SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESSES OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Star2Star
DIGITAL REPORT 2020
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INNOVATION IN COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
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Michelle Accardi, President and CRO, explains why Star2Star’s industry-recognised communications solutions are so popular and why remote working is the company’s 2020 focus
W
ith the new paradigm of remote working suddenly becoming a necessity for many businesses stemming from the COVID-19
(coronavirus) pandemic, having a solid communications network with the latest technology has taken on global importance. It is arguable that few companies are poised to remedy the situation quite like Star2Star. 04
Having recently enhanced its remote work solutions with extended features and capabilities, the company understands the current challenges that businesses face when transitioning to a remote environment. Star2Star’s bespoke communications solutions factor in the size, operational scope and technical requirements for businesses of various operational models and industry backgrounds. Relatively unique in the industry, all of Star2Star’s enterprise solutions are developed in-house, meaning they are seamlessly compatible with each other and able to be scaled up or down depending on the customer’s requirement. It was this aspect of the company which attracted Michelle Accardi, President and Chief Revenue Officer, to join Star2Star in 2013. Having previously worked in a range of different roles at companies such as
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“ I can relate to the challenges of my partners and my customers because as a business leader myself I now fully understand what they are facing”
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This expertise also helps Accardi
— Michelle Accardi, President and Chief Revenue Officer, Star2Star
focus on how to direct Star2Star’s
CA Technologies, Accardi states
When the subject of her being recog-
that these experiences have created
nised by CRN as a Channel Chief – an
her holistic approach to working at
endorsement of an individual’s effec-
Star2Star. “I’ve been in all areas of
tive management and high standing
the technology and communications
in the business community – for the
business, whether that’s develop-
sixth year consecutively is mentioned,
ment, operations, marketing or sales.
Accardi is modest and states that
I can relate to the challenges of my
she is simply happy to play a part in
partners and my customers because
Star2Star’s mission. “It means a lot and
as a business leader myself I now fully
to be recognised for building a busi-
understand what they are facing.”
ness that enables other companies
efforts in developing solutions that meet and answer a market need.
Star2Star — A New Perspective CLICK TO WATCH
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1:30
07 to be successful,” she explains. “Being
communications system. Possessing
recognised as a Channel Chief means
a portfolio that includes solutions
that you’re truly impacting a greater
for voice, video, instant messaging,
ecosystem of people and reaching
mobile, fax, collaboration, integration
more customers. So, I think it’s quite
and communications management
an honour.”
tools, Star2Star’s comprehensive
The breadth of Star2Star’s expertise and the crafted integration of
solution set is designed to meet every business need.
its platform are, for Accardi, vital. Its
When asked what trends she sees
cloud-based business phone and
as important, Accardi has a simple and
communications facilities, includ-
prescient answer: the cloud. “There
ing VoIP (voice over IP) services and
are still some companies that aren’t in
its enterprise solutions platform
the cloud and that is something which
deliver the reliability, flexibility and
will either drive transformation, or, if
integrity required of a corporate
they don’t adapt, could result in them w w w.st a r2 st a r. com
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DESK PHONES
CONFERENCE
MOBILITY
S TA R 2 S TA R
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“ It means a lot and to be recognised for building a business that enables other companies to be successful” of a ‘complete cloud communications’ — Michelle Accardi, President and Chief Revenue Officer, Star2Star
platform.” The importance of the cloud for Star2Star cannot be overemphasised, as it is the environment from which the company’s vision of a com-
going out of business.” She goes on
plete integrated platform sprang; it was
to address Star2Star’s new position-
by leveraging the inherent potential of
ing, saying, “We’re changing how we
the cloud that the company is able to
talk about our platform. We previ-
offer its scalable and seamlessly inter-
ously called it a full spectrum solution
woven solutions.
because it offers end-to-end applica-
For Accardi, it is the company’s in-
tions, but now I’m envisioning it as more
house development capabilities which
Michelle Accardi
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
As President and Chief Revenue Officer, Michelle’s mission is to inspire and maintain growth for the company and its partners and ensure that customers get significant value from Star2Star’s products and services. Michelle works with the executive leadership team of Star2Star to define long-term vision and operational strategy to assure that growth and market potential are achieved. In pursuit of this goal, Michelle sees as a primary function of her role to engage and listen to employees, partners, and customers to gather information needed to keep Star2Star on the optimal strategic path. In this way, customer success is assured as employees and partners are inspired to deliver an excellent product and experience with every interaction. In her previous position as the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Michelle used these same methods to develop new processes and systems to streamline business interactions. She grew departmental leadership and expanded Star2Star’s support capabilities to better serve customer and partner needs. Michelle is also regarded a technical thought leader on next-generation marketing and communications strategies. Her book, Agile Marketing, chronicles her experiences applying agile methodology to the marketing process for better results and faster time to value. She brought her substantial executive-level and tech industry experience with her to Star2Star, having driven innovative, agile, revenue-producing field and channel marketing programs for one of the world’s most relied upon technology companies, Computer Associates. In 2016, Michelle was named to the CRN 2016 Power 100 – an elite subset of CRN’s prestigious annual Women of the Channel list – for the second year in a row. In 2015, she was named a CRN Channel Chief, an annual list representing select leaders in the IT channel who hold direct responsibility for driving growth and revenue through the reseller channel. In 2014, Michelle was honored to be named Businesswoman of the Year by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Michelle holds an MBA from American Intercontinental University and earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida.
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Tour de Star
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CLICK TO WATCH
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2:42
2006
Year founded
99.4%
Customer retention rate
250+ Number of employees
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“ Our mission this year is to help other companies that are going to struggle” — Michelle Accardi, President and Chief Revenue Officer, Star2Star
distinguish it from its competitors. “The technology we’ve built ourselves enables really great call quality and capabilities for a good price, whereas other companies, because they’re dependent on third-party products, whether it’s video or contact centre, it drives their costs up,” she states. “Because our competitors only have the ability to work with third-party products, they don’t have something that’s built specifically for their network
With the need for reliable communication networks growing rapidly as more workforces settle into working from home, Accardi views remote working and business continuity as paramount to the company’s vision for the rest of 2020. “Thankfully, Star2Star is a very financially healthy organisation. Our mission this year is to help other companies that are going to struggle,” she says. Identifying the assistance of other businesses and organisations is characteristic of Accardi’s approach and representative of Star2Star overall. Its flexibility, diversity and tech expertise packaged with a highly customer-oriented approach has already earned it acclaim and is sure to to ensure call quality.” This end-to-end
build a strong reputation in the North
development forms the crux of what
American communications sector. “We
makes Star2Star so valuable in today’s
have solutions for every business, big
market: it’s a company that wants to
and small,” Accardi concludes. “We
provide great value to its customers by
believe what we offer is far better than
bundling services together and scaling
what customers could get piecemeal or
the product to suit their business needs.
even in bundles from other competitors.
And its approach seems to be working:
We’re focused on doing everything we
Star2Star has an impressive 99.4%
can to help companies as they deal with
customer retention rate amongst its
the new challenges of remote working.”
thousands of clients, a sure indicator of the perceived quality of its services. w w w.st a r2 st a r. com
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