From car phones to PCI compliance: How Aerial Business Communications Managing Director Paul Davis made it big in comms.
Portsmouth-based Aerial Business Communications celebrated three decades in business in June. The company, formerly known as Aerial Telephones, was founded by Davis and began life as a mobile and car phone retailer operating from a small shop and employing three sales staff. Aerial has since developed into a multi-award winning full UC company with a 50-plus headcount, supplying mobiles, telephone systems, IT and Internet connectivity services.
It all began when Davis, as an opportunistic 22-year-old, worked in the Middle East for a Dutch company selling reprographic equipment to the oil industry. His plan was to do this for three years, and with time running down he began the search for a fresh opportunity on home territory in 1985. "The Daily Telegraph was advertising sales jobs in the new car phone telecoms market," explained Davis. "I found myself talking to Geremy Thomas who co-founded the Carphone Group (subsequently sold to Cable&Wireless). We struck a deal and I buzzed with exciting ideas."
The following year Davis approached the banks with a business plan but they could not see the commercial case for car phones. "Banks have been wrong on many occasions, and this was no exception," added Davis. "I invested my own money and bought five car phones, one for myself and four for stock with a total value of over £8,000. I sold to local people with expensive cars and soon required retail premises and staff. This was the start of Aerial. Today, we are O2's biggest direct partner and part of Samsung's B2B partnership programme, accredited as a B2B Expert. Much of our business is now truly converged and we have some large well known public organisations as customers. This way we are not so reliant on the networks."
Last year Aerial's mobile and data division grew by 65 per cent following a 40 per cent hike in new connections. "Although our base is predominantly business mobile customers we also saw a huge uptake in our fixed landline and broadband services with 279 per cent growth in this division in 2015," said Davis. "During the same period our IT systems and cloud services division grew by 16 per cent; and as awareness around the benefits of hosted phones and SIP trunks increases the demand for telephone systems also intensified, with 46 per cent growth in this division."
In just three years Aerial's annual turnover has ballooned from almost £9.4 million to £25.3-plus million and Davis is forecasting 2016 revenues of 30 million or more depending on potential acquisition activity. Based on its performance, Aerial has achieved a number of awards including O2's Digital Excellence Award 2015 and the CNA Customer Service Award 2014. This year the firm scooped the Best Medium Sized Business award and Overall Business of the Year gong in the local News Business Excellence Awards.
Aerial's customer base ranges from charities to blue chip companies. "The base is varied so we group customers into segments," commented Davis. "This enables us to offer more bespoke support, marketing and assistance. The aim is to understand the issues and challenges common to these sectors. "Our sweet spot remains the 50-100 handset model, though we've recently had some larger wins nationally. Customer satisfaction is key. The main challenge is managing the considerable resources in terms of staffing, time and revenue that are invested into our support services, but providing first class support has given us the opportunity build a loyal customer base."
As the workforce becomes ever more mobile, Aerial provides an increasing range of the latest digital applications such as Office 365, McAfee, Tugo, Just Call Me, Evernote and Box, plus tracking, lone worker protection, security, workflow solutions and data recording. "These applications assist our mobile customers in maximising the value they get from their devices," said Davis. "Aerial is always looking to add valuable products and services to its portfolio. All new additional products and services need to pass a number of suitability and capability tests to ensure the whole team believe in the service and understand its strategic place within the business."
A particular area of current interest, noted Davis, is PCI compliance. The market needs educating about confusing legislation and there is a need for affordable solutions that combine with existing mobile, telecoms and IT platforms. Portfolio developments last year include the addition of a radio leased line service. "Having a point of presence at our Portsmouth HQ means we can offer faster installs and more cost-effective connectivity packages," added Davis, also noting that Aerial offers Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) technology which optimises in-building wireless, Wi-Fi and IP coverage in large buildings and isolated areas. The solution has proved popular in shopping centres, high rise offices and venues such as stadiums. Another recent addition to Aerial's portfolio is hosted call centre technology.
It goes without staying that an expanding product and services kit bag requires a sharp focus on in-house ICT skills development. "It is not enough to just offer these products, we need to create a solution-based service that offers what many talk about but few deliver - Unified Communications. Aerial approaches UC from a different angle. Our long history in business mobile means we are coming from the other side compared to most providers. By starting from the mobile framework we are able to create true UC solutions."
A key emerging trend is that customers now favour sourcing their communications from a single provider. Aerial's main growth strategy is to be positioned as a fully unified comms dealer, a one-stop-shop for all business communication solutions in terms of installation and ongoing support and maintenance. "This reaches into every department of the business from our marketing team who deliver a complete lifecycle marketing programme to the customer service team who must adhere to our customer charter," explained Davis. "Customers generally want a total telecoms package which of course includes full IT support. Every one of our customers has their own dedicated account manager that can provide assistance whenever they need it."•