The Redcliffe Group

That in mind, Charlie decided that transitioning his product offering from premise-based systems to subscription-based systems would support a better revenue model, with guaranteed monthly cash flow from committed customers.

As he conducted his research into a variety of white label telephony vendors like CoreDial, among others, Charlie talked to a lot of contacts in his network. He eventually ran into a friend that had the same idea, and that friend introduced Charlie to Bicom Systems. Ironically, that friend decided to continue selling on-premise systems for several years before “seeing the light” and joining the Bicom Systems family.

When Charlie got his first introduction to Bicom Systems, it was love at first sight. But not love for the technology or even the people, it was the drag-and-drop functionality on gloCOM Communicator.

gloCOM is our Unified Communications Software solution, bringing together all of our communication and collaboration tools (chat, presence, meetings, file sharing, etc) onto a simple user interface. The drag-and-drop feature allows users to drag contacts into a call, chat, or meeting with a simple click of the mouse. Communicator is our white label version of gloCOM, allowing partners to take it to market with their own brand.

Charlie was delighted with gloCOM and its “visually appealing” User Interface, its ability to insert a URL for pop-ups, and, most of all, the drag-and-drop feature. He used Private Label Branding to rename the Communicator app “Dave”. Looking back on his first impression of Bicom Systems, Charlie says “the drag-and-drop functionality was not only exquisite, it was ahead of its time back then.” He knew he would be able to sell these features easily and they became his main sales drivers in the early years.

In order to power gloCOM and host his subscription customers, Charlie adopted PBXware, our business communication system that serves as the heart for our other solutions. Available in Multi-Tenant, Contact Center, and Business editions, PBXware is powerful, flexible, and easy to use.

Stephen Wingfield, one of the founders and directors of Bicom Systems, flew from London to meet Charlie in person and support his onboarding process. This was the start of what would become a highly collaborative, successful partnership that sealed the deal on Charlie’s commitment to partnering with Bicom Systems.

In January of 2014, Charlie and his business partner bid farewell to all of their legacy customers and took a gigantic leap of faith, starting back at square one with Bicom Systems. Growth happened immediately and quickly. Over the next four years, revenue soared. 

Not having lost his entrepreneurial spirit, Charlie was not content to settle despite their impressive growth. Knowing that the telecommunications sphere is constantly changing and evolving, he wanted to pursue something bigger and better.

He decided to sell the company in 2018 to another entity with their own phone product in Atlanta, Georgia. He moved his family across states and rolled up his sleeves to dig into his next endeavor.

Unfortunately, the next three years were disappointing. The new parent company focused primarily on their own products rather than embracing the Bicom Systems solutions that had done so well previously.

Not accepting defeat, Charlie sold the company again to what is now The Redcliffe Group. His new partners embraced their role in software development with Bicom Systems products as an exclusive offering.

With all of these pieces in place, the team experienced “phenomenally high growth initially.” In just a three year period, they went from zero users to well over 8,000 extensions on the system. It was an exciting time and proof that the products were working.

Of course, growth eventually slowed down and evened out, but The Redcliffe Group continues to return a steady revenue with a very high annual growth rate. This translates to about 1,000 new extensions each year.

Reflecting back on what made this growth possible, Charlie points to the Bicom Systems partnership and says “We would have been successful, but we would not have experienced this hyper growth without Bicom Systems.”

A Niche Market

This is something we hear over and over again from our most successful partners: find a niche market. 

By identifying a vertical industry or market segment, you can pinpoint their very specific pain points and needs and then tailor the solution to meet those requirements and support their growth. It’s a very simple, yet very powerful strategy that makes your solution more valuable, marketable, and competitive.

The Redcliffe Group found their niche in the independent insurance industry. Their very first customer on the Bicom Systems platform happened to be an insurance agent. He introduced them to the unique needs of the insurance sphere, starting with AMS (Agency Management System) integration. 

Charlie was able to use the URL function on Communicator to integrate the customer’s AMS, setting off a sequence of events that would shape his success in the niche today. He began integrating more industry-specific features like automated marketing tools and e-signature capabilities.

Among the many advantages of selling to a niche market, the insurance vertical allows The Redcliffe Group to command a higher value from customers per extension, driving revenue even further. Charlie also mentions that “tight integrations into customers’ AMS systems have made the product highly sticky, reducing churn rates to the low single digits.”

A Reliable Product

When asked about his favorite features or selling points of Bicom Systems solutions, Charlie named a number of products and features, for example third party integrations, but said that in the end the most important aspect is that “it just works.” 

He attributes the reliability and stability of the products to enabling him to sell his company two times and continue to grow and drive revenue.

The Redcliffe Group is able to support nearly ten thousand extensions with minimal support staff thanks to the fact that the product works so well. This allows the company to focus its energy and attention on other areas like marketing and ongoing growth.

“We wouldn’t be able to do what we do now,” says Charlie, “if your product didn’t perform as it does and your support team lets us set it and forget it.”

Going back to the strategy of targeting a niche industry, The Redcliffe Group built their business model around integrating with third party products, like CRMs, that their customers need. Bicom Systems makes this possible with white label, highly customizable products and collaborative customer support.

A Supportive Partner

Speaking of collaborative support, Charlie attributes the bulk of his success to the model of partnership he found in Bicom Systems. 

“It is the most unique vendor-customer relationship I’ve ever had,” Charlie says, “which is extremely refreshing and powerful in terms of what we can accomplish.”

So what makes the partnership so unique and powerful? That each party stays in its own lane. Bicom Systems brings stable software, excellent support, and open collaboration to the table. The Redcliffe Group brings the actual product that goes to market. The marriage of these two solutions results in a more comprehensive solution and success for both parties.

Charlie has encountered other big industry players that are overstepping their boundaries, trying to sell in what is meant to be partner space. Bicom Systems is 100% committed to the position that we should never compete with our partners.

This empowers The Redcliffe Group to have an extremely targeted product and message for their market and the confidence that comes from controlling their product and customers fully. 

Bicom Systems does not compete with partners, never asks for customer data, and does not require partners to meet quotas. We simply support and collaborate as much as possible to achieve mutual success.

A testament to their trust and confidence in Bicom Systems, The Redcliffe Group is 100% hosted by Bicom Systems.