Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

According to a recent report by GSMA, the roll out of 4G and the adoption of smartphones has seen an explosion in consumers viewing mobile video content such as live TV, time-shifted TV, on-demand video and YouTube videos. 

The ability to access live content on the move is becoming increasingly important to mobile users, but streaming services have struggled with high volumes of traffic in the past.

4G mobile broadcasting solves this problem by delivering video in a consistent quality to myriads of users simultaneously.

Opportunities for the channel

Broadcasters are looking for cost-effective mobile data packages, easily managed within a portal, to avoid the hassle of contracting with multiple, global operators and bill shock.

Jola provides a wide range of 4G data packages including cost-effective multi-network roaming packages, controlled within Mobile Manager. Our multi-network SIMs roam to the strongest signal in each area and usage is monitored.

This is a question many small businesses are asking their communications providers. Many already sell 4G solutions, packaged for SMEs.

Small businesses are often early adopters when it comes to using the latest technologies, out of necessity. Few are keen to invest in upfront payments when it comes to financing business communications, so packages with no upfront costs are attractive.

4G presents many opportunities for small businesses. It is widely available and, in many locations, offers faster speeds. 4G routers are plug-and-play and can be up and running within 24 hours. Traditionally the downside has been usage. Businesses needed to remain under their monthly data allowance to avoid high, data overage charges every month. Jola solves this problem with their no bill shock guarantee.

Jola partners are selling managed 4G router packages to SMEs with temporary offices and pop up retail stands, They are packaging 4G routers with primary circuits for pre-Ethernet and back-up solutions, as required.

If you are thinking about re-designing your website, it is important to consider your SEO – Search Engine Optimisation, to ensure any changes you make, do not have a negative impact on web enquiries.

Strategy

The first thing to do is to revisit your SEO strategy and consider how major changes may affect this. For example, you may have written many blogs on a subject, which include source links back to your webpage. If you decide to remove this webpage completely, when readers click through your blog pages, they will receive error messages instead of the content you wanted to point them to. By mapping your existing strategy, you can ensure that page links are re-directed to the new content.

Structure

Secondly, consider your structure. It is important to ensure that any new URLs, page titles and meta descriptions all match up properly, because if they don’t this may affect your Google rankings and key word traffic. This may result in your prospects not finding you when they need you.

Build on what you have

If you have a good flow of high quality web leads, you should protect this. Don’t remove historically important pages, edit them instead and build additional content and links into those key pages.

Understand your site structure

Spend time understanding the flow of traffic to your website and where visitors spend their time. It is worth mapping all the URLs your content points people to, to ensure any changes do not break old links.

Noindex

It is worth ticking the noindex box to ensure Google does not index your test site pages as you are drafting them, otherwise when you launch you will create duplicate content, which has no value in the eyes of Google.

Demand

According to a recent report by Nester, the global electronic security market is expected to be worth £104.5 billion by the end of 2024. Predicted growth is being driven by increasing demand for safety and surveillance systems.

The market is segmented by product type such as; video; surveillance systems; intrusion alarm systems; fire alarm systems; access control systems; CCTV; electronic article surveillance and detection systems; electrified door hardware; hybrid video recorder and network video recorder.

The CCTV segment has the highest predicted growth, due to increased utilisation in newly constructed buildings and offices.

Opportunity

Partners who sell security solutions are partnering with companies like Jola, for a wide range of 4G data packages for their pre-configured 4G routers. Data SIMs with static IP addresses within 4G routers allow users to access their CCTV camera footage when fixed line connectivity is not available, for example on construction sites and in remote areas.

Partners use engineers to test the signal strength in each location to advise on the best 4G network to connect to. Multi-network roaming SIM packages are popular as they always connect to the strongest signal. External antenna can increase signal strength and routers are generally pre-configured for a plug-and play solution.

As part of our on-boarding process at Jola, we help partners with current opportunities and explain how our product portfolio can help them to win them. Many join us with a growing need for internet connectivity or hosted voice, and as they move through our training programme, they uncover opportunities for additional services such as mobile data.

Adding new services can lead to brand repositioning, to reflect new solutions and USPs in key vertical markets. It is tempting to think that by changing your website you will achieve brand repositioning, however the strategy will impact every area of your business.

Where to start

Start by establishing why you are repositioning your brand. The reasons why will determine the extent of change that is necessary. For example, if you want to be known as a specialist in one area, you need to research the market, the suppliers, the competition, the customers and the products, to see where you fit into it and how you can differentiate yourself within it.

Testing

Test your messaging to ensure it reflects reality. Are you the market leader? If you are, then back it up with facts. It you are a new entrant, you need to test your content and your messaging over time, to reflect reality. Build up case studies and testimonials across key verticals and target similar prospects, to build market share. Ensure you use the right terminology, as this will help prospects find you.

