VIEWPOINT
COMMENT
www.comms-dealer.com
The
majority of users are tech savvy
DAVE CRUSE, CEO, CONJUNGO
At what point do potential customers
decide to use new technology? And more importantly, how do they find the suppliers of technology? There is a multitude of consumer websites for price comparisons, searching for property, jobs, and now a couple have been launched to enable consumers to find professional trades people, painters and decorators, plumbers etc. To be a member requires vetting and some endorsements from a couple of customers.
The last time I needed the services of a plumber I decided to use two mediums to find a good one. Firstly, I used a directory, which I normally throw away, and found that people still use such terms as AAAAAArdvark Plumbing Services. The rationale behind this is that consumers will chose the first plumber in the list, which I guess if you have a major leak you just want to make a quick decision. I tried the web too. This was reasonably good but I was still stuck for choice: Were they any good? Would they rip me off? Were they qualified?
On the other hand, Conjungo (www.
conjungo.com) clearly focuses on technology and simply generates results that are required and are accurate; and the details are ‘spun’ randomly to give all companies an opportunity. This means that it doesn’t matter if your company is called AAAArdvark Computer Services or Xenon Systems... they will be visible. The majority of consumers are becoming more tech savvy, and business people likewise. They invariably start with Google and end up with a vertical search engine such as
Conjungo.com, or whatever vertical search engine will help with their quest.
The technology market is relatively mature and probably the most professional in the way that it behaves and treats its customers. Having phoned many IT companies to discuss the possible implementation of a new CRM system, I have not yet been met with the reply, ‘Sorry mate busy this week, I could send one of the sales people out next week but there’s a £70 call out charge’.
NETWORK
update:
To compete in a converged world channel partners need to focus on the business issues faced by customers, and offer solutions underpinned by a robust NGN, the most viable source of revenue growth, writes Andy Hollingworth, Director of Wholesale, Opal.
Andy Hollingworth
n my role I get to speak to a lot of resellers and am beginning to see two very different stories emerging. One, from those who have started grabbing the opportunities presented by NGN with both hands and are successfully expanding and diversifying their businesses. The other side of the story is a less positive tale from those partners who are concerned about the longevity of their businesses, having started to see a decline in their TDM voice revenues.
I
It is now impossible to differentiate legacy (TDM) telephony and data services, a fact that is abundantly clear from the way value has been eroded from all legacy network services. At Opal, we too were forced to recognise this, switching the focus of our business from TDM telephony to the creation of a core proposition of converged connectivity solutions using a broad range of technologies like ADSL, SIP, IP VPN and Fixed Mobile Convergence, all the way through to carrier grade Ethernet over fibre or copper.
n
Uncomfortable or not, that change was necessary to meet the changing demands of the market, and the same is true of partners. Not fully understanding NGN services immediately puts partners at a disadvantage in a market where being able to provide added value solutions is King. Whereas previously voice and data services across fixed and mobile networks have been bought separately from different providers, one of the most significant impacts of Next Generation Networks based on IP is that services will converge onto the core IP connectivity. One connection into the site will provide all communications including voice
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(VoIP), data and Internet, leaving those without an NGN offering potentially out in the cold.
Efficiency is what lies at the heart of the NGN offering, converging different services onto a single, more reliable platform. In addition, true NGNs are ‘pure play’ and operators do not have to invest time and cost harmonising with legacy services, resulting in cost savings for the end user and a future proofed network.
Which NGN services should a partner be looking to add to their portfolio in order to meet customer demand and increase revenue? In the current climate, partners need to focus their energies on offering a solution sell, creating business value by reducing IT costs, reducing operational costs or creating increased potential to grow their customers business. It doesn’t need to be complicated.
A partner should start with the basics, deploying an all IP Wide Area Network in a NGN which will save costs and becomes a platform for further development. Next, they must ensure that the services run over the WAN are capable of being converged such as voice and data over fixed and mobile networks. This offers the opportunity to improve operational efficiency and reduce operational expenditure. The final piece in the jigsaw is being able to the portfolio of applications that offer a much richer communication experience both today and in the future.
Focusing on this stack of offers is the key to making a partner’s customer base ‘stickier’ and more profitable.
n
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