6. The Channel Further Expands Its Telecom Footprint

With the rise of VoIP and cloud computing accelerating the convergence of IT resellers and agents, distribution and solution providers alike are looking to stake a claim in the telecom space.

Distributor ScanSource led the way with its purchase of master agent Intelisys for $83.6 million plus earn-outs to bolster recurring revenue telecom and cloud services among its traditional communications resellers.

NWN, No. 68 on the CRN SP 500, has invested millions of dollars over the past half-decade building out a scalable VoIP and unified communication platform. The company further raised its game by purchasing Collabramind in November to provide more robust cloud-based Cisco contact center services for enterprise firms.

And rising giant Incedo, No. 447 on the CRN SP 500, bought SysLogic in June so that it could provide software, virtualization and cloud orchestration services to tier-1 telecom service providers.