PEM Reseller Capabilities and Branding

Transcription

1 White Paper PEM Reseller Capabilities and Branding Version 2.0

2 Table of Contents Introduction Reseller Market Reseller Capabilities... 3 Reseller Business Models PEM Reseller Models Reseller Model - PEM Customized Reseller Model - PEM Fixed Service Offers Comparing and Contrasting the Two Models Other Models... 8 Reseller Branding Strorefront Branding Control Panel Branding Mail Services Branding Notification and Messaging Branding Additional Services Branding Summary Chart Summary

3 Introduction The PEM automation platform delivers a configurable and customizable OSS/BSS so that service providers can offer unique services to their customers. PEM s flexibility makes it the ideal platform to support many different sales and business models. In this paper we describe how service providers can use PEM to sell through partnership channels. The paper includes a discussion of different business models as well as branding techniques that are supported by PEM. Reseller Market Web design companies, ISPs, and application development companies are examples of firms with loyal clients who have an interest in hosting web sites or applications. Many of these companies want to offer hosting services to their client base, but do not have the expertise and experience to offer web hosting. Additionally, hosting is not the focus of these firms, so they do not want to invest a lot of time and capital in a business that they do not completely understand. Building a hosting service from the ground up can be a time consuming and capital intensive process for people looking to get into the market. By offering white label services, service providers who have made this investment can assist other providers in starting a hosting business and take advantage of the additional sales that the reseller generates. A reseller offering is ideal for the types of companies listed above because they can support their customers by offering turnkey services and make additional revenue from the sale of hosted services. Many times clients of these companies are willing to pay them a premium for service, because they know and trust the people that have built their website, offer them Internet access, or build software applications for them. Potential Resellers Web Design Firms Software Development Companies Internet Service Providers Startup Hosting Providers Others (large customer base with little hosting experience) For example, a company that builds web sites may have loyal clients that want to host their newly developed sites. The web design firm is in the business of building web pages, and may not want to spend the time worrying about running a hosting business but their clients want them to provide hosting services and are willing to pay additional money to work with the firm who designed their site. By using a white label service provider, the web design firm can provide this service while maintaining their existing brand that is trusted by the web site owner. In the scenario above, the web site owner may not care about the identity of the service provider, so long as they can call the reseller to report problems. On the other hand, some customers may be much more cautious, checking MX records and mail hostnames in order to discover the identity of the hosting service provider. PEM can deliver multiple business offers in order to support both of these scenarios. Keep in mind, that the Internet is an open system, so a determined customer will always be able to find a way to trace the origins of their service. Reseller Capabilities SWsoft recognizes that service providers acquire customers through a variety of direct and indirect mechanisms. Many service providers utilize both methods, supplementing direct online sales with reseller and partner channels. PEM was designed to support all types of sales methods, including direct channels such as web advertising and indirect channels via partner programs.

4 Reseller sales models are complex to implement and manage. PEM simplifies this process so service providers can quickly launch and easily manage new resale channels. The PEM software manages the complexities of branding, reporting, and service delivery so service providers can focus on selling unique plans and reacting to market needs. There are several key requirements for delivering services to resellers. Key requirements include: Agent and Reseller business models Reseller branding Reseller service plans offered by the service provider Customer service plans offered by resellers Reseller control panels Reseller specific promotions and discounts Reseller announcements Reseller reports Reseller online store Sub-resellers PEM exceeds expectations in meeting all of the requirements listed above. Using PEM, service providers can make all of the services that they sell available to their resellers. In addition, PEM supports the ability to provision reseller customers on a specific server, so reseller oversubscription will not impact the service offered to direct service provider customers. In the remainder of this paper we examine specific business models and specific branding capabilities within PEM. Reseller Business Models Service providers utilize many types of reseller models private label offers, branded resale, unbranded resale, commission/referral plans. Each of these models has specific benefits and drawbacks, as described in the chart below. Plan Type Description Benefits / Comparisons Flexible Resale Reseller can create unique plans and apply a unique brand. Maximum flexibility and customization for large resellers. Private Label Resale Reseller re-brands service offerings defined by the service provider. Easier to setup and manage, but less flexible. Unbranded Resale Reseller sets prices, but maintains service provider brand and plans. Minimal setup costs and rapid deployment. Referral Program Sales agent sells existing services and collects commissions. Zero setup, minimum investment in the business.

