Until now, porting has been a highly complex process, which has deterred many non-voice specialists from entering the Comms market. Gamma’s new software will automate the porting process, ensuring that the correct order types get sent to the appropriate order desks at the Losing Communication Provider (i.e. BT or other carriers).
Gamma Partner, Intouch Advance, has been involved in the trials of the software. Operations Director, Mark Pollard comments: ‘Now number porting is not only simple to complete but we have full visibility of the process so we can keep our customers informed and deliver a true value-adding solution. The system has enabled us satisfy the customer requirements of keeping their numbers and deliver a seamless transition to the new site, without disrupting any of the daily business communications’.
Andy Morris, Gamma Director of Operations said: ‘We have taken the hassle out of the porting process by producing software which will walk Partners through the process step by step. The software will also take days off the length of time it currently takes to change supplier, keeping industry lead times down to a minimum. Whilst there is still a long way to go in terms of industry-wide improvements in number porting, we believe that our online system adds huge value to what has traditionally been an inherently complex industry process’.
Delays in number porting can be catastrophic for end-users’ business continuity. An office move could be the slickest on record, with all IT systems in place and running on day one, but that’s no use if the phones don’t work. Whilst no Operator can bypass the industry imposed lead-times, Gamma has made improvements in terms of setting the correct expectations for both the Channel Partner and the End Customer, as well as cutting out as much unnecessary delay as possible.
The demand for improvements in this area of service provisioning is high, as Becky Mortimore, Product Manager at Gamma commented, ‘We never underestimate the importance of efficient processes to our Partners and this has been proven by the fantastic attendance at our July webcast launch. There was a great deal of interest in the fact that Gamma had taken action on this issue, and over 160 Channel Partners dialed in to find out how the new online system will benefit them’.