INDUSTRY NEWS COMMENT: THE O2 CORNER Maggie Kennedy
Staying in touch when you’re abroad: Most people are embarking on their summer holidays, and the cost of making and receiving calls abroad can be one of the biggest drivers of customer dissatisfaction. Customers want to be firmly in control of call and data costs when they’re abroad, with no nasty surprises when they see their bill. July traditionally sees thousands of workers travel abroad in search of some summer sun. For many, the opportunity to spend time out of the office is also a juggling act with keeping on top of work commitments and staying in touch with people at home.
According to recent research, British holiday makers
are taking more holidays and breaks abroad than ever before. And we need to make sure they can stay in touch during their holidays, without being put off by high calling costs. So, we have introduced a new roaming tariff, called O2 Travel, which offers people the flexibility they need to check in from abroad without the worry of high charges so that they can relax and enjoy themselves. We should be asking customers if it would put their mind at ease to know what their mobile phone costs would be in advance. With fixed prices for calls and data roaming in Europe, customers can relax in the knowledge that their people won’t be running up huge bills. Feel free to drop me a line at
maggie.kennedy@o2.
com to let me know your thoughts about improving the customer satisfaction of your customers when they’re abroad – and how we can help.
Maggie Kennedy, Head of Partners, O2
Cloud makes gains in poll
THE cloud is entering main- stream thinking as hosted tech- nology climbs up the channel agenda and the connectivity piece is seen as mission critical, according to new research by TalkTalk Business.
In its latest Channel Cloud survey the NGN operator – which launched its hosted uni- fied communications portfolio in May supported by a state of the art data centre – found that 48% of those taking part are completely confident when it comes to hosted technology, compared to only 14% in 2011. Fear and uncertainty towards
the cloud has almost halved with figures dropping from 20% last year to just 11%. Andy Hollingworth, Director
of Partners at TalkTalk Bus- iness, said: “It’s fantastic to see this new found assurance in the channel. We believe it’s been brought about by the improved understanding of what makes hosted applications effective. “Half of those polled agreed
that business grade connectivity is the most important compo- nent of any hosted solution.” However, the survey also indicates that end users are becoming increasingly confused by cloud computing, with 72%
of respondents noting clients with security concerns, while 74% had customers with down- time worries, with 83% of deci- sion makers generally confused. This is compared to 36%, 22% and 33% respectively in 2011. Hollingworth added: “Many resellers are apprehensive about taking the plunge and introduc- ing hosted products into their portfolio. Although their own understanding is often greatly improved, many see a risk in selling a proposition which is still so misunderstood by cus- tomers. VARS should turn to their suppliers for support in educating their client base.” Hollingworth highlighted that 41% of those who do offer hosted solutions agree that it has become one of the biggest rev- enue drivers for their business. Meanwhile, 83% of respon- dents agreed that hosted products are the biggest opportunity for growth of their businesses, and 71% believed hosted products would see the biggest demand, despite any lack of understand- ing. Hollingworth added: “It’s impossible to ignore the poten- tial of hosted products.”
Got a news story? email:
sgilroy@bpl-business.com
SHORT CALLS
Datapoint has partnered with Avaya to combine its presence, video and web conferencing, messaging and mobility UC with the Avaya Flare Experience, a user interface for easy access to real- time communications and collaboration tools. Datapoint MD Jim Close said: “With the right tools in place businesses can transition seamlessly, stay integrated and gain a competitive edge.”
Mayflex has been appointed as a distributor for Geist, manufacturer of customised and scalable solutions for the data centre environment. Mark Simmons, Sales Director at Mayflex, said: “The Geist range strengthens the existing range of monitoring and power management solutions already available from Mayflex.”
InTechnology has launched an end-to-end managed telehealth service designed to help patients self-manage long-term conditions such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic heart failure. Bryn Sage, COO, said: “We want to break the current models for patient-led healthcare.”
Training takes new tack Tech Data boost
VIRTUAL1 is extending its training programme with a new initiative that takes a more relaxed approach to knowledge and experience sharing. The scheme, called Partner Seminar Series, is exclusive to Virtual1 Partners and will cover a range of hot issues for the channel, including the impact of cloud computing, IPv6, the growth in demand for 100% SLAs and new opportunities surrounding SIP.
The seminars will be held in Virtual1’s private box at Epsom
Tom O’Hagan
Downs Racecourse and will coincide with the Epsom Live series, which combines race days with live music concerts in the evening. Tom O’Hagan, MD, com- mented: “We’re taking a differ-
ent approach to the way we sup- port and train our partners. We will of course continue to run our regular training sessions as part of our Partner Programme, but the aim of this series is to provide an informal, relaxed environment in which to discuss and analyse some of the key technological concerns facing businesses today.”
The seminars will be led by
Virtual1’s leadership team with participation from Virtual1 sup- pliers including Teleware, BT, Gamma and Juniper.
TECH Data Corp is to acquire Brightstar Corp’s 50% own- ership interest in Brightstar Europe, a pan-European provid- er of distribution and integrated supply chain solutions for the mobility industry. The transac- tion is expected to be completed during Tech Data’s third quarter of fiscal year 2013. “Our European mobility business is a key element in our strategy of diversifying into higher growth, higher return specialty areas,” said Robert Dutkowsky, CEO, Tech Data.
#1 for Deals in the sector 8 COMMS DEALER AUGUST 2012
“What began as a greenfield operation with Brightstar in 2007 is now a well established European mobility company with sales of approximately $1.8bn in its last fiscal year. “We believe that full owner- ship of our European mobility business is in the long-term best interest of shareholders. “We anticipate working with Brightstar on specific European opportunities in the future and remain committed to our TDMobility joint venture with them in the US.”
0844 557 8470
www.knightcf.com @knightcorpfin
www.comms-dealer.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60