5 PEM Reseller Models PEM supports all of the business models described above through two primary support methods. One model, the PEM Customized Model, allows resellers to customize all aspects of their offering including branding, service plans, payment gateways, domain registrars, and service offerings. This model supports the Flexible Resale model described in the chart above. The second model, the PEM Fixed Service Offer Model allows resellers to brand and re-price groups of resources defined by the service provider. This model supports the last three plans described in the chart above. PEM Customized Model Reseller Plan: Flexible Resale PEM Fixed Service Offer Model Reseller Plan: Private Label Reseller Plan: Unbranded Resale Reseller Plan: Referral Program PEM can support combinations of the two plans listed above as described in the Other Models section.

6 Reseller Model PEM Customized The PEM Customized Model allows the reseller to purchase bulk resources from the service provider and use these resources to create unique plans which can be sold to end-user customers. This plan provides the maximum amount of flexibility but can be more complex to manage than the PEM Fixed Service Offer Model. The diagram below describes the high level ordering and payment flows for this model. Reseller Branded Panel 2. Order Completed by PEM Reseller Storefront 1. Sales Order Service Provider -Defines reseller plans -Manages servers Reseller/Distributor -Brands service -Creates service plans -Contracts with registrars Customer -Makes purchase decision -Pays online or offline -Uses control panel Payment for Bulk Services Payment for Service Plan Process Flow (blue) In the customized model, the reseller re-packages bulk resources which are purchased from the service provider and sells them to end users. The end user customer purchases services through the reseller s web site or by calling the reseller who can manually enter orders into PEM. PEM automatically provisions the orders and notifies the customer when the order is complete. In this model, minor changes to the workflow such as changing the fraud parameters can be managed by the distributor. Payment Flow (red) In the customized model, the reseller can establish their own contract and interface with a payment gateway to collect money from end users. The collection rate is negotiated directly between the payment gateway and the reseller. The reseller contracts the service provider to purchase bulk services. These services can be paid for in advance, or billed at the end of each cycle depending upon the arrangement that is worked out between the two entities. PEM can automatically bill a pre-defined set of resources or provide reports detailing used services in order to support a manual billing process. This payment process preserves the reseller s relationship with the customer and enhances the branding. For example, the billing information on the customer s credit card statement can be set by the distributor instead of coordinated by the service provider.

7 Reseller Model PEM Fixed Service Offers The PEM Fixed Service Offer Model allows service providers to define specific plans that can be resold by sales agents/resellers to end users. Each service provider plan is a grouping of resources which can be sold directly to end user customers. The sales agent/reseller cannot change the resources that are offered, but can set retail prices and define which groupings of resources will be made available to his customers. The reseller can also elect to re-brand the services. Reseller Branded Panel 2. Order Completed by PEM Reseller Storefront 1. Sales Order Service Provider -Defines reseller plans -Configures plug-ins -Collects money Reseller/Agent -Brands service -Sets plan prices -Markets to customers Customer -Makes purchase decision -Pays online or offline -Uses control panel B. Payment to Reseller A. Payment to Service Provider via Payment Gateway Process Flow (blue) As illustrated in the diagram above, the reseller facilitates the delivery of a pre-defined set of resources to the end user customer. The customer purchases services through the reseller s web site or by calling the reseller who can manually enter orders into PEM. The reseller s web site can be re-branded and the service bundles can be re-priced according to the reseller s market needs. Announcements that are delivered to the end user customers can also be re-branded. Payment Flow (red) In this model, PEM utilizes a payment gateway defined by the service provider to collect the money. Therefore, for online orders, the money flows to the service provider, who then forwards the money to the reseller after taking out wholesale service costs, credit card fees, and other expenses. Comparing and Contrasting the Two Models In the PEM Fixed Service Offer Model, the service provider defines a set of service plans and payment collection methods. This allows resellers to begin selling quickly after they sign an agreement with the service provider. The reseller can begin selling pre-defined plans immediately, or the reseller can chose to set pricing for the defined service bundles and re-brand the storefront and the control panel. However, this model is less flexible than the PEM Customized Model. In the PEM Customized Model, the service provider sells bulk services to the distributor. The distributor can set up unique services plans, payment gateways, domain registrars, and workflows in order to fully manage a hosting business. This provides additional flexibility, but can delay the flow of revenue as the reseller takes time to set up the gateways and service plans. In both models, customer service can be performed by either the service provider or by the reseller. PEM order entry and billing screens can be accessed by both Reseller and Service Provider personnel who have a need to see the configuration and payment details of their customers services.

