Comms Dealer

To help SME business owners get to grips with the digital technology that will help them be more competitive Virgin Media Business is offering free educational taxi rides to entrepreneurs across London, Manchester, Birmingham and Sheffield between 22nd-25th September.

The vehicles used in the SMEcab service are fitted out with technology and tools to help passengers improve their digital skills during the journey, with a message from Sir Richard Branson and best practice case studies.

The service was launched with an amphibious cab that drove across the Thames.

"The UK's digital economy already accounts for 8% of GDP - more than any other G20 nation, but we risk losing this competitive advantage if we fail to enable our SMEs to use technology better," said Mike Smith, Director, SMB at Virgin Media Business.

Research commissioned by Virgin Media Business found that businesses were failing to appreciate the growth potential in modern digital technology. And only one in five SMEs said that digital training was a key area for investment in the next five years.

Smith added: "Small and medium-sized firms should be the fuel of our economy powered by simple, flexible technology, but we feel that industry and the Government need to look at ways it can provide more support and direct assistance to this group which is UK plc's driving force."

Virgin Media Business has launched a new proposition to help SMEs get more from technology.

The packages include Red Value, aimed at 'digitally aware' companies, Red Speed for the 'digitally enabled' and Red Performance for businesses that are 'digitally dependent'.

Red Value and Red Speed will provide 50 MB and 152 MB connections respectively with unlimited usage.

Red Performance will provide a 30-100MB connection via a Managed Internet Access offering the same upstream and downstream dedicated speed and capacity, a six-hour Service Level Agreement (SLA) and starts at free installation.

The packages are accompanied by online support via The Big Digital Skills Hub and The Digital Collection and users can access Virgin Start Up and Pioneers to see examples of how SMEs are overcoming barriers.

Pauline Trotter at Ovum commented, "It goes without saying that small businesses want value for money and reliability from their communications service provider.

"But many need so much more, since they do not typically have ready access to IT and ecommerce skills in-house. It's therefore good to see a focus on practical advice and business-grade support from Virgin in its new offers for SMB."

Virtual1 has been short-listed for two awards that recognise innovation in infrastructure and leadership.

The company led by MD, Tom O'Hagan, saw a 76% growth in average annual sales performance over the past three years and has invested heavily in its UK-wide network infrastructure.

This network investment has been recognised by the organisers of the Next Generation Digital Challenge Awards, shortlisting Virtual1 in the Connected Cities category.

The business has also been shortlisted as a National Champion for Entrepreneur of the Year in the European Business Awards. O'Hagan founded the company in 2007. It now employs more than 50 people and has over 500 channel customers.

O'Hagan said: "These awards are recognition of the hard work of our entire workforce and the diligence and accountability we pride ourselves on when working with our partners."

The winners for both awards will be announced in October.

KCOM Group has been shortlisted for the most effective short-term programme at this year's Corporate Engagement Awards for its work with medical research charity, Sparks.

The Corporate Engagement Awards recognises the best in corporate partnerships and corporate social responsibility. The awards celebrate those partnerships that have benefits for both organisations involved.

Madeleine Buckley, Corporate Partnerships Manager at Sparks, said: "We are thrilled that the work KCOM Group has been doing with Sparks is being recognised by the Corporate Engagement Awards.

"The partnership is a great fit because we share the same dedication and commitment to pioneering innovation in our respective areas of focus. The success of this partnership is due to the hard work and commitment of everyone across KCOM Group coming up with new and exciting ways to raise money for Sparks."

Paul Simpson, CFO at KCOM Group, added: "Employees unanimously voted for Sparks to be our charity partner in April 2012 and ever since then they have been committed to raising funds in exciting and creative ways to raise as much money as possible to support their great cause.

"We saw a match in Sparks' values and our own as we share the same dedication and commitment to pioneering innovation in our respective areas of focus. We've now raised a total of £217,000 for Sparks beating our original target by £100,000!"

Just £10 per child in the UK is spent on research into child health each year, yet 1 in 30 children are born with a condition that may affect them for life. Sparks funds research to change this, which is why remarkable supporters like these are so important to us.

The annual event will be held in October at the Brewery in London where the winner of the award will be announced.

The first leg of the Comms Charity Go Karting Challenge, staged at Manchester's Daytona track, saw 30 drivers race head-to-head in a clash that raised over £6,600 for two charities - Sparks and the Prince's Trust.

Congrats to Carl Blanchon from TalkTalk Business who took the chequered flag, followed by Chess' Colin Henshall and Jason Kent from Sense Telecom.

Phil Alton, Senior Partner Account Manager for event sponsor TalkTalk Business, said: "We raised bucket loads of money for charity and to finish it all off Carl did us proud by taking the title in such dramatic fashion. This was a fantastic sponsorship experience for TalkTalk Business."

Yasin Qadir, Sales Manager at eBillz and winner of the wooden spoon award, added: "It was tough picking up the wooden spoon award but I'm looking forward to a chance of eBillz making amends come our sponsorship of the London race!"

The London event takes place on 2nd October.

Exertis has expanded its Samsung voice solutions portfolio with the colour screen SMT-i5343 IP handset, incorporating NFC, Bluetooth and Wireless technologies as well as supporting gigabit hard wired IP connectivity and an optional 1.3 mega pixel camera.

John Bird, Head of Systems and Support Services at Exertis, said: "The handset is supported on both the Samsung OfficeServ and SCMe range of systems and suits the mobile worker particularly well.

