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Vodafone One |
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Kelly adds that another issue here is that no one operator has stepped up to the mark and taken the lead, until Vodafone launched its Vodafone One in July 2009. “Today, businesses do not have comms integrated as part of their overall IP and comms strategy; a lot of customers still purchase fixed comms in one part of their business and mobile in another. Vodafone is the first mobile operator to dedicate significant CAPEX to integrating mobile and fixed, with Vodafone One for corporates and Vodafone One Net for SMEs and SOHOs, who will be able to integrate their fixed world with mobile in an intelligent way,” he states. Kelly expects success with mobile UC. Vodafone recently carried out customer surveys and asked if businesses would trust the operator to carry both their mobile and fixed communications. “We got a resounding yes,” states Kelly. The operator bought Central Telecom in December 2008, taking on 300 employees from the fixed line world, giving Vodafone a ready-made experience base. One Net launched in September 2009, or 09/09/09 to be precise. In the third quarter of Vodafone’s financial year, the company began pilot testing the technology and rolling it out to selected customers. In the fourth quarter, it will undergo higher volume roll outs at SME customers. Vodafone will bring the product out to the first customers going through the newly developed indirect mobile UC channel early in the first quarter, this coming April. |
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Dealer time |
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Now that Vodafone has the products and capability, it has to take them to market cleverly, states Kelly. Vodafone currently conducts its mobile enterprise sales on a split of 70% direct and 30% indirect. However, adds Kelly: “My business model for UC supports 60% of our mobile UC business being driven by indirect, with mobile and also fixed line resellers.” On which type of dealer will be most suited to delivering this technology, Kelly continues: “Between the fixed and mobile guys, I think it will be a good scrap. We work with a lot of high quality mobile dealers today, who have good capability in LAN and WAN, and I’m confident a lot of our existing mobile community partners will come on our UC journey, and come on it rapidly.” 2010 is set to be an important year for Vodafone, says Kelly. On the merger of T-Mobile and Orange reducing the Big Five to the Big Four, Kelly comments: “It’s a positive move for the UK. We’re number one today, and we’ll remain so, despite Orange and T-Mobile getting together; just look at the level of investment we’ve made in taking our company forward. Vodafone will continue with its strategy, offering the most innovative solutions we can in mobile, fixed line and UC.” He concludes: “It will be another tough year, for both mobile and fixed, but market pressure presents opportunity. We will have a business level dialogue with our customers and indirect partners, and I think it will be different to what the industry has heard before as we move from just mobile, to mobilecentric UC in our capability. We will be that much more relevant to our customers.” |
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