Yes, you read that right. As technology becomes increasingly accessible to consumers, many businesses are feeling the pressure to differentiate themselves among their competitors and provide added value beyond simply selling products. Amid this landscape shift, Channel partners find themselves right at the centre of this paradigm shift; facing the difficult challenge of remaining competitive and profitable in an industry where traditional solutions are becoming commoditised.

Onboarding has always been a challenge for organisations, whether they're start-ups or international corporations. There are numerous factors to consider, from practical ones - like gathering payroll information, setting up phones and laptops, and arranging access to office space - to more subtle ones, like ensuring new joiners are able to bond with their teams and are comfortable in their new working environment.

Throughout 2020 and the first half of 2021, Microsoft Teams has become omnipresent in our professional - and for many of us, personal - lives. But with the opening up of our offices coming progressively closer, and hybrid working now having established itself as most organisations' preferred working model for the 'new norm', we must consider how we can accommodate the needs of both office and remote workers, ensuring they can maintain the same quality of omnichannel interaction, communication, and collaboration that has been cultivated throughout the pandemic.

Over the years, many organisations have developed their partner networks by engaging with multiple suppliers for specific services, utilising flexible transactional relationships to access services on an as-needed basis. The immediate advantages here are clear: organisations can broaden their capabilities and enhance their infrastructure while minimising the resulting burden on internal teams, allowing them to focus their expertise on business growth activities.

To say the past year has been a challenging one would be an understatement. COVID-19 has forced organisations to adapt to remote working and reconsider the way we connect and collaborate with colleagues and deliver services to our customers and end users. With sales dropping 30% in Q2 of 2020[1], the picture certainly seemed bleak, but looking back on the past years' challenges and innovations, what lessons can be learned, and what new opportunities are waiting for us as we consider the eventual return to the office?

Let's consider the year as a whole and find out…