Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

I heard on the radio that yesterday was the day most people gave up on their new year’s resolutions? Did you make any? Are you sticking to them? What resolutions did you make for your business?

Looking back

In January, we tend to look back over the last 12 months and analyse our performance before making plans for the future. What will your business look like in 12 months, 3 years or even 5 years’ time? What do you need to do to get you there? Will you need more staff? New premises? New revenue streams?

Looking forwards

Jola is a wholesale supplier of voice and data solutions servicing SMEs via a channel of IT and Telecommunications partners. One of our resolutions is to help our partners capitalise from the rising demand for 4G data from SMEs.

According to a recent report by Ofcom, 90% of all UK premises (almost 26 million) can access up to 24Mb/s fixed line broadband, however there are at least 190,000 premises that can’t get 2Mb/s and 2.2 million premises that can’t get 10Mb/s. Where the LTE signal is strong, 4G data is a great solution.

In addition to laptops, mobiles and tablets it is predicted that 28 billion other smart devices will be connected globally over the next three years with the worldwide market for IoT solutions worth £5.6 trillion.

Overindulgence

For companies looking to use 4G from remote or temporary sites or within IoT devices, the first challenge they face is how to manage their data usage.

The Jola partner

Amvia is one of Jola’s voice, data and cloud application partners, based in Sheffield. Amvia was founded by experienced telecoms professionals, with a vision to provide customer-centric solutions. The company supplies services to a range of prestigious companies including Oracle, SodaStream, CIMB investment bank and JHS Logistics.

Amvia’s customer

JHS Logistics is a logistics and international haulage company based in Hampshire, close to the Fawley Power Station on the western side of Southampton Water. ADSL speeds are very slow in the area. Leased circuits are not cost-effective, due to excess construction charges, however 4G is available.

The Solution

Amvia, supported by Jola, worked with JHS to provide a 4G/Draytek LTE service that has allowed JHS to work effectively from the site, running both voice and remote/hosted application services over a 4G internet connection. JHS are delighted with the service, which was up and running in only three working days.

We have the widest range of fixed line and mobile services at the best prices.

Jola is connected via APIs to every major UK Ethernet network and a selection of the best Ethernet ‘unbundlers’. The process for quoting and ordering is automated and partners have access to all of the following services, so are well placed to find the best solution for their customer, wherever they are located in the UK.

Fixed line connectivity

FTTC broadband is reliable and offers up to 80Mb/s download speeds. All our Ethernet services are uncontended and symmetrical (upstream speeds are the same as downstream). EFM (Ethernet First Mile) offers speeds up to 35Mb/s, depending on how far the customer is from the exchange. Ethernet over Fibre To The Cabinet (EoFTTC) offers speeds up to 20Mb/s and fibre Ethernet leased lines offer speeds of up to 10Gb/s.

4G

In areas where fixed line internet is not available, or for short term contracts, 4G up to 50Mb/s may be an option. Jola offers up to 200GB monthly data packages, which can be monitored within devices and additional data bolt-ons added to avoid high overage charges.

Jola runs a dealer programme for IT and telecommunications companies, looking for a reliable supplier of internet connectivity, hosted telephony and mobile data solutions. The dealer brings us new opportunities from their customer base and are rewarded with a 50% margin share. They do not have to request their commission, as it is automatically paid on a monthly basis.

Key Challenges

Where the dealer is a trusted advisor to their customers, they will be consulted before the customer upgrades their phone system or makes a change to their IT network.

Reputation is everything, so they want to be recommending the best solution at the very best pricing. They want the latest product knowledge and access to current pricing and an on-site availability check. They want a trusted partner they can introduce with confidence, who won’t compete with them.

Dealers want to be able to send over a professional proposal quickly, without having to wait on third parties.

Making it easy

We supply best of breed solutions supported via lifetime training for the whole team, comprising of on-site training and webinars. We help dealers to add new products and services to their portfolio and go out with dealers to customers with an existing requirement for our services.

Jola developed a single portal for dealers to create co-branded proposals their customers can click to view, edit and accept within minutes. They can quote solutions which include internet connectivity, hosted voice seats, options such as call recording, hardware and mobile SIM packages. The dealer can store customer and site data within the system to save them re-keying information at a later date.

We often get asked about how to use social media effectively by our partners, so I put together a short guide to social media, based on our own experience.

Before you start

Answer the following questions:

• What are you trying to achieve?
• How are you planning to achieve this?
• How will this engage your audience?
• How can you measure this?

 Tips

• Don’t just share an opinion
• Demonstrate you are qualified to comment on the subject
• Share research that backs up your message

Drafting the copy

Before typing out your post, answer the following questions:

• Who are you talking to?
• What are the key messages you want the readers to take away?
• How are you formatting your article? (Consider sub-headers to structure your article and bullet points to highlight key points)
• What’s your call to action? (Where do readers go, if they want to learn more?)

