Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

The deal will enable Wireless Logic to consolidate its routes-to-market through a single, focused channel, serving VARs and dealers in the UK

LONDON, UK – TUESDAY, 12  JULY, 2022 – Wireless Logic, the leading global IoT connectivity platform provider has acquired Jola, the channel’s leading mobile data specialist, for an undisclosed sum. This agreement marks the latest step in Wireless Logic’s business expansion following a series of acquisitions for the UK company.

Headquartered in Nottinghamshire, Jola is a channel-only supplier of business communications, specialising in mobile data SIMs. Jola provides innovative IoT and mobile data solutions to managed service providers, internet service providers, IT support companies and telecom resellers, who provision, manage, and support thousands of SIMs through Jola’s own Mobile Manager self-serve platform. Jola’s expertise in the UK channel is highly complementary to Wireless Logic’s routes-to-market and customer base.

This partnership will deliver the scale and reach of the Wireless Logic Group whilst ensuring that the specific expertise, product innovation and quality of service continue to meet the needs of the channel. With the financial backing of Wireless Logic, Jola will be in the strongest position to continue its growth trajectory and exploit new opportunities.

The Jola team will continue to manage Jola partners.

Andrew Dickinson, CEO of Jola commented, ‘“Wireless Logic is one of the standout successes of the ICT sector and we have long been admirers of Oliver Tucker and his team. Jola will remain an independently-run company within the Wireless Logic Group, focussing as always on the UK channel, but with a global reach. The 1000+ Jola partners will see no change in the short term and over time they will benefit from product innovations across the group and more extensive supplier relationships. I would like to thank our customers, suppliers, and most of all the amazing team at Jola who have worked so hard to achieve this milestone.”

With 4G+ download speeds around 300Mb/s available to 90%+ of the population, mobile data is now a credible alternative to fixed line, as well as a great 100% SLA, backup story. It is also the only practical solution to replace millions of PSTN lines in the next few years. Only around 20% of resellers sell mobile data but by 2025 every reseller in the UK will have to have it in their portfolio. As is always the case with disruptive technological change, early movers win more market share and ringfence their customers from competitors.

Every reseller/MSP has at least one significant IoT/M2M opportunity in their existing base of customers, and mobile data aggregators like Jola are helping to find and win them. Resellers need experienced hands-on support with key customers, so the only practical option is channel-only suppliers, with a proven track record and robust processes.

The financial markets value mobile data EBITDA at least twice the multiple of fibre and broadband. With self-service, fully automated portals like Mobile Manager, it is easy to sell, manage and bill.

Mobile data is more than just IoT. Vendors offering too few options and no control will fail to connect with the thousands of resellers trying to develop differentiated and converged solutions for their customers.

Good reward and recognition schemes can encourage the right culture to drive growth in a channel business. Working from home has highlighted a need for useful KPIs. Teams with the right measures in place have found that productivity has gone through the roof. Sales teams are able to fit in more calls, meetings and webinars. Companies measuring not only call and ticket responses but also online statistics, such as the number of webinars completed, have seen an increase in activity leading to a surge in orders.

According to McKinsey, revenues from mobile data are set to increase dramatically over the next five years. Factors driving growth are the availability, speed and reliability of 4G, 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT). Fortune Business Insights predict this market will be worth £1085 billion by 2027. The opportunity for the channel is significant, but many partners do not know where to start.

Jola has over 1000 partners successfully selling mobile data. They have productised their unique process and called it The M2M Data Revenue Generator (The MRG). The process helps partners to identify low-hanging fruit and win their first significant mobile data opportunity.

Andrew Dickinson, CEO at Jola commented, ‘This unique process defines the way we work together and qualifies opportunities, capabilities and skills. We help our partners to focus on large opportunities and ultimately win large, high margin, long-term contracts.’

Jola is a multi-award-winning MVNO and mobile data aggregator, which means we offer services from all the major UK networks and hundreds of networks globally. We sell a wide range of options, including Fixed IP and Private APN, and we are a well-established, channel-only company. On average, we launch two new products and product extensions every month, so you will always have a differentiated offering to resist being commoditised. We have our own IP addresses and number ranges, and our superfast HA network runs over Cloudflare, the world’s #1 DDOS protection company.

I ventured into the office for the first time in a long time recently and I noticed just how different working in the office is compared to working from home.

Firstly there is no privacy. Alone in my home office, I can take any call or Teams meeting at my desk without being overheard or disturbed. In the office, you need to pre-book a meeting room to do this.

Secondly, there are a lot of interruptions in the office. People at your desk catching up, making coffee or pulling you into impromptu meetings. On the plus side, you do get to hear what is going on in other departments in real-time. There is an energy in the office which is positive, encouraging and welcoming. Challenges can be resolved very quickly with the right people around a desk in just a few minutes. You get a better perspective of what is going on across the whole business in the office. You can read people a lot better in person and pick your moment better.

