This September, Eclipse Wholesale hosted our second annual partner event at Live Theatre in Newcastle. Sponsored by 8x8, ITS, KCOM, Tekton Billing and Zen Internet, the event brought partners, vendors and colleagues together for an afternoon of insightful discussions, engaging panel sessions, customer case studies and a special live recording of Elevate Wholesale’s chewing the channel podcast.
Panel Discussion: The Future of Connectivity & UC
It was then time for our first panel session of the day, hosted by, Matthew Begg.
Matthew was joined by Dave Ferry from ITS, Steve Edmonds from 8x8, Chris Toyon from KCOM and David Howson from Zen Internet for a wide-ranging discussion on all things product.
The panel explored the importance of value-added services, how the growth of FTTP has impacted the Ethernet market and how the UC model could evolve over the coming years.
Eclipse Self-Service Portal Updates & Roadmap
Next up was our Technical Director, Adam Franklin, who gave attendees an update on everything ESS.
Adam provided an overview of our Eclipse Self-Service (ESS) Portal), including some of the key statistics from the past 12 months, with the portal recording a 16% increase in visits.
He also took attendees through some of our recent updates, including the addition of new alt-net providers, our migration to Tekton Billing and our move to AWS.
Adam then looked ahead at the ESS roadmap, highlighting several planned updates, including appointment changes, email notifications and multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Looking to the future
Our final session of the day was hosted by James Drake, who was joined by Dave Ferry from ITS, Jamie Snaddon from 8x8, Chris Toyon from KCOM and Mark Whitehead from Zen Internet.
The panel looked at the future of the channel and discussed some of the key questions facing the industry.
Topics included whether connectivity is becoming a commodity, whether AI is genuinely a game changer or simply hype, and where the telecommunications industry could be heading over the next 10 years.
Eclipse Wholesale takes the stage
The day was kicked off with our managing director, James Drake, and Sales Director, Matthew Begg, taking to the stage to share some of our highlights from the past 12 months.
The session covered our expanding portfolio, key stats and figures, our work with our charity of the year, Guide Dogs, and some of our supplier successes, including our internal move to Tekton Billing and 8x8 PayAsYouGo top performer.
We also looked ahead at our growing alt-net offering, our simple switch project and how consolidation could impact the channel in the coming years.
We opened the floor to our partners to hear their thoughts, feedback and ideas. We’re always looking for ways to improve and evolve our offering, so if you have any questions, suggestions or recommendations about what you’d like to see from Eclipse Wholesale next, please get in touch at [email protected].
Live recording of “Chewing the Channel”
After a short networking session, it was time for a special guest session with Elevate Wholesale, who brought their Chewing the Channel podcast to the stage for its first-ever live recording in front of an audience.
Hosted by Wholesale Managing Director Will Goodall, the session featured Jamie Snaddon, EMEA Managing Director at 8x8.
The conversation explored Jamie’s career journey, from his legal background and time studying in Australia through to his current role at 8x8. It offered an interesting insight into his route through the industry and the experiences that have shaped his career.
Customer case study: Bluecube
Next, it was time for a customer case study, with the spotlight turning to Bluecube, one of Eclipse Wholesale’s long-standing partners.
Bluecube’s Managing Director, Paul Reames, joined Matthew Begg on stage for an in-depth conversation about our eight-year partnership.
The pair discussed some of the key projects we’ve worked on together, including supporting student housing across Lincoln, as well as how our partnership has developed over the years.
Time to celebrate
The formal part of the day concluded with a drinks reception at Live Theatre, before guests headed across to Pitcher & Piano on Newcastle’s famous Quayside.
Over food and refreshments, our partners, vendors and colleagues had another opportunity to catch up, continue conversations from the day and enjoy some well-earned social time.
The day was a huge success, and we’re incredibly grateful to everyone who travelled to sunny Newcastle to spend the day with us.
A special thank you goes to our sponsors 8x8, ITS, KCOM, Tekton Billing and Zen Internet for their support and participation throughout the event.
We’d also like to thank Elevate Wholesale, Bluecube and everyone who contributed to the sessions, discussions and conversations that made the day what it was.
Most importantly, thank you to all of our partners and vendors for continuing to work with us, share your feedback and help us shape the future of Eclipse Wholesale.
We’re already looking forward to the next one!
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