Set-up late last year Comms One is the new kid on the block, but its founding ethos draws on the long established principles of doing the basics well and putting the partner first.

Naturally, as a carrier business grows it might tend to focus on the top percentile of its accounts, notes Comms One's Managing Director Paul McEwan, but while this may make sense for the carrier it can leave a significant percentage of the market in need of a closer friend. "We strongly believe there is a gap in the market for a partner that really adds value to the reseller," said McEwan. "We want to change opinions about dealing with an intermediary."

McEwan is firmly rooted in the channel. He sold billing systems for Club before joining Energis as account manager, and took on the role as head of partner sales at Energis and Cable&Wireless after its purchase. This channel experience makes him mindful of the need for a partner that focuses on business development rather than what they can sell to them. "Everyone working at Comms One has been working within the reseller channel for years, some for their entire careers, this gives them a real understanding of dealing with a reseller," he added. "I have been fortunate enough during my time in the industry to work with some exceptionally talented individuals, many of whom make up the team at Comms One and share my enthusiasm for doing it better."

The Comms One channel proposition goes back to the fundamentals of doing the basics well (calls, lines, broadband etc) while adding value in other areas. "We think about the challenges our partners face in their day-to-day business," said McEwan. "These are similar to our business challenges. We want to work with our clients to jointly develop our businesses to their full potential. We can already help clients with marketing and branding, legal and HR issues, plus telesales and business development programs. We know that if we help our partners to succeed then our success is guaranteed. We believe partnership is more than a transaction where someone buys from us. We offer a complete service for telephony and technology partners, all designed to help their business grow for our mutual benefit."

Comms One offers competitive pricing and a fully automated WLR3 portal. For the firm to fulfil its customers' requirements, both now and in the future, it needed a strong network partner that would believe in what the firm was aiming to achieve. No easy task for a start-up business. "Just as I was starting the business I met Andy Hollingworth, Director of Wholesale at Opal," recalled McEwan. "We talked about what I was trying to achieve and he offered his full support. It would be difficult for Comms One to exist without Opal's support. We have full access to the entire Opal product set and its NGN. It is the perfect partnership for us."

Hollingworth commented: "The synergies between Comms One and Opal were evident right from the start. At Opal we are dedicated to the true mix of entrepreneurial spirit coupled with dedicated professional commitment to the channel. This makes for a great working partnership."

Comms One's focus is on resellers that spend one million a year or less on network products. "In this space we can be competitive and support our resellers," added McEwan. "We'll even be big enough to admit that when it's time for someone to work on a carrier relationship directly we will help them through that process."

The company has launched its own Cisco powered hosted solution. For a low fixed monthly fee Comms One partners can provide their customers with Cisco handsets that are currently available interest free, all branded as the reseller.

"We have also launched an incentive for one of our partners to win a trip to the Maldives. Breaking with tradition we want the people who actually do the provisioning to win the trip. The reseller principals have it good enough already," joked McEwan.

According to McEwan, the future of Comms One is based on nurturing long-term partnerships with its clients, developed by adding value to their business through what he calls an ‘innovative approach'. "We are proud of what we have achieved in a short period of time and look forward to continuing to support our clients," McEwan commented. "We add creativity together with an enhanced level of customer care. Believing that just because everyone has always done things one way doesn't mean it's the only, or even the right way."