"Bluetooth pairing with headset and mobile, Click to dial from your mobile, call move between devices, contact synchronisation and desk-phone control from your mobile device are all new features available with this handset.

"This feature rich IP handset now fully integrates the desk phone into a users' mobile world more than any other solution in the channel."

Channel diversification is the order of the day according to Daisy Distribution following an audit of its partner database.

The mobile airtime provider has profiled its partners to reveal trends in their portfolio development and the analysis found that a growing number of them have entered the UC market with a mix of mobile and fixed line.

So much so that almost a fifth do not consider mobile to be their primary business activity, with 60% offering fixed lines within their core services.

As well as business mobile 89% of partners offered lines and calls, with 51% selling VoIP, and 46% offering telephone systems and maintenance, while 41% offer Microsoft Office 365.

Julien Parven, Marketing Director, said: "We are seeing more and more of our resellers embracing new technologies and strengthening their portfolios with additional services. Channel diversification is on the rise and shows no signs of stopping."

The database analysis has also proved useful as a marker for partners who have the potential to adopt and implement UC solutions such as Office 365 and Vodafone One Net Business.

Based on its data the distributor will create programmes to help partners identify opportunities within their bases, including marketing tools and support.

The profile of a reseller's Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy is playing a bigger role in buyer decision making, believes Darren Farnden, Head of Marketing at Entanet.

"According to the UK Small Business Consortium almost nine out of ten consumers are more likely to buy from a company that supports and engages in activities to improve the environment and contribute to society," he said.
"CSR is a big subject but it is just as important to smaller businesses as it is to large corporations.

"It's not just about multi-nationals ensuring they don't use child labour, becoming carbon neutral or using sustainable resources, it's about managing your reputation and ensuring that you are seen as a company that contributes to the general well being of society, as well as simply providing employment and driving business activity."

In a bid to give resellers a deeper insight into CSR Entanet has published an eBook that outlines the various aspects of CSR and offers advice on how to plan and implement a CSR policy.

"Customers today are well informed," added Farnden. "They can research your business online and social media means that reputations, good and bad, can spread fast. Building a good name can make a real difference."

Resellers looking for a simple margin maker from business mobile solutions should welcome the launch of 'BLAP', a new mobile conferencing App from UK technology start-up Venncomm.

The platform enables call conferences on smart phones across the planet free of charge. Businesses users will simply pay a monthly fee to use the solution and all conference users can participate by downloading the free app.

The solution also records mobile conferences giving invitees who cannot participate the opportunity to retrospectively review the discussion that took place.

Venncomm claims the App brings ease of use, call quality and big cost savings to business leader s that regularly need to engage with groups of colleagues working locally or anywhere in the world.

Founder Lee Stonehouse (pictured)  told Comms Dealer: "Each end leg of a call is local to the App user and uses contract bundled minutes, while calls to non-App users are Least Cost Routed meaning a couple of pence per minute for calling landlines or other mobiles. International calls fall in to the same category with the end legs being local calls and Venncomm bridging in the middle.

"BLAP operates on a monthly subscription meaning monthly recurring revenue for partners and with it being an App it should sit nicely on top of the handset or contract conversation."

From a functionality perspective Venncomm says BLAP Users can create instant or scheduled calls with the BLAP platform automatically dialling call participants at the time of the call. Scheduled calls will also send calendar invites to other BLAP users.

"There is no dial-in required and there are no pins. A 'single touch' is the only thing that's required," added Stonehouse.

BLAP is available on the iTunes store and Google Play with BlackBerry and Windows Phone versions planned for the start of 2015.

Venncomm is offering resellers 15% of revenue subscriptions. To find out more contact Head of Indirect Sales Peter Whiting at peter.w@venncomm.com

AKJ is offering resellers utilising its Affinity billing platform one-to-one personalised 'health checks' to boost efficiency and ensure best practice for all users.

The billing software specialist says its new customer care initiative aims to prevent the complexity and inefficiencies that can develop from business growth and differing customer billing processes.

"Like so much technology and software, many customers simply don't optimise full use of their system to improve operational efficiencies," explained AKJ's specialist trainer Jeannette Goodred.  "This is particularly the case when customers take on new staff who then inherit their old bad habits, thus creating longer and less efficient bill run procedures."

AKJ advises all communication companies using a billing platform to review internal processes regularly to ensure the software and the people operating it are working together as efficiently as possible.

"Maintaining the highest customer care levels is a top priority for AKJ," continued Goodred.

"We are always looking at ways to add tangible value and we know from our long experience as billing software specialists that this is a relevant and hugely beneficial element of our customer service initiative."

The health checks have already been voted a success by Ardencom, a UC solutions provider and Affinity customer.

Director Adam Winwood said: "We find the Billing Health Check sessions hugely successful, as they have opened our eyes to elements of the system we weren't aware of. We are now getting the best out of our billing platform through practical advice on day-to-day housekeeping issues."

Wholesale cloud and network provider Virtual1 has been named for the second year running by The Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100, as one of the fastest growing tech companies in the UK.

Virtual1 was listed at position 37 in the league, which ranks Britain's 100 fastest-growing private tech companies, based on sales over the past three years.

The London-based company achieved sales of over £9m for the year 2013/14 seeing an increase in turnover of almost 450% over the last three years.

Established in 2007 the company has invested heavily in its UK-wide network infrastructure over the last 18 months, with significant expansion in its London fibre network.

Tom O'Hagan, Managing Director, said: "As a wholesale technology company we are committed to helping our partners reap the rewards of our expanded London network, and we continue to drive new markets by providing a range of connectivity solutions."