8 This comparison is summarized in the chart below. Item Customized Model Fixed Service Model Time to Market average fast Plan Flexibility Payment Gateways Domain Registrars Fraud Scoring/Screening Customer Service Branding completely configurable limited to pricing / branding defined by provider defined by provider defined by provider Other Models PEM is unique is the fact that his can support both of these distribution models. Further, PEM provides the flexibility for service providers to create unique reseller offerings with different components of these two models. The decision to offer branding, the decision to offer billing, the decision to offer end user customer service, the decision allow resellers to select a unique payment gateway, and the decision to offer flexible plan creation can all be decided by the service provider in order to create an offer which best serves his resellers. This flexibility allows service providers to combine features of the two plans to create a customized reseller offering that meets their particular needs. Service providers can do this using the control panels so they do not have to pay for development each time they want to change their reseller model. Reseller Branding Most resellers want to maintain a close connection with their customers by using their own brand to sell services. Using PEM, service providers can deliver white label services so that resellers can put their own brand on the services that they sell. Branding hosting services presents many challenges that are not encountered in more traditional businesses. These complexities are driven from the numerous applications and services which can be offered and re-branded. With more traditional services such as DSL or telephony, branding involves customer service, billing, and order forms. The operational aspects of these services does not contain any branding, which makes it easier to resell. With hosting services, the brand is intermingled with the delivery of services. In hosting, a brand name frequently appears in the URLs, hostnames, control panels, and within the individually offered applications.

9 Storefront Branding The most common requirement for branding is the online storefront. Using a web-based storefront customers can purchase services made available by the reseller. Most resellers require a branded ordering process with two primary requirements. 1. Visual appearance. The look and feel of the storefront needs to match or complement the reseller s website. This includes fonts, colors, and layout. 2. URL. The storefront should be accessed by a URL which includes the top level domain name of the reseller. For example, resellers want their storefront to be located at or instead of PEM implements the branded storefront by creating a single website for each reseller that requires customized branding. This website is actually a limited service plan which contains an IP address, DNS records, disk space, ftp access, file manager, and traffic limits. By assigning this service plan to resellers, they receive a website that they can manage and brand according to their needs. Resellers who want to modify their storefront branding can login to their reseller control panel to select the skin and logos that they would like to appear in their control panel. This can be done without any programming knowledge. Resellers who want to add new skins can login to the reseller control panel and select Open CP in order to open the control panel that allows them to manage their web space. Inside the httpsdocs folder, different skins can be developed and managed. Each skin consists of various html files, css files, and images that can be manipulated by the reseller. The sample screen on the right demonstrates how IceWeb re-branded the PEM storefront. When a customer enters the system using the URL assigned to the reseller brand, all subsequent screens are displayed using the branding of that particular reseller.

10 Control Panel Branding After end user customers are enrolled, they access a control panel to configure and manage various aspects of their service. As with the storefront, the end user control panel consists of two primary branding requirements: (1) a look and feel that is complementary to the reseller s brand and (2) a URL linked to the reseller s top level domain. PEM delivers both of these requirements. Resellers who want to modify their control panel branding can login to their reseller control panel and select Open CP in order to open the control panel that allows them to manage their web space. Inside the httpsdocs/pem folder, different skins can be developed and managed. Each skin consists of various html files, css files, and images that can be manipulated by the reseller. The sample on the right shows the css file for the login screen in the amber skin, the resulting login screen is illustrated below. PEM provides not only the flexibility to create customized screens for end users, but also the ability to create a customized look and feel for sub-resellers. Reseller Control Panels The same branding offered for the customer control panels is also available for the reseller control panels. This provides the reseller s staff with branded panels for customer service, accounting, and service management. Resellers benefit from this feature when they outsource services to external firms who may not be as familiar with their company branding. 10

