RingCentral Extends Channel Program, Hires New Channel Head

Cloud-based business communications leader expands global sales footprint, enhances world-class partner program BELMONT, Calif.—March 15, 2016 -  RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE:RNG), a leading provider of cloud business communications and collaboration solutions, today announced at the 2016 Channel Partners Conference that it has enhanced its channel program. RingCentral has also appointed Zane Long as Vice President of Channel Sales to further develop the channel program and extend RingCentral’s services globally. As enterprises in every industry continue to grow and realize the benefits of cloud-based solutions that are open to integration and interoperability, channel partners will be essential in putting RingCentral solutions in front of global customers. Channel Veteran to Lead Charge with Partners Long brings more than 13 years of channel success to the RingCentral team, having previously served as Vice President of Vonage’s Global Strategic Partner Group and Cbeyond’s National Vice President of Channel Sales. He has spent his career developing business relationships with a number of leading distributors and master agents in the Channel community. One of Long’s first initiatives will be to expand RingCentral’s Master Agent program, including adding a Master Agents tier, which will increase the number of sub-agents quoting and selling RingCentral products. Secondly, he will focus on enhancing the global channel presence by working with RingCentral distributors to gain access to new global partners. “Enterprises of every type are realizing that cloud communication solutions are best positioned to support the modern workforce,” said Long. “As we see increased demand from our customers in the U.S. and abroad, engaging and working with the channel on a global scale will be absolutely critical to RingCentral’s continued growth. RingCentral has long been a pioneer in bringing the benefits of interoperability and cloud-based business communications to the enterprise, and I’m excited to help support our channel partners in this expansion.” A Refreshed Commitment to the Channel RingCentral’s Channel Sales Program had a record year in 2015, driven by deep relationships with partners such as TechData, Westcon-Comstor, IngramMicro and Jenne, and the company’s leadership is fully committed to fostering the channel into a truly dynamic sales operation.  As the market leader in Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) — an industry with a market potential in the multi-billions — RingCentral provides great benefit to channel partners looking to put the best cloud-based communications solutions into the hands of their customers. With more than 300,000 global customers, RingCentral is maximizing upmarket expansion and partnerships with leading carriers and distributors to further strengthen its position as the leader in the UCaaS space. In addition to providing continued support to current distribution partners, RingCentral will focus on launching additional strategic distribution partnerships in 2016, as well as adding an exclusive group of Master Agents.  These Master Agent relationships will give RingCentral access to thousands of sub-agents who will now have the opportunity to quote and sell RingCentral services for the first time. To better serve current and future partners, RingCentral will be adding and redesigning existing channel manager roles to match the demands of the current channel landscape. One key differentiator in RingCentral’s channel program is its collaboration policy. For opportunities that would involve 50 or more users, RingCentral dedicates a subject matter expert to join the partner team and work with them to close the deal: full provisioning, full implementation, full customer service from RingCentral—full commission to RingCentral partners. While direct sales and partners may experience contention with other organizations, RingCentral’s harmonious relationship with the channel is centered around closing deals together. “Our entire company is determined to make 2016 the year we substantially enhance our partner program into a world-class channel program that would be the model for other cloud-based companies,” said Ryan Azus, senior vice president of Worldwide Sales. “As a company, we plan to invest and work closely with channel partners to ensure our mutual success.”