Inequalities in high speed broadband access are a great concern for many businesses in the deprived regions, but Philip Davies, CEO of Worcester-based VeloComms, has set about equalising this disparity with a bandwidth boosting bonding solution.
Accepting the broadband status quo is not an option for any business: Enter VeloComms, a specialist in broadband bonding, WAN connectivity, IP voice and a security systems integrator. "Our primary focus is broadband bonding," stated Davies. "By bonding between two and 12 broadband connections together, high speed connections can be cost-effectively delivered throughout the UK. Bandwidth can be quickly and easily increased to provide the flexibility and scalability that businesses require. With the increased use of the Internet, cloud-based services, IP voice and video, the need for high speed, cost-effective bandwidth has never been more important."
Although broadband is becoming widely available the bandwidth offered can vary remarkably by location. Three years ago Davies identified this variance as a clear opportunity to provide fast broadband connectivity to under-served businesses wanting to exploit VoIP, cloud and other online services. In 2013 the company signed an agreement with US firm Mushroom Networks to bring its broadband bonding solutions to the UK. The Truffle range of products enable the aggregation of low cost, readily available broadband connections. Individual Truffle units can be used for high speed access to the Internet and multiple units can be deployed between offices.
"We've come across companies on large business parks with connections of just a few Mbps," said Davies. "Using broadband bonding we increased their bandwidth and enabled them to boost productivity and reduce costs through the deployment of online and hosted services. With products that offer leased line emulation capabilities we can bond ADSL, fibre, EFM and other line technologies to create point-to-point and point-to-multi-point networks for branch offices. These are cost-effective and offer high performance, resilience and scalability."
VeloComms initially launched a series of dedicated routers aimed at the corporate market. They delivered throughput in excess of 900Mbps and had a feature set suitable for the most demanding of environments. "By launching a monthly subscription-based service with a range of affordable bonding routers we opened up a new range of market opportunities for our partners and ourselves," said Davies. "Low cost of entry and monthly subscription costs made broadband bonding viable for SMEs and home workers."
As well as Mushroom Networks, VeloComms' technology partners include Jola, Nubo Consulting and Sharedband. VeloComms has grown significantly over the last 12 months, primarily through the recruitment of a number of partners wanting products and services that complement their own offerings - whether that's VoIP, UC or cloud orientated. "We have enabled them to close opportunities where a lack of resilient, scalable and cost-effective bandwidth was a barrier to sales," stated Davies.
Another priority is to drive increased awareness of broadband bonding and its benefits. "There is still an expectation that high speed broadband will be available to all, but that is not the case," commented Davies. "For those have-nots, other technologies will need to be deployed and broadband bonding plays an important role, ensuring fast broadband is available to businesses that increasingly depend upon it."
Davies realised early in his career that businesses would come to depend on technology. His first exposure to the comms sector was working for an insurance company. He was shown an early version of an application that had the potential to replace a significant number of office positions. Fearing the worst, he jumped ship and found a junior network infrastructure role, and has never looked back. In these formative years Davies was also influenced during a period of employment by a serial entrepreneur.
"I saw how innovative products, great support and added value for the reseller channel were the foundations of a successful business," said Davies. "I always try to emulate the partnership ethos, hard work and focus that made an impression on me. Since then I have been fortunate to work both as an end user and in the industry during exciting, fast growth times. The constant change and evolution in our sector is a real motivation." •