AWS has launched a partnership with RingCentral to offer new employee and customer communications tools to its client roster.
These include RingCentral MVP (Message Video Phone) and RingCentral Contact Center solutions, now available within the AWS marketplace.
The latter may help AWS draw in more interest from SMBs, as its Amazon Connect CCaaS platform continues to win significant business in the mid-market and enterprise space.
Yet, the deal may also benefit the Connect platform, pulling it closer to RingCentral’s UCaaS solution, which – according to the recent Gartner Magic Quadrant – is a market-leading offering.
Easy access to such a solution will please many Connect customers. After all, 2022 Metrigy research suggests that the most prevalent reason companies ditch Amazon Connect is that they want to use a single integrated platform for both UC and the contact center.
The new partnership with RingCentral may alleviate such concerns and allow AWS to catch up with competitors such as Five9, Cisco, and Genesys in its CCaaS retention rates.
Of course, AWS also offers its own UCaaS solution: Amazon Chime. However, it is yet to resonate with businesses in the same way Amazon Connect has.
Indeed, Amazon Connect leads the CCaaS market in customer acquisition, as per Metrigy’s study. The RingCentral deal may fortify this position.
RingCentral Also Secures Significant Benefits from the Deal
The deal benefits RingCentral by opening up its UCaaS platform to an expansive base of potential customers as it strives to become the chief competitor to Microsoft Teams.
In addition, Mo Katibeh, President and Chief Operating Officer at RingCentral, highlighted that AWS reps will proactively sell the platform. That is an exclusive benefit for RingCentral.
During an earnings call, Katibeh stated:
While products from other UC vendors are available today on the AWS Marketplace, RingCentral MVP is the sole UC solution that AWS reps will be proactively selling and receiving commissions for. This arrangement does not exist for any other UC service from another provider.
Moreover, as AWS typically attracts larger organizations with Amazon Connect, RingCentral may frame itself as the contact center vendor of choice for SMBs within the ecosystem.
Yet, there is also the opportunity for RingCentral to sell AWS solutions to its customers under the agreement. While this includes Connect, many of its customers may also see significant value in utilizing tools such as Amazon Polly, Lamda, and Lex.
By allowing each other’s customers to leverage their portfolios, Matt Garman, SVP of Sales, Marketing, and Global Services at AWS, believes the vendors are enabling “employees and customers the ability to collaborate in new ways.” He continued:
Together, AWS and RingCentral are giving customers across multiple industries greater choice and support for their call center and business communications needs.
Nevertheless, there is more to the partnership than a joint go-to-market agreement. The deal includes a commitment to joint development.
Not Just Integrating and Selling, But Innovating Together Too
Commenting on the deal, Vlad Shmunis, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of RingCentral, stated:
RingCentral and AWS will work together to develop and deliver vertical solutions for businesses in core industries such as healthcare, financial services, retail, education, and public sector, as well as invest in joint marketing, lead generation, and promotion activities together.
Such joint innovation follows a warm reception to RingCentral’s team messaging, video meeting, and cloud phone system from several AWS-powered businesses.
Now, as AWS begins to merge these capabilities with its offerings, the vendor may further its chances of growing and retaining customers.
Such a goal also powers its new partnership with Genesys, as AWS continues to work with the most prominent players in CX and enterprise tech.
Meanwhile, this latest deal marks RingCentral’s second significant partnership announcement in as many days after the UC leader also tightened its relationship with Avaya – shortly after the vendor filed for bankruptcy.
