Our Philosophy

In the Cloud prescribes to the high practices and policies established by the Technology Channel Association Membership and Board of Directors.

Letter from the TCA Board:

“After much effort and dialog amongst a working group of TCA agent members, TCA has developed a Code of Ethics, which supports its mission to foster the growth and success of the indirect sales channel and its businesses. This will also be used as a building block towards the development of an agent certification program.” -TCA Code of Ethics

TCA Code of Ethics

The TCA Code of Ethics details the core guidelines of Agent professionalism. This would encompass crucial issues such as conflicts of interest, good faith representation and public perception. The core ethics listed below are essential to Agent professionalism for the TCA members. Integrity, honesty, and transparency are fundamental principles embodied by this Code, which sets forth obligations of ethical conduct for the Agent profession. The TCA has adopted this Code to provide high ethical standards to safeguard clients and the telecom industry. TCA members shall: comply with this Code; avoid association with any organization whose practices violate this Code and strive to uphold, maintain, and improve the integrity, reputation, and practice of the Agent profession.

All TCA members have agreed to abide by this Code of Ethics:

A. Agents shall act in good faith toward each client and other participating parties. They should always focus on serving the best interest of the client.
B. Honesty and integrity are fundamental qualities of an Agent. Agents shall perform services, and express opinions, based on genuine conviction and only advise within their areas of education, training, and/or experience.
C. Agents shall be objective in their recommendations for purchases. They shall not knowingly understate or overstate the need for a product or service, or misquote price for a particular service.
D. Agents shall not disclose client information without client approval.
E. Agents shall avoid activities that may harm the public, discredit themselves,
or reduce public confidence in the profession.
F. Advertising, marketing, and promotion of Agents’ services or qualifications shall not be fraudulent, false, deceptive, or misleading.
G. Agents should be educated on the solutions they propose to the client. They should only sell or implement products that will not negatively impact the client. The client should gain from the interaction with the agent and be left with a positive impression of the profession.
H. At the beginning of the process, Agents should explain to the client whether they will assist with the implementation of the purchased product. Furthermore, the Agent and client should agree on their respective responsibilities.
I. Agents should treat master agents, carriers, vendors, clients, prospects and/or other agents openly, honestly and with the utmost respect (e.g. value their time, resources, opinions and confidentiality)
J. Agents should not purposely misrepresent the volume of business they will sell for a Carrier or Master Agent.
K. Agents shall not engage in unfair business practices. For example, negotiations should not include disclosing specific prices/rates of one carrier to another.
L. Agents that adhere to this Code of Ethics will be held in high regard and enjoy all privileges associated with the TCA. Alternatively, failure to adhere to this Code of Ethics may jeopardize their continued membership in the TCA.
M. Agents that sign off on, and agree to adhere to, this Code of Ethics will be considered ‘certified’ to work with TCA vendors.
N. Agents must post this Code of Ethics on their company website.
O. Agents agree that “slamming” is a federal offense and will not be tolerated.
P. Agent’s “best efforts” will be expected to avoid creating channel conflicts between direct representatives and Agents. Please refer to letter “A” above.
Q. TCA membership will require all Agents to sign this Code of Ethics
Agents in good standing will enjoy the benefits of ongoing professional improvement, networking with other like-minded professionals and enhanced credibility within the industry. The spirit of this document is to create a telecom “whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.”