Channel-friendly software assurance

C4B Com For Business AG is putting its "XPhone Up2Date" software assurance on a new footing. The aim is to optimise the payment terms for both customers and the channel itself. To this end, in future C4B will offer resellers and customers an annual payment option.

Munich, 12 April 2022. Unified Communications manufacturer C4B is changing its "XPhone Up2Date" software update service: "Until now, our customers have had to pay in advance," explains Marketing Director Marko Gatzemeier. "If a customer opted for an Up2Date term of, say, 5 years, the cost of the full term was due at the time of purchase."

In the past, the high investment commitment the model demanded of new customers was repeatedly a thorn in the side of C4B's distribution partners: "Our partners wanted us to offer a flexible payment model. At the top of the list was the desire for annual payment to spread the costs more evenly for the customer," reports Gatzemeier. “We have now made this desire a reality."

From now on, customers can decide whether they want to pay for the software assurance in advance or annually. The conditions are the same for both models. If the customer decides to pay annually, the Up2Date term is automatically extended by a year at the end unless the contract is terminated one month before the end of the term.

Auto renewal

"The new model offers another great advantage: the partner no longer has to actively remarket to each individual customer," Gatzemeier points out. "He is only called upon if the customer terminates the contract of his own accord. This extends the lengths of the terms and reduces the churn rate."

What sounds like a simple contract change actually involved considerable effort for the software manufacturer. Not only was the entire billing system reorganised. C4B's product calculator was also revamped. The calculator is available in the C4B partner portal so that resellers can configure their offers themselves in just a few steps.

The new payment option can be booked once XPhone Connect 9 goes on sale on 25/4/2022. Another change also comes into effect with the release: from V9 onwards, XPhone Connect will only be available together with Up2Date. The minimum term of the software assurance is one year.

Discontinuation of XPhone Connect Smart

A fundamental change in the portfolio concerns XPhone Connect Smart: C4B is discontinuing the Smart package, which was tailored to the needs of smaller, more price-sensitive customers. The background to the decision is the strong trend towards working from home: "The Smart package did not include a Softphone. But this is practically indispensable for companies that want to offer their employees the option of working from home," says Marko Gatzemeier.

To take this development into account, C4B has discontinued XPhone Connect Smart and at the same time reduced the price for the XPhone Server from €799 to €299. In particular with customers who require few users, resellers can thus score points with an attractive price and at the same time offer them the full feature set. An upgrade path is available for all customers currently using XPhone Connect Smart. They can upgrade to XPhone Connect by means of a OneTime Upgrade.