In the heart of the office you can visually see the culture. 'Customer First' as phones are answered and emails replied to as a priority. The way the team collaborates to assist partners and support them. Training people from home has been great to a degree. We can teach the job, processes, and systems but culture is something that needs to be observed and absorbed I think.

I read a piece on LinkedIn recently which said that working from home can be damaging as you learn from others and it is easier to do this in an office environment working closely with experts.

I do find that I get a lot more work done at home, working longer hours with no travelling time and fewer interruptions.

At Jola, we have implemented a flexible working policy. Some teams choose to be in the office every day, others 3 days a week and some prefer to work remotely. We are aware of some of the benefits and challenges and hope we have found the right balance.

In a recent partner satisfaction survey, Jola scored a Net Promoter Score of 56, which categorises the company as ‘great’, with 41% of Jola partners giving them 10/10 and 96% scoring them 7 or higher. In the comments section, Jola partners praised Jola products, pricing, portals and service.

Andrew Dickinson, Jola CEO, commented, ‘I am delighted with our NPS. We now have over 1000 resellers and MSPs choosing Jola as their mobile data and intelligent connectivity partner. Our relentless product development continues with a long list of new products designed to help partners differentiate their offerings and win bigger deals. We have a fully redundant highly scalable IP edge network with DDoS protection from Cloudflare, and we continue to grow and invest in people, products, platforms and processes. We have a fantastic team here at Jola who are dedicated to supporting our growing partner base and it was great to see so many of them named in the survey by partners.”

Recurring revenue businesses rely heavily on customer retention. It is tempting to focus all efforts on recruitment, but churning customers is a real concern for growing businesses.

Understanding and monitoring customer experience, can help to identify early warning signs, put in measures and reduce churn. By improving the customer experience, you can increase customer retention and revenue per customer, whilst also enhancing brand perceptions in the marketplace. By getting this process right, you create ‘fans’ of your business, ‘advocates’ who freely recommend your services to others and buy frequently from you.

In order to measure customer experience, you must first identify relevant KPIs. What are the measures in your business of customer satisfaction? Many companies use NPS (Net Promoter Score) which gives an overall satisfaction score. You ask the question: How likely are you to recommend us? You use an answer scale of one to ten. You may also want to ask more granular questions to understand satisfaction across each customer touch point.

Next think about what influences the satisfaction score. This can often be obtained through a comments box on your survey, or by calling a cross-section of clients to ask specific questions about their experience. Having the right products, at the right price, on the right management portals, is key, combined with excellent service and accurately and timely billing.

By surveying customers regularly and gathering feedback, you can identify any shortcomings and work with customers to improve them. Going the extra mile to fix a problem can save a churning customer, and when handled well, also turn them into an advocate.

Microsoft Teams saw a huge uptick in users during the pandemic, adding 95 million users in 2020. It currently has 145 million daily active users. Over 500,000 organisations use Microsoft Teams as their default messaging platform, however their calling plans are basic and do not include call recording, which creates an exciting new opportunity for the channel.

Jola is a wholesale SIP provider offering SIP and PSTN replacement services to the channel. We developed an automated Direct Routing Solution, giving Teams users a cost-effective and feature-rich alternative to Microsoft Calling Plans, which now includes Teams Call Recording.

Our Teams Call Recording solution offers partners policy-based call recording with flexible and secure controls. Our users are able to record both one-to-one and group Teams meetings automatically storing recordings for up to 7 years.  Our solution is fully configurable and managed within our portal providing partners with a lucrative new revenue stream.

Jola

Jola is an award-winning, channel-only supplier of business communications, specialising in mobile data SIMs. Jola was one of the first channel companies in the UK to launch Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams. Since then we have added many new features.

When we started Jola over 8 years ago, we didn’t have any offices, we were using our own laptops and it made sense for us to run a paperless office and share documents in the cloud. As we grew, we retained this ethos and developed it by implementing re-use then re-cycle processes for hardware internally and for kit sent to customers.

Using Microsoft Teams as a substitute for face-to-face meetings in many cases, we have reduced our carbon footprint and our overheads and still managed to achieve our high growth targets.

Over 500,000 organisations use Microsoft Teams as their default messaging platform, however their calling plans are basic and do not include call recording, which creates an exciting new opportunity for the channel.

Jola is a wholesale SIP provider offering SIP and PSTN replacement services to the channel. We developed an automated Direct Routing Solution, giving Teams users a cost-effective and feature-rich alternative to Microsoft Calling Plans, which now includes Teams Call Recording.

Direct Routing provides a PSTN solution for the Microsoft Teams Phone System. It allows users to make and receive UK and international calls to, and from, non-Teams users, without needing a hosted telephony system or PBX. We offer unlimited local call packages in 50+ countries. Jola’s Direct Routing comes with a comprehensive management portal called SIP Manager and offers a cost-effective alternative to Microsoft’s Calling Plan. Resellers can automatically provision key components of Direct Routing without needing to install Microsoft PowerShell.