11 Mail Services Branding One of the complexities of reseller branding has to do with branding the servers associated with the POP3, SMTP, IMAP, and web mail services. The diagram to the right shows the account setup screen in Microsoft Outlook for a POP3 mailbox. In this case the service is being offered by CrucialServer, as can be seen by the name of the incoming and outgoing mail servers. Although it is not critical, resellers under CrucialServer prefer to have their own mail server host names, even though they do not own and manage the mail servers. So instead of mail. crucialserver.com, the reseller would have a mail server called mail.reseller.com. PEM supports the capability to deliver branded hostnames for resellers for both Linux-based and Exchange-based systems. At the moment, there are no plans to support customer level hostname branding for mail services. This feature would provide end user customers with the ability to purchase a domain and configure mail services to match the corporate domain that they purchased. Notification and Messaging Branding Resellers can modify the notification messages that are delivered to customers. The notification messages are the system generated s and notifications which are delivered when specific events occur. Some of these messages include: accepted order notifications, invoices, late payment warnings, mailbox limit warnings, service renewal notifications, password reminders, and other messages. Resellers can access the notification area by logging into the reseller control panel, selecting billing, and navigating to the Communication Director -> Notification Manager -> Notification Templates. From this location resellers can modify the notification messages by changing the HTML and/or text associated with the different notification messages. Additional Services Branding Using PEM, service providers can allow resellers to sell several other types of services. Many of these services, such as hosted databases, are delivered through discrete servers. Resellers who are particular about branding may want to configure the hostname of their application servers to reflect their brand instead of the brand of the service provider who is managing the server. PEM s flexibility makes it easy to brand several types of hosting services. With each new release the development team adds more services which can be branded by resellers. 11

12 Database Server Branding PEM allows resellers to create a hostname which allows customers to access a reseller branded database even though the service provider owns and manages the physical servers. Database server branding allows customers who belong to a reseller to access a host called instead of PEM offers this capability for both Linux and Windows databases. DNS and IP Branding As with databases, PEM supports reseller branding for DNS server hostnames. This allows resellers to provide a completely branded service for their shared and VPS hosing customers. PEM offers the ability for service providers to allocate a specific set of IP addresses to resellers. All reseller services can be provisioned from that set of Internet addresses so the service provider does not have to manage several shared hosting accounts from different resellers on a single IP address. Domain Parking PEM supports domain parking features. The service provider can provide a branded landing page so that customers who access the parked domain can see a customized page. In the next PEM release (version 2.6) this capability will be extended to resellers so that they can customize their own page. Other Services The market demands specialized branding for reseller services. As more services are launched, PEM can adapt to meet this market need for customized branding. Summary Chart This paper discussed server different types of branding features which are available with PEM deployments. These branding features are summarized in the table below. # Description Available Future Control Panels 1 Reseller s Customers CP URL branding 2 Reseller s Customers look & feel branding (logos, colors) 3 Reseller s Control Center URL Branding 4 Reseller s Control Center look & feel branding (logos, colors) Linux Mail 5 POP3 server hostname branding 6 SMTP server hostname branding 7 IMAP server hostname branding 8 Webmail URL branding 9 Branding for secure protocols - POP3s, IMAPs, SMTP 10 Branding for IP-addresses - required to be able to configure different PTR-records 12

13 # Description Available Future Database Hosting 11 Linux Database server hostname branding (both internal and external) 12 Windows Database server hostname branding (both internal and external) 13 Web Database Management tools URL branding DNS and IPs 14 Name server (DNS) hostnames branding 15 IP pools branding (assign IP pools for Reseller and all Reseller service offerings) Other Services 16 Quick access domain hostname branding (d domain.com) 17 Windows File Manager URL branding 18 SSL Proxy hostname branding 19 Billing Manager look & feel branding 20 Online shop branding 21 Notifications branding 22 Domain Parking branding Summary The hosting market is a booming sales opportunity for service providers and resellers. Millions of small businesses are quickly adopting on-demand services such as web hosting, database hosting, and hosted mail services. PEM meets the market demands for service providers who want to offer branded reseller services. Service providers who select PEM as their hosting platform can offer their resellers completely customizable skins, customizable service plans, customized workflows, branded URLs, and several other features. Several leading white label service providers do not offer these advanced features to their resellers. PEM also provides flexible business models so service providers can offer one or more different financial arrangements to resellers. The service provider can provide bulk services and allow the reseller to re-brand unique offers, or the service providers can limit the reseller offerings to specific service plans. Through the introduction of unique service plans, service providers can provision reseller customers on specific servers so an over-aggressive reseller will not impact the service of other customers. PEM provides the flexibility for service providers to grow their services and their reseller plans. As more and more services are launched, PEM allows the service provider to easily make these services available to resellers. PEM also delivers multiple levels of resellers, so resellers can enroll sub-resellers. Flexible branding, flexible business models, scalable platforms, and customizable service offers make PEM a superior platform for delivering services through resellers. 13