According to a recent report by Market Research Hub (MRH), the global Push-To-Talk market is due to grow 10.3% annually for the next eight years. Push to Talk (PTT) is a service that enables users to instantly communicate. Users activate this feature by pushing a button on a device.

Two-way walkie-talkie radio technology, frequently used by police officers, engineers, truckers and taxi drivers is being upgraded to 4G. This has created an opportunity for resellers, who are already familiar with selling 4G data solutions. However, suppliers are finding identifying the strongest 4G signal for each device challenging.

Jola provides a wide range of 4G data SIM packages, including cost-effective multi-network roaming packages, controlled within Mobile Manager. Our multi-network SIMs roam to the strongest signal in each area. Our white label management portal allows partners to place orders, manage SIMs, usage and alerts. Private APNs can add an extra layer of security.

McKinsey found that organisations with ethnic, social and gender diversity were 33% more likely to outperform their industry average. These companies also have lower customer churn thanks to a consistent level of excellent service and the will to go the extra mile.

Diverse organisations are more successful because of the way they utilise the wide range of skills they have recruited and the corporate culture they have cultivated. Diversity is part of their values and positively effects how they do business. It starts with an ingrained respect for others and a desire to work together to achieve a common goal. This influences their marketing style, their attitude to on-boarding and training, quoting and ordering tools and their after-sales service.

Hiring people from diverse backgrounds can help to foster creativity and offer a range of perspectives and ideas. Employees are more likely to feel comfortable and happy in an environment where inclusivity is a priority. Equality in the workplace is important for encouraging workers from all backgrounds to feel confident in their ability and to achieve their best.

According to a recent report by Transport Focus, passengers listed value for money, punctuality, Wi-Fi connectivity and safety, as their main priorities. These factors are driving a rise in demand for smart transport networks around the world, creating 4G data opportunities the channel is well-placed to provide.

Smart transport networks offer significant benefits to passengers, operators and local authorities, enabling urban services to become more efficient, effective and safer. Cities from London to Singapore are already building them. Madrid is leading the way, with a central control room that receives and integrates data from 40 urban control rooms. They cover over 100 bus routes, 300 railway lines and 200,000 cameras, delivering end-to-end surveillance and security solutions.

There are many experienced providers offering end-to-end solutions to the transport industry, involving 4G routers and cameras. Trams, buses and trains are tracked, and arrival times accurately estimated and advertised, factoring in potential delays. These devices need 4G data SIMs, often with a fixed IP. On average there are seven SIMs per bus, for logging into the cameras to download relevant footage, Wi-Fi, secure card payments, passenger trackers, applications tracking hours worked, petrol levels and miles travelled.

Challenges faced by solutions providers

Service providers face a few challenges with 4G. Some networks are stronger than others in specific locations requiring relationships with multiple network providers. Secondly, they have no way of tracking data usage and if devices use more than their allocated monthly allowance, they get high data overage charges. Thirdly, they need a secure channel for transmitting financial data.

Running before you can walk

It is tempting to rent the plush office in the premier location and to bring on expensive resources too early, but it is a risk.

Entrepreneurs typically have boundless energy and big ideas for the future, however it is useful to for them to be supported by people that can not only help to make their ideas a reality but can also map the journey.

Choosing the wrong team

Successful teams typically have a diverse mix of skills and experience with a shared vision and ethos. You can’t do it all yourself when growing a business, it is not sustainable. Do what you love to do and do best and include others in the management and ownership of the business.

Hire people you know and trust, who share your work ethic and company culture, who are driven and gifted in their chosen fields. Good staff are the backbone of any business and reflect your reputation and goodwill.

Choosing the wrong customers

It is exciting to win new business, however taking time out to consider whether you should accept the new business is key. Targeting financially stable companies who you can build a long-term relationship is preferable and balance your base to ensure that if you lose your biggest customer, you can still trade.

Over the last twelve months Jola has launched on average, one new product a month. This takes a lot of detailed planning to ensure we have the right product, at the right price, which meets the specific needs of our partners and their customers. Once we have launched a new product, we help our partners launch to their customers and measure success against clearly defined targets. We have developed some top tips to help partners with their own launch process as follows.

Step 1 – Know your audience

It is tempting to think that every customer will benefit from your latest new product, but this is rarely the case. We encourage partners to think about problems faced by existing customers, which the new product could solve. We then get more granular in defining the problem and the characteristics of the customers that could benefit. From this we build a list of top prospects.

Step 2 – Plan your communication

Using the information gathered in step one, we encourage partners to define the problem, then simply explain the solution, outlining what the product is, what it does and how it solves the problem. We provide a lot of the basic information, but it is important to tailor the content with specific concerns and relatable solutions. We advise partners to research the competition to understand how their solution is different and promote the differences over and above what is already available. This information gets written up on web sites and incorporated into campaign materials.