PlanetOne announced recently that it had created a formal alliance with IntelePeer (News - Alert), adding the latter to its 2015 Preferred Vendor Program (PVP). The new arrangement adds to the list of solutions that PlanetOne’s partners can offer to their customers. Eighteen different vendors, including T-Mobile (News - Alert), EarthLink, and InContact are currently in the PVP.

Scottsdale, Arizona-based PlanetOne Communications, Inc. manages an IT channel that offers a variety of services in the cloud. These include unified communications as a service (UCaaS), cloud backup and disaster recovery, security as a service (SaaS (News - Alert)), and desktop as a service (DaaS). Other services include connectivity, VoIP and SIP trunking, and collaboration. The company’s extensive partner program offers solutions from more than 250 different vendors.

San Mateo, California-based IntelePeer provides hosted, hybrid, and on-premises communications solutions. These solutions include several SIP trunking solutions from vendors like Avaya (News - Alert) and Cisco, emergency services, and VoIP. One of the company’s often promoted solutions is CoreCloud SIP Trunking (CCST).

With CCST, companies can still enjoy the benefits of the cloud without having to throw away what they have invested in landline installations. It connects current communications technology with older technology without sacrificing audio quality. Since it uses 4096-bit encryption, SIP trunking connections do not require a dedicated T1 connection.

By becoming one of PlanetOne’s 2015 PVPs, IntelePeer has a much better opportunity for its communications solutions to be distributed to a larger audience. PlanetOne has received recognition from CRN and Channel Partners recently for its channel program performance.

Without being part of a channel program, IntelePeer is more likely to get lost in the crowd. A 2014 Infonetics study found that a growing number of vendors are entering the PBX (News - Alert) and UC markets, resulting in fragmentation. It’s not enough to be technologically superior; the assumption is that most companies in the marketplace are that way.

It’s also not enough to have an alliance with a partner, since lots of vendors do that too. IntelePeer has differentiated itself by allying with a company that has a strong reputation for bringing value to its partners. That’s a huge differentiator in a fragmented market.