Strategy and innovation: Key takeaways from Gamma's regional forums
The nature of the channel is always evolving. Right now, there's a shift over the practical terms for growth, differentiation and long-term relevance.
Gamma Communications' Regional Forums brought partners across the UK together to discuss what these changes meant. Rather than focusing on product launches alone, these events centred on how partner businesses can succeed in 2026 and beyond.
In a market shaped by subscription models, accelerating innovation cycles and increasing customer expectations, partners need to demonstrate how they add value and support meaningful growth.
From one‑off sales to long‑term roadmaps
A consistent theme across these events was the continued move away from transactional, hardware-led selling. Instead, partners must move towards roadmap-driven, subscription-based relationships.
Customers are no longer buying individual solutions in isolation. Instead, they're committing to platforms and partners that can demonstrate clear investment plans and innovation over multiple years. For the channel, this places greater emphasis on understanding the value propositions generate today and further on in the future. The speed in which they evolve and meet changing expectations is also more valuable than ever.
This shift is increasing pressure on vendors and partners alike. They need to prove they can sustain momentum, invest meaningfully in R&D, and keep pace with these changing customer demands. Only then can sustainable growth be achieved.
R&D as a differentiator
Technological innovation is now a competitive battleground, rather than a background function. Continued investment in software engineering, network development and external partnerships will lead to the faster delivery of new services and enhancements.
Expanding development capabilities, supported by a growing engineering workforce and international development partnerships, is helping Gamma shorten the time between concept and market availability. The ability to introduce new value‑added services in weeks, rather than months, is vital in supporting partners who need agility to win competitive deals.
For partners, the message is clear. The velocity behind R&D matters, as opposed to just feature depth. Being able to respond quickly to customer requirements is increasingly as important as the services themselves.
A maturing UCaaS market creates new opportunities
While UCaaS adoption continues to grow, there's a significant proportion of upcoming opportunities that will come from organisations with communications platforms already in place. These customers are actively looking to change.
Whether driven by service limitations, lack of innovation or poor partner support, customers are starting to re-evaluate their existing relationships.
For partners, this creates opportunity but also raises the bar. Winning this business increasingly depends on the ability to demonstrate a more compelling commercial model. The technical roadmap and service experience matters more than just relying on net-new demand.
AI, contact centre and the expanding communications stack
Communications platforms are broadening. We're seeing that change particularly through AI-driven services and deeper integration across both UC and contact centre environments.
Introducing contact centre capabilities for Webex, alongside embedded AI features such as bots and concierge-style experiences, are part of this wider shift toward more intelligent, adaptive communications platforms. Rather than standalone tools, these capabilities are being designed to integrate into partners' existing propositions and customer environments.
A continued investment in connectivity, security and APIs reinforces the direction of travel towards platforms that support modular, partner-led solutions rather than fixed bundles.
What it means for the channel
Across all locations, the Regional Forums carried a consistent underlying message. The channel's role is evolving alongside customer expectations.
Partners are being challenged to think beyond product resale and focus on long-term value creation. They need to be supported by vendors that prioritise roadmap clarity, innovation speed and ecosystem support.
In a market where customers are increasingly willing to switch providers, differentiation is less about individual features. Now, it's down to confidence in direction and adaptability.
These forums made it clear that success will favour partners who can align themselves with platforms built for continuous change. They're the ones who are prepared to evolve their own businesses at the same pace.
To learn more about how partners can maintain momentum in the channel, get in touch with Gamma: https://gammagroup.co/partner-