Inabox ISPs bring to market end-to-end Office 365 offering

Inabox CEO, Damian Kay

Inabox Group (ASX:IAB) has launched its Office 365 Fast Lane product in Australia, in a bid to help its internet service providers (ISPs) bring Microsoft's cloud product to market.

In a statement on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the managed communications, cloud and IT provider said the “ready to market” product is the first cloud offering by Inabox tailored specifically to assist its ISPs to adopt cloud product offerings, and enable them to improve their margins.

Inabox cloud general manager, David Swinton, said the offering includes not only the 365 Fast Lane product itself, but also end-to-end support and automation, such as: pre-sales support through Inabox's 'Cloud Sales Assist' training programs; migration support in partnership with Skykick; an integration wizard that automates the technical aspects; and support completing sales proposals and contracting.

“What this means is that Inabox service providers without the technical expertise and knowledge of cloud products will not fall behind; Inabox will provide all the support necessary to ensure businesses can provide a complete 365 Fast Lane solution to their customers, today,” he said.

The company also mentioned that, with the adoption of cloud-based services continuing to grow, combined with businesses seeking a single provider to cover their telecommunications, cloud, and managed IT needs, the new product plays into a “large and growing market”.

“[I] am pleased we are giving our telco RSPs more of what they’ve been asking for to meet the growing needs of their customers,” Inabox Group CEO, Damian Kay, said.

“This packages Microsoft’s product into an easy to sell and support offering and allows traditional telco providers to begin to provide complimentary cloud services to their customers.”

According to Swinton, the company will be providing its ISPs with support, such as automated pre-qualification checks to determine end-user compatibility with the product, product scoping, as well as the completion of sales proposals and contracting.

They will also receive dedicated sales training to help them put together a strategy to move their business forward into cloud products.

"Many of our service providers are focused on telecommunications, and for them, cloud is new," he said. "With Office 365 Fast Lane we’re giving them something that is ready to take to market and on-sell to the customer.

"We’re in on the ground floor, getting involved from the very beginning in delivering the training to them so that they can start the conversation around cloud with their customers. It’s assistance from the very start and all the way through the process he added."

Inabox Group has been increasing its push into the cloud, more so since the company fully completed the acquisition of Hostworks. The company also most recently bought Perth-based cloud managed service provider, Logic Communications, and is on the lookout for more acquisition targets. 

At the time of writing, Inabox Group's shares were trading a $0.94.