The short version
The platform is the same whichever way you buy it. What changes is who designs it, who moves your numbers, who checks your network, who makes the changes after go-live, and who picks up the phone when a call drops.
| Buying direct | Buying through a partner | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform and licences | 8x8 | 8x8, supplied through the partner |
| Discovery and call-flow design | Largely your responsibility; ask what 8x8 includes | Partner, if it is in the scope |
| Number porting | Ask who manages it | Partner, if it is in the scope |
| Network readiness | Your IT provider or you | Partner, if it also does networks |
| Integrations and training | Ask what is included | Partner, if it is in the scope |
| Day-to-day admin after go-live | You, in the admin console | Partner, if it is in the agreement |
| First contact for faults | 8x8 | Usually the partner |
“If it is in the scope” is doing a lot of work in that table. Partners vary widely, and the value of the route depends on what the particular partner actually takes on.
What buying direct is good for
Buying from 8x8 makes sense when the deployment is small and simple and someone in the business is happy to own it. A handful of users, one main number, a straightforward auto attendant, no queues, no CRM integration, and a network that already carries voice well. In that situation there is not much design work to do, and a capable office manager can run the admin console.
It also suits businesses with their own IT team who have run a cloud phone platform before. If they can map call flows, manage a port, prioritise voice traffic and handle user changes, a partner adds less.
8x8 describes itself as channel-first. If you approach 8x8 directly, ask whether your account will be looked after by 8x8 itself or introduced to a partner, and what implementation help is included for an account your size.
What a partner adds
Most of the work in an 8x8 rollout is not the platform. It is the work around it, and that is what a partner is for.
Discovery and call-flow design. Establishing every number the business owns, where each one terminates, and what should happen to a call at each time of day. Most businesses do not have an accurate picture of this, and rebuilding the old system’s faults on a new platform is what happens by default when nobody asks.
Porting management. Porting sets the calendar and depends on the losing carrier. Someone has to lodge the request with details that match the carrier’s records exactly, chase rejections, and make sure nothing is cancelled before the numbers move. What happens during an 8x8 implementation covers why this is usually the long pole.
Network readiness. Cloud voice quality is decided by the internet service and the local network, not the platform. A partner that also works on networks can check upload capacity, voice prioritisation and the gateway before cutover. Network requirements for 8x8 sets out what that check covers.
Integrations. Connecting 8x8 to a CRM or helpdesk so calls land against customer records. This is configuration work that needs testing against how your team actually uses the other system.
Licensing by role. Sizing the mix of cloud phone and contact centre licences against what each person does, rather than licensing everyone identically. Which 8x8 licence do you actually need covers the tiers.
Training. Short sessions for staff, supervisors and whoever administers the system, held before cutover rather than after the complaints start.
Administration after go-live. New starters, leavers, changed business hours, a new after-hours rule, a queue that needs another agent. These arrive every week, and a partner that handles them means changes happen when asked rather than when someone finds time to learn the console.
One point of contact across phones, internet and network. When a call drops, the phone platform, the internet service and the local network are all suspects. If three providers look after those three things, each can point at the other. A partner responsible for all three investigates across them and fixes the cause wherever it is. Dropped calls on cloud phones shows how that diagnosis works.
Where a partner adds little
Honesty matters here. If your deployment is five users, one number, no queues and a reliable connection, a partner’s design and porting work is modest, and you may be paying for a service you would rarely use. The same goes for a business whose internal IT team already runs voice well.
A partner also adds little if it only sells. A partner that quotes the licences, hands over logins and leaves you to build call flows yourself has given you the direct experience with an extra party in the middle. The questions below are designed to find that out before you sign.
How the commercial relationship works
8x8 describes its partners as either earning commission or holding the billing relationship with their customers. In practice that is the difference between an agency arrangement and a reseller, and it changes who invoices you, who your contract is with, and who you go to for support.
For resellers, 8x8’s published reseller guidelines set out the support split. The reseller provides first-line support: answering questions, troubleshooting, creating and updating users, training, and escalating complex problems. 8x8 provides escalation support to the reseller rather than to you directly, though 8x8 may deal with a customer directly in some cases. Resellers are also required to hold 8x8 sales, build, deployment and support certifications to stay in the program, and some buy from 8x8 directly while others buy through an 8x8-authorised distributor.
Program details and tier structures change, and they are not something a buyer needs to understand in depth. What matters is how the arrangement affects your account, so ask:
- Is this a resale or a commission arrangement, and who will invoice us?
- Who is our contract with, and for what term?
- Are implementation and porting quoted separately from the licences?
- Is ongoing administration included, charged per change, or covered by a separate agreement?
Do not assume either route is cheaper. Compare written quotes on the same licence mix, term and scope of work.
Questions to ask any 8x8 partner
- Who does the admin after go-live? Name the changes: new users, leavers, call-flow edits, business hours, queue changes. Are they included, and how do you request them?
- Who owns the porting? Who lodges the request, who deals with rejections, and who confirms the old service stays in place until every number has moved?
- How are call-quality faults diagnosed? When a call drops, who looks at the network, the internet service and the platform? If the partner only covers the platform, who covers the rest, and who coordinates between them?
- Who checks the network before cutover? And who fixes it if the check turns up a problem?
- Is this a resale or commission arrangement? And therefore, who invoices you and who holds your contract.
- Who holds the admin access? Will you have your own administrator login to the account, and will you get documentation of the call flows as built?
- What happens to support if you leave the partner? Can the account move to another partner or to 8x8, what notice applies, and how are admin access and documentation handed over?
- Who is certified on the platform? Ask who on the team will actually build and support your deployment, and whether that covers contact centre as well as cloud phone if you need both.
- How are interstate or regional sites supported? Remotely, on-site, or through a third party?
A partner that answers these clearly and in writing is one you can hold to account. One that is vague on questions 1, 3 and 7 is telling you where the gaps will be.
How Kookaburra Comms works
Kookaburra Comms is an 8x8 partner in Melbourne. Our 8x8 work covers discovery and design, licensing sized to roles, number porting, call-flow and contact centre configuration, CRM and helpdesk integrations, training for staff, supervisors and administrators, and go-live support.
Discovery comes first, and we do not recommend 8x8 where it does not fit. Where calling needs are simple and everyone already works in Microsoft Teams, 8x8 vs RingCentral vs Teams Phone vs 3CX sets out the other options honestly.
After go-live, most of our 8x8 clients keep us on as their day-to-day administrator under a managed services agreement. That agreement also covers the network and internet the phones depend on, so a call-quality complaint is investigated across all three by the same team. Remote support covers interstate and regional sites the same way it covers Melbourne.
Talk to us
If you are deciding whether to buy 8x8 direct or through a partner, get in touch. We start with the discovery questions, so the answer is based on how your business actually handles calls.