Lancom Technology, an Auckland based software and technology provider, has launched its new Cloud Solution Provider
(CSP) Portal integration, enabling CSP providers to automate billing and free themselves from the manual invoicing of
Office 365 agreements.
The CSP Portal does this by providing one place for CSPs to manage all their Microsoft subscriptions and ensure changes
are automatically synced between Microsoft and their professional services automation (PSA) tool. Customer agreements
are updated automatically with any licensing changes made throughout the month, giving complete confidence that end of
month billing will be accurate.
Waruna Kirimetiyawa, Chief Executive of Lancom Technology said: “Microsoft are a strategic partner for most CSPs but
it’s generally accepted that accurately reconciling their licensing is a big pain point. I know first-hand it can take a
long time which is why we developed our CSP Portal. The time to value is instant as we can now automatically pro-rata
licensing, improve the accuracy of pricing, reduce invoice queries and save time through automation. We can even
increase front end margin and avoid missed billing opportunities.”
Steve Hornblow – Partner Development Lead at Microsoft said: “In the new world of consumption of cloud services, it’s
all about getting accurate, timely information and insight to help customers and partners make great decisions. And via
this system and through greater simplification, Lancom Technology is at the forefront of making this a reality.”
The idea for the CSP Portal had been on Lancom Technology’s radar for some time but the COVID-19 lockdown presented the
opportunity. Waruna explains: “Our dev projects slowed down during lockdown but we wanted to maintain productivity. We
looked at how we could innovate and it made sense to work with a large and well respected business like Microsoft. From
our own experience, we’ve been able to save 20 hours per month on billing reconciliation alone. That’s time we can use
to focus on innovation and scaling!”
Built on the Microsoft Azure platform, Lancom Technology’s CSP Portal has been developed with scalability and
availability in mind. Initially available for users of ConnectWise and Autotask, Lancom Technology plan to expand to
include Netsuite, Business Central and ServiceNow.
Lancom Technology’s CSP Portal is available in two flavours, either through Dicker Data integrating seamlessly into
their platform, or globally on the Microsoft Marketplace here.