A Message from
the CEO of D3UC

A Message from the CEO

“”Reading the fine print is like flossing—you don’t always want to do it, but you’ll regret it if you don’t.”

Welcome to D3 Unified Communications! Thanks so much for visiting our website!

As we embark on another decade of serving the MSP community, I want to reflect on the journey that has brought us here and share some critical insights that will guide us going forward. Last year, we celebrated D3UC’s 10th anniversary—a decade marked by achievements, partnership growth, and meaningful lessons. From the beginning, our vision has been simple yet powerful: to empower Managed Service Providers (MSPs) of all sizes to deliver top-notch, private-label Unified Communications (UC) services under their own logo, with full control over pricing, branding, and service quality.

Reflecting on these ten years, I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together:

• We’ve proven that MSPs of any size can successfully offer cloud-based phone and UC services, often winning business from much larger providers.
• A major portion of our partners—75% of whom have fewer than 10 employees and many of whom are 1-2 person businesses—benefit from a white-label model that puts them in control.
• Through our collective efforts, our nationwide family of MSPs now provide UCaaS to hundreds of small businesses across all industries, in every state, and every size.
• D3UC’s comprehensive knowledge base has been designed to provide MSPs with tools that ensure smooth, reliable delivery and support for your customers.

Throughout this journey, we’ve come to recognize three key strategies that empower our partners to “strike it rich” in the UCaaS market, much like the prospectors of the Gold Rush.

Lessons from the Gold Rush: The Three Secrets to Success

While watching a PBS documentary about the Gold Rush, I had an enlightening realization. The most successful prospectors weren’t the ones digging deep into mountains but those who sifted streams for small, valuable gold nuggets. This approach applies directly to the UCaaS market: selecting the right tools, the right strategy, and the right partner will set you up for lasting success.

1. Equip Yourself with the Right Tools
   Just as prospectors needed the best tools to find gold, MSPs need flexible, robust solutions to find their gold — monthly recurring revenues (MRRs). D3UC’s UCaaS platform is feature-rich, scalable, and ideal for generating reliable MRRs, empowering you to serve the Very Small Businesses (VSBs) that make up a vast and underserved segment of the market. Additionally, with D3UC as your partner, you are not roped into monthly non-essential recurring fees, complex pricing models, or contracts with minimum commitments or termination penalties.
2. Implement the Right Strategy
   MSPs achieve their highest success when they focus on Very Small Businesses (VSBs), a vast and underserved market. Representing 90% of all U.S. businesses, VSBs are typically defined as companies with fewer than 20 employees. These businesses often lack IT resources but require reliable, sophisticated communications tools to compete effectively. While many providers target larger businesses, we believe the true opportunity lies in serving VSBs, where decision-making is often handled by the owner, competition is less intense, and customer loyalty is high. By prioritizing this segment, you’ll find a steady stream of demand for accessible, reliable communications services.

   Number of US Businesses by Size
   TYPE OF BUSINESS	NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES	TOTAL # OF BUSINESSES	TOTAL # OF EMPLOYEES	% OF TOTAL BUSINESSES
   Large	500 – 10,000+	19,688	69,395,021	0.3%
   Medium	100-499	88,023	17,268,572	1.4%
   Small	20-99	519,015	20,219,046	8.3%
   Very Small	1-19	5,667,015	21,463,660	90.0%
   		6,294,604	128,346,299	100.00%

   * The Census Bureau: Number of Firms and Establishments, Employment, and Annual Payroll by State, Industry, and Enterprise Employment Size: Dated 12/21/2023
3. Partner with the Right People
   Choosing the right partner is crucial. Just as some prospectors in the Gold Rush were led astray by suppliers focused only on their own gains, today’s MSPs must carefully select a UCaaS provider who aligns with their long-term interests. Some UCaaS providers, especially those backed by Private Equity (PE) or Venture Capital (VC) firms, prioritize maximizing returns for themselves and investors rather than supporting MSPs’ long-term success.

   White-label UCaaS providers who receive investments from PE or VC companies can cause them to shift their focus toward maximizing returns for investors rather than their MSP partners. As we’ve seen with two major players in recent years, companies previously serving MSPs can be sold to large MSP competitors, creating direct competition for the original MSPs they once supported. For example, in 2021 SkySwitch and CoreDial, the two largest white-label UCaaS providers in the US, were both sold to BCM One, a major MSP competitor. MSPs that partnered with SkySwitch and CoreDial are now at risk of their customers being targeted for UCaaS and Manages Services proposals from the same company providing their UCaaS services.

   At D3UC, we believe in fostering a long term, transparent partnership with our MSPs. D3UC has never taken any investments from PE or VC companies, so we can be fully committed to helping you to grow. Our contracts are designed to support—not restrict—your success, free from monthly fees, minimum revenue commitments, or penalties for early cancellation. We prioritize your success above all because if you’re successful, we’re successful.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls when selecting White-Label Providers

In selecting the right partner, it’s crucial to avoid the traps that some PE or VC-backed UCaaS providers set up to raise their valuations at the MSP’s expense. Here are key signs to watch for:

• Avoid providers with monthly non-essential recurring fees, complex pricing models, or contracts with minimum monthly revenue commitments or termination penalties.

• Check if a white-label UCaaS provider has received funding from PE or VC. A quick search online for “private equity investments” alongside the provider’s name can often reveal relevant announcements.

Looking Forward: A Partnership for the Next Decade

As we look toward the next decade, our mission remains to empower MSPs targeting the VSB market, where there’s incredible opportunity for growth. We’re here to support you in capturing a share of this market confidently and sustainably, without the risk of future competition from your own UCaaS provider.

Thank you for being part of our journey. Together, we’ll continue finding the “gold nuggets” in the VSB market, creating a profitable, long-term future for your business – and ours. If you’re interested in joining D3 Unified Communications and cashing in on your share of the gold rush, please contact me at 973-330-8801 or chuck@d3uc.com