VoIP businesses are growing in leaps and bounds. In countries like the USA, the UK, etc., VoIP based communication solutions have already covered more than 60% of the market with their amazing benefits and businesses are happily using these services. On the other hand, in countries like South Africa, more and more businesses have started extending their reach to meet the growing VoIP communication needs of businesses. The South African government has started implementing the best communication infrastructure to support 5G and VoIP calling. On the other hand, the software providers like class 4 Softswitch providers have started making the solution available with flexible pricing and adoption models. Even open source class 4 Softswitch and open source class 5 Softswitch solutions are also available at flexible pricing options for countries like South Africa.
One of the most rapidly growing markets in South Africa is MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) along with multiple other business networks. To know more about MVNO in South Africa, read our blog here.
In African continents, one of the driving factors behind the victorious extendibility of the VoIP network and offerings is the reseller network. There are many resellers that put their blood and sweat into growing the businesses of the service providers and earning revenue. These resellers have the skills to grow and augment the revenue generating streams. However, what they receive in return is really peanuts.
Resellers in South Africa can change the whole game by owning their own business using a white label Softswitch. Resellers can run their own business instead of running a reseller business and yield real revenue generation benefits.
Top reasons to own a VoIP Softswitch solution instead of becoming a reseller in South Africa or any other country:
1. Smaller margins compared to the efforts
In a reseller model, resellers either receive a profit percentage or revenue share from the main service provider. The percentage or share is often segmented and decided by the service provider and abides by changes based on terms and conditions set by the provider.
To expand a business and earn revenue, a reseller in South Africa or any other country needs to have proper marketing and sales skills or a team. He or she may also need to have customer support skills. All these expenses are handled by the reseller and the main admin only gives access to the class 4 Softswitch or class 5 Softswitch solution and that also the reseller account.
The expenses will reduce the real ROI (Returns over Investment) despite the fact, the reseller puts money and mind into business expansion.
2. Dependency on the provider
The access to the VoIP Softswitch solution, its features, etc. will be controlled by the Softswitch owner. That means even if the reseller will work hard, he is dependent on the provider. The provider may revoke some of the important features if he wants. He may also change the plan, revenue model, etc. The sudden changes may cause hiccups in the business of the reseller, too.
The market of VoIP service providers is burgeoning. The competition is also increasing. Thus, it is necessary for businesses to increase their competitive features whether they use a class 4 Softswitch solution or a class 5 Softswitch solution. However, the resellers cannot make changes to the software. That decision of upgrading the software will be of the main provider.
3. Zero ownership
Even if the VoIP service provider provides white label Softswitch to the reseller, the ownership of the software will be of the provider. Using the white label solution, a reseller can run his own branded business, but he does not own the software. This may lead to multiple other challenges in a business. If for any reason the contract terminates, then handling customers and business can get very difficult.
4. No control over the quality
In a majority of cases, resellers in South Africa and other countries only handle sales, customer care, and similar business aspects. The technical aspects, software maintenance, servers, etc. will be handled by the provider. The technical aspects play a major role in maintaining the quality of service. As the reseller does not own the system, the reseller cannot take decisions related to technical aspects. Of course, resellers can give suggestions, but as the business would have multiple resellers, approval of suggestions and getting them implemented is quite difficult. Thus, resellers cannot get complete control over the quality and this can be a hurdle in their entrepreneurship journey.
5. Restricted freedom of business
Each reseller is a business owner with some really interesting and winning strategies. As resellers don’t have the access to the software, hardware, servers, etc., it is difficult for a reseller to implement the business plans he may have. To fully implement the software, one needs to have complete access, control, ownership, and freedom of the business, software, hardware, etc.
Concluding notes
In a nutshell, there are several restrictions associated with the reseller business. Even if the VoIP service providers use the best class 4 or class 5 Softswitch, lack of control will make it difficult for the resellers to convert their business vision into reality.
On the other hand, a reseller can become a business owner and surpass the hurdles. With the flexible pricing models of the proprietary software solutions and even with the existence of open source class 4 Softswitch and open source class 5 Softswitch solutions, it has become easier for resellers to own their own businesses in South Africa or any other country.
There will not be just a margin share, but the whole revenue would be owned by the owner. All the perks of making visionary plans and implementing them in leaps and bounds are made possible with the host of options available to the reseller when he becomes a business owner.
We have been helping businesses with our class 4 Softswitch and multiple other smart telephony features. We also provide an array of other services to support resellers to become their own business owner. We can further assist you with our solutions and services. For more details, contact us.
