, legal/professional and technology companies (combined).

Masergy is known for:

Global Delivery: Offering global Ethernet as a Layer 3 private IP service or, more commonly, as a Layer 2 virtual private LAN service (VPLS). VPLS is a Layer 2 transport technology that provides a virtual private network (VPN) across a shared network infrastructure for secure, cost-effective networking.

Visibility and Control: Giving customers real-time visibility at the application layer in terms of who’s doing what across their private WAN infrastructure everywhere in the world. In addition, customers have realtime control in terms of increasing and decreasing port speeds and service plane speeds for voice and video. They can do all that directly and automatically.

Customer Experience: Measurement is based on net promoter score. Masergy has consistently achieved results that are significantly above other global carriers leading to a churn rate below 1%. The same can also be said for Broadcore. One of the biggest challenges the company faces is to make sure that they can scale the GCC operation to keep up with the demand while maintaining customer experience levels.

Masergy UCaaS Differentiators

Customized Evolutionary Path to UCC

GCC combines Masergy’s new “Intelligent” SIP trunking and hosted UCC products into a tailored solution for each client. A GCC engagement begins with a consultative and strategic evaluation, conducted by Masergy’s engineers, to understand each customer’s unique challenges and pain points, the management team’s threshold for change, and an audit including current PBX contracts, customized configurations and the number and location of office sites involved. Based on this information a customized migration strategy, leveraging Masergy’s Intelligent SIP trunking and UCaaS products, is developed and presented to the client. Following negotiation and agreement, this solution is submitted to proof of concept (POC) testing. As long as everything goes well it's full steam ahead on whatever the agreed-upon deployment schedule looks like.

Intelligent SIP Trunking

SIP trunking coupled with SIP application and media servers offers a channel for delivering rich communications services from the service provider cloud. Intelligent SIP trunking is appropriate for businesses that are ready to begin elevating their voice capabilities while maintaining their current systems. Key features include: IM/P, UM, A/V conferencing, IVR and contact center in the cloud, and mobile/BYOD simultaneous ring available on the Android OS, iOS, PCs and Macs. CRM system integration is available along with access to more than 20 voice, call management and business process applications. Customers also get the benefit of global private dialing – meaning no LD charges between connected offices.

Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

Owning the network piece is very valuable when you’re talking about guaranteed service quality. Masergy guarantees 100% packet delivery in sequence and sub-1msec global gitter. GCC service availability is guaranteed at 99.99%. SLAs are also available on voice and video QoS.

Go-to-Market Strategy

Masergy’s focuses on shoulder-to-shoulder selling with its partners, about 70 in number, who are generally VARs, SIs and traditional Telco Master agents/sub-agents. Partners may also earn on referrals. Professional services related to GCC strategic evaluation, customized solution design, and implementation including POC is handled internally behind the scenes by Masergy. The customer walk through, however, is conducted jointly with the partner. Partners lead on the discovery, sales process and pro services associated with tech refresh, storage, telepresence, etc.

What This Means to You

To Customers: Masergy’s Global Cloud Communications service is a rather complete solution. It’s one that’s worth looking at if you have multiple locations – domestic and/or international – and require some UCC applications, but don’t want to do a full rip and replace.

Fundamentally, BDMs and TDMs want to understand how UCaaS changes the relationship between business models, operational models, the services that those models deliver and the costs and benefits involved. Some of the key questions that customers need to have answered are:

• Security: Can the same security available to applications on-prem be applied in the cloud?
  
  
• Compliance: Can applications in the cloud meet the same regulatory compliance requirements I am faced with on-prem?
  
  
• Control: Can application owners still have the same amount of control over their applications and the infrastructure supporting them in the cloud?
  
  
• Fear of vendor lock-in: Will use of a particular vendor for cloud services or infrastructure prevent use of a different one in the future, or will the enterprise’s data and applications be tightly locked into a particular model?
  
  
• Full suite of communications features and business-enabling applications: Cost savings are not solely a result of toll charge avoidance from SIP trunking. Most cost savings come from the additional features that you get with a UCC system. Hence, do the available UCC features align with my current business requirements while allowing compatibility with future business expectations?
  
  
• Ease of implementation/management/maintenance: Is the management of the UCC solution straightforward and intuitive making life easier for the IT team, not more difficult?
  
  
• Overall end-user experience: What assurance is given that both network QoS and UCaaS application quality of experience are adequately established, monitored and managed to deliver maximum end user satisfaction across both fixed and mobile domains?
  
  
• Favorable overall cost and discounted payback period: Does the business case show an internal rate of return (IRR) that’s above the acceptable hurdle rate for the risks involved? The total cost of ownership (TCO) by vendor solution should be calculated including costs for: licenses, additional hardware, network QoS, implementation, maintenance and training costs.

Masergy does a good job getting at a number of these. Nonetheless, all likely candidates should be similarly evaluated using an RFP inclusive on a POC. And a number of them also utilize a BroadSoft platform such as AT&T, Cypress Communications and Verizon.

To Partners: As we indicated above, SIP trunking opens a portal to up-sell multimedia cloud-based business communications such as UC, HD voice and video conferencing. The general availability of GCC service can only be a plus to partners in terms of sales to new accounts and the farming of the installed base.