The Challenge: Great Telecom Software, Limited Global Reach
PressOne Africa offers cloud-based communication solutions, including virtual phone systems, voice/SMS authentication, and messaging platforms integrated with major CRMs such as HubSpot, Zoho, and Freshdesk. Their software serves major Nigerian clients, including national banks and e-commerce platforms.
Despite this, they’ve had one major bottleneck for growth – offering these solutions to communication service providers (CSPs) beyond Nigeria’s borders.
“We had carrier-grade software that worked,” explains Unoma Adeyemi, Chief Commercial Officer at PressOne Africa. “But reaching international telecoms meant building sales infrastructure, establishing credibility with CSPs who’d never heard of us, and proving our integration capabilities to each prospect individually.”
The Breakthrough: From Direct Sales to Marketplace Strategy
During partnership discussions in Lagos with PortaOne CEO Andriy Zhylenko, the conversation shifted from local services to global distribution strategy.
“Andriy pointed out something transformative: we already had proven telecom solutions. Instead of cold-calling international CSPs, we could list our software on Add-on Mart—PortaOne’s value-added services marketplace—giving us instant access to telecoms in 90+ countries who already trust PortaOne’s platform.”
This insight changed everything. Rather than building sales teams and chasing individual telecoms, PressOne could increase exposure to the network of CSPs who leverage modules from PortaOne’s add-on marketplace.
Implementation: 12 Weeks from Local to Global-Ready
Guided by this new strategy, PressOne focused on adapting several key areas of its existing solutions for international telecom distribution:
- Add-on Mart ready for quick launching
- Enhanced API documentation for seamless integration
- Localized interfaces for international markets
- PortaSwitch API alignment for platform compatibility
The timeline: 12 weeks to transform local solutions into marketplace-ready products—while maintaining existing enterprise deployments.
Results: Credibility and Direct CSP Access
“Being listed on PortaOne’s marketplace means CSPs immediately recognize our solutions as deployment-ready,” notes PressOne. “That removes major barriers and builds trust faster than any sales pitch.”
Since launching on the marketplace, PressOne has benefited from:
- direct visibility to telecoms across 90+ countries.
- inbound partnership inquiries from international CSPs.
- elimination of cold outreach through warm marketplace introductions.
- active collaboration with PortaOne on customer conversion strategies.
While specific revenue numbers aren’t disclosed, PressOne reports significantly shortened sales cycles and higher-quality prospect engagement compared to direct outreach efforts.
Three Paths to Global Telecom Markets
PressOne’s approach highlights key opportunities for telecom software developers:
Independent software vendors can transform client-specific telecom projects into repeatable marketplace products. They can shift from building one-off solutions (basically doing outsourced development work) to creating recurring revenue streams through established CSP networks.
Telecoms with internal development can transform their custom solutions, like a billing integration or a customer self-care portal, into avenues for external revenue sources by packaging them for other CSPs through marketplace distribution.
Regional developers with global ambitions can leverage their local expertise to compete internationally when paired with the right distribution platform. Quality code travels well—it just needs the right introduction.
Expanding Global Presence
PressOne is continuing to build its international telecom software portfolio with:
- advanced voice AI tools for CSP customer engagement.
- enhanced messaging platforms for multi-channel communication.
- enterprise support modules for telecom operations management.
Their advice for telecom developers: “Focus on solving real CSP problems, document clearly, and leverage established distribution channels. The right marketplace transforms local expertise into global solutions.”
Ready to reach telecoms worldwide with your solutions? Explore developer marketplace opportunities.
Connect proven telecom software with communication service providers across 90+ countries. Built-in credibility through established platform relationships. Global reach without building sales infrastructure.
FAQ
Add-on Mart is PortaOne’s value-added services marketplace where CSPs from 90+ countries can access trusted telecom modules that extend your PortaSwitch and service portfolio to subscribers. Each app has been vetted by the PortaOne partner team to ensure streamlined activation.
CSPs can offer new services to their customers and get a free 30-day trial to test out modules that enhance PortaSwitch functionality. PortaOne developers heavily vet all third-party apps to ensure easy activation.
It provides a ready-made distribution channel, where developers can package their proven solutions and reach global CSPs without building their own sales infrastructure.
Listing on Add-on Mart gave PressOne immediate visibility with international telecoms that already trust PortaOne’s platform, removing the need for time-consuming direct sales.
PressOne adapted its solutions for the marketplace in just 12 weeks, aligning APIs, improving documentation, and localizing interfaces while maintaining existing deployments.
They gained direct access to CSPs in 90+ countries, received inbound partnership requests, eliminated cold outreach, and shortened sales cycles with higher-quality prospects.
Add-on Mart accepts various telecom solutions, including virtual phone systems, voice/SMS authentication, messaging platforms, billing integrations, customer portals, payment processors, call routing modules, fraud detection systems, analytics dashboards, CRM integrations, and other modules that enhance PortaSwitch functionality for CSPs.
PortaPhone CRM is a unified web dialer solution created by PressOne and PortaOne. It combines a trusted web-based dialer with robust CRM integration, enabling CSPs to offer enterprise customers features like click-to-dial, CRM-linked incoming calls, and simplified call notes. PortaPhone CRM is available for Zoho, HubSpot, and Freshdesk. Learn more in our PortaPhone CRM announcement.
Discover how PortaOne’s Add-on Mart helps CSPs access trusted modules. See how PressOne scaled globally in 12 weeks, reaching 90+ countries with vetted, marketplace-ready solutions.
