A new chapter for Zen’s Dealer channel

Zen has just hosted its Dealer webinar “Lighting the fire” – a session designed to reconnect with our dealer community and share what’s next for the channel.

Hosted by head of product Lee Houston and joined by founder & CEO Richard Tang and Jon Nowel, managing director of Zen’s Business division, the webinar marked the start of a renewed focus on the people behind our partnerships.

A pivotal moment for dealers

Jon opened by reflecting on the opportunity ahead:

“Where we are at the moment in this industry is a fascinating and pivotal moment. We have PSTN switch-off just over a year away, and we have a significant opportunity for businesses to be better served in their connectivity needs. I strongly feel there are a lot of businesses that are overpaying and underserved out there right now. So I’m super excited – having been in this industry for 20-odd years, I do think this is one of those key moments and it’s a great opportunity for all of us.”

With the PSTN switch-off approaching and full fibre coverage expanding rapidly, Jon emphasises that now is the time for dealers to re-engage with their customers – helping them modernise their connectivity and move away from outdated copper services.

Change brings opportunity

Richard took a wider view of the market and its ongoing transformation:

“There’s a huge amount going on in our industry right now. I’ve called it the full fibre wacky races, the full fibre chess game, the full fibre poker game – whichever of those strikes a chord best with you, it’s fair to say there’s a lot of change. And at any point where there’s change in an industry, there’s always opportunity.”

He spoke about Zen’s strategy to become the UK’s number one aggregator of alternative networks – giving dealers access to a growing footprint of full fibre networks across the country. By the end of 2025, dealers will be able to reach around 1.4 million business premises through Zen.

For Richard, this moment represents more than just growth: it’s a genuine chance for dealers to offer customers something transformative.

“Full fibre is a salesperson’s dream. You’re not just competing by saying ‘buy our hosted voice service’ or ‘this service or that service’ – you’re upgrading them from a slow and less reliable copper service to a much faster, much more reliable, and roughly three-times-more-reliable service on full fibre.”

Reconnecting with the dealer community

Jon acknowledged that Zen hasn’t engaged as strongly with dealers in recent years, but made clear that this is changing:

“This is probably our first dealer webinar in a very long time. This is a restart – it’s a kickstart. We know we can help you do more, and we want to work together on that.”

He reaffirmed Zen’s commitment to supporting the channel with the right tools, communication, and collaboration to help partners grow their businesses.

Built on purpose

Richard reminded attendees that Zen’s long-term success has always come from its values:

“Our purpose is to do right for people and planet. This is 30 years now since I founded Zen, and we’ve always had a focus on doing the right thing for people. We’ve had our happiness objectives – happy staff, happy suppliers, and happy customers – which are still very much core to what we’re about. This new purpose statement really sums up the essence of what Zen is about. Look, money is super important to Zen, just as it is to every business, but at Zen it is secondary to our people and environment-centric focus. It’s a means to an end to deliver that purpose.”

That purpose, Richard said, underpins everything – from how Zen treats its people to how it partners with others. It’s a philosophy built around shared success and long-term relationships.

Looking ahead

As the session closed, Richard offered an optimistic view of what lies ahead:

“The world is your full fibre oyster, and in 30 years this is the best free-market infrastructure competition I’ve ever seen – which I think is brilliant for the UK, for Zen, and for our dealer channel.”

If you couldn’t join us live, you can watch the full webinar at the end of this article.

To explore how Zen can help you grow your business, contact the Zen Business team or visit https://business.zen.co.uk/contact-us