MUNICH and BOCA RATON, Fla., June 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Unify, the Atos brand for collaboration solutions, held its annual Unify Partner Conference recently in Berlin, bringing together more than 200 of its top channel partners from around the world to discuss new solutions, improvements to the partner program, and strategies for maximizing success. Under the theme "Together as One", the event was structured to emphasise the importance of the trust and close teamwork between partners, customers and Unify, which leads to successful outcomes for all.

Unify has continued to make significant progress in its mission to be the partner of choice in the communications and collaboration industry. Today more than 63 percent of Unify's product revenue is through the channel and its top 25% of partners more than doubled their business through Unify in the last year.

"Unify's strategy continues to be 'partner-first', so it is of critical importance that we collaborate closely with our key partners to ensure maximum growth and success," said Simon Skellon, Chief Sales Officer at Unify. "The Unify Partner Conference is a valuable time with our partners to share what is coming next from a solution perspective, discuss improvements to our partner program, and collaborate on how we can continue to deliver superior results with our partners."

This year's conference featured speakers from Unify and Atos in both a main plenary session and regional breakouts for more intimate and personal messaging and conversations. Additionally, at the heart of the event was the Community Hub, which offered an opportunity for hands on demonstrations and  information from technology partners.  

At the event, Unify presented 'Our Digital Journey' with key portfolio updates including:

• OpenScape Contact Center available as a private, managed cloud offering with expanded capacity, regional availability and self-services enhancements coming soon.
• Circuit Meeting Room to be made available as a stand alone video-conferencing service without the need for Circuit users so it's ideal for customers who have not yet deployed Circuit..
• New Phones including CP100, a simple low-cost product and CP600E, a midrange phone with self-labeling keys
• Expanded co-innovation capabitilies with APIs to amplify collaboration within Circuit or embed into the applications customers use most
• Circuit integration with OpenScape Business, delivering full call control as a cloud hybrid alternative to the on-premise UC soluiton

Additionally, Unify shared significant commercial and channel enhancements including:

• Simplified pricing model
• Simplified service bundles
• Streamlining of CPQ tools to increase speed and throughput of quotes
• Enhanced partner technical, sales and commercial support via Partner Connect

In addition to demonstrations of Unify's solutions, attendees also had the opportunity to interact with key technology partners including ASC, Gigaset, Jabra, Konftel, Logitech, Media5, Plantronics, Ptm Akademie and Sennheiser. These partners also generously sponsored awards for Unify's top performing channels and prizes for onsite competitions.

At the event, Unify presented its annual awards to top partners. This year's  award winners included:

• Partner of the Year, sponsored by Media 5 – Spie Comnet
• Distributor of the Year, sponsored by Konftel – Tarsus Distribution
• Above & Beyond, sponsored by Sennheiser, for the partner that absolutely demonstrates exceptional dedication to customers and is a strong Unify advocate - Nextel
• Cloud Partner of the Year, sponsored by Logitech - Swisscom
• Contact Center Excellence, sponsored by Jabra – Black Box
• Innovation, sponsored by ASC, recognizing the partner who has shown great creativity and ingenuity to create a unique proposition for promotion and sales of the broader Unify portfolio – Sotel Systems
• Rising Star, sponsored by PTM Akademie, recognizing the partner who has demonstrated their commitment to the Unify Partner Program by progressing through accreditation levels, engaging with Unify and achieving beyond expectations – Daisy Group

Partner Comments:

"I'm pleased to say I saw a step change at this year's UPC," said Richard Carter, Executive Director at Nycomm. "It was clear at the UK & I breakout session that the new team have a deep understanding of Channel. I firmly believe that the proven strategy they are putting in place will enable our enterprise sales to soar. It was also pleasing to hear such positive comments about Openscape Cloud from distributors in other regions."

"Thank you to Unify for the interesting and stimulating content at the partner event in Berlin," said Hendrik Otten of Deutsche Telecom. "I look forward to continuing to build our partnership and much success moving forward."

"I have been to several UPC's, and this is one of the best yet," said Allan Williams, Technical Director at Datasharp UK. "The presentations on the OpenScape portfolio updates, roadmaps and successes were great, and I was happy to hear about the new SSP pricing, easier order points and better license bundles to come. I look forward to the next UPC."  

"Black Box is honored to be named Unify Contact Center Partner of the Year," said Doug Oathout, Senior Vice President Marketing & Strategy for Black Box . "We believe it demonstrates our commitment and expertise in an expanding and ever changing customer experience marketplace, as well as to the 40+ year partnership Black Box and Unify have enjoyed."

"We are very grateful to Unify for their continued dedication, commitment and support to their partners over the past years," said Sanjay Kondalkar, General Manager, Waleed Communications Co. (WACOM) Ltd. "The UPC conference at Berlin was a great event with the theme "Together as One" and showcased the journey for Unify focused on growth and winning, and extended support to partners for their continuous enhancement. The focus of the conference was to showcase best of breed technology and Unify's innovative solutions, ideas and commitment towards their partner community to discover the ways to win more business and maximize relationships."

"UPC Berlin 2018 was an experience; it has provided a good platform for Tarsus to engage with Unify and Atos executives directly and get better understanding towards Unify's vision to engage better," said Alan Hawkins of Tarsus. "The Community Hub provided us with the opportunity to feel the power of Unify solutions and gain in-depth understanding of positioning the same to our partners. The regional breakout sessions addressed our specific needs and opportunities for the South Africa market and helped us define our go to market strategy for next half of the year. We are very delighted to be part of the conference."

About Unify
Unify is the Atos brand for communication and collaboration solutions.  At the core of the Atos Digital Workplace portfolio, Unify technology enables organizations of all sizes to transform the way they collaborate, creating a more connected and productive workforce which can dramatically improve team performance, individual engagement and business efficiency.

Unify products represent a strong heritage of technology innovation, reliability and flexibility.  Their award-winning intuitive user experience can be delivered through almost any device and in any combination of cloud or on-premise deployment.  Augmented by Atos' secure digital platforms, vertical solutions and transformation services, they set the global standard for a rich and reliable collaboration experience that empowers teams to deliver extraordinary results.

About Atos
Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with approximately 100,000 employees in 73 countries and annual revenue of around € 12 billion. European number one in Big Data, Cybersecurity, High Performance Computing and Digital Workplace, the Group provides Cloud services, Infrastructure & Data Management, Business & Platform solutions, as well as transactional services through Worldline, the European leader in the payment industry. With its cutting-edge technologies, digital expertise and industry knowledge, Atos supports the digital transformation of its clients across various business sectors: Defense, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, Media, Energy & Utilities, Public sector, Retail, Telecommunications and Transportation. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting, Atos Worldgrid, Bull, Canopy, Unify and Worldline. Atos SE (Societas Europaea) is listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index.

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SOURCE Unify