Tips

• Use a good title to draw your audience in, with an image that reflects the topic
• Write in a clear and concise manner (attention spans are short online)
• Share success stories and tips your audience can use

Posting the copy

It is tempting to post all copy to all platforms, but the overall objective is to get the right message to the right audience at the right time. Take some time to think about which platform your audience favours. In the voice and data channel LinkedIn is very popular. End user businesses favour Facebook as they encourage their customers to like and share their page. I don’t think anyone really uses Google+ but I only have my own research to back this up.

Before posting your copy, answer the following questions: 

• Where should you post it? (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook etc.)
• When should you post it? (Daytime, nightime)
• How will you post it? (Via individual platforms/using social media management software)
• Who is going to monitor response rates and answer comments?

Demand for fixed IP SIMs is building, as customers realise the benefit of using 4G data in a wide range of devices, across multiple verticals;

In temporary sites

Fixed IP SIMs are useful in temporary locations such as site offices, to give site managers access to the internet. These sites can operate in the same as their head office, with access to corporate software, document drives etc. behind a corporate firewall.

As a back-up

Internet connectivity is a business-critical service. Having a back-up solution is essential and can be expensive. 4G fixed IP failover solutions, where customers pay for usage in the months their services failover, are realising the cost savings.

Every business is different and as GDPR takes a risk-based approach to data protection, you need to assess your own data collection and storage practices to ensure that you comply.

At Jola we are encouraging partners to ask themselves the following 20 questions: 

1. What personal data do you collect and store?
2. Have you obtained it fairly?
3. Do you have the necessary consents required?
4. Are you telling customers/prospects what you are collecting data for?
5. Are you offering the right to withdraw consent at any time?
6. Are you ensuring that you aren’t holding data for any longer than necessary?
7. Are you keeping data up to date using a level of security appropriate to the risk?
8. Are you limiting access to data, to ensure that it is only being used for its intended purpose?
9. Are you working on a plan to ensure compliance by May 2018?
10. Have you allocated a Data Privacy Officer?
11. Do you have a good data protection policy?
12. Are you including employee data in the plan?

The definition of ‘making a big splash’ is to become suddenly very successful or very well-known.

It takes a great deal of time to establish a brand and educate a market. You want prospects to understand how unique, innovative products solve problems and deliver better value than alternatives. You need to build your brand, so that when there is a need, you come to mind. This is almost impossible to achieve overnight with one big splash.

The challenge in marketing is to balance satisfying this immediate requirement for action, with a more long-term strategy, that will ultimately achieve the goal.

The audience

The first thing to think about is the market. Who is the target audience for this product? Is it an emerging or developed market? What alternatives are available? How do you compare?

The answers to these questions will help shape the marketing plan and key messaging. In an emerging market, you will be looking for first movers, who have established a need. The message to this audience will be very targeted, focussing on solutions and highlighting USPs.

The M2M global market revenue in 2017 to date is £36bn according to Statista. Fixed IP SIM cards allow data traffic to be routed from Machine to Machine (M2M). We have seen a rise in demand for fixed IP SIMs since we launched our data SIM range back in 2016, but who is buying them and what are they using them for?

What are fixed IP SIMs?

Fixed IP SIMs, as the name suggests, are SIM cards, which come with a fixed IP address. A fixed IP address is an Internet Protocol (IP) address number assigned to a network device. Fixed IP addresses don't change.  An IP address identifies a computer or other device that is connected to the internet. The IP address is how information and data are routed to a specific computer.

Fixed IP SIMs can be used in a variety of devices that require a connection to the internet; from phones, routers and tablets to CCTV cameras and vending machines.

What packages are available?

Jola’s Fixed IP 4G data-only Vodafone SIMs are available in 2GB to 100GB monthly packages, with up to 100GB monthly bolt-ons.

How do you manage fixed IP SIMs?

Our fixed IP SIMs are managed in Mobile Manager, a platform for ordering and managing large estates of SIMs. Our white label portal can be used by both resellers and their end users. It handles SIM activations, ceases, suspensions, reports, alerts and bolt-ons.

What are the benefits of fixed IP SIMs?

When devices are fitted with a fixed IP SIM, you can access and monitor the device remotely. The IP address remains the same, which makes monitoring and managing devices quick and simple.

When setting up the marketing department at Jola, I had some decisions to make around suppliers I would use, which would help me to shape and grow the business. As a start-up company back then, I was looking for feature-rich solutions on a very competitive, pay-per-month basis, with no upfront investment. I made a list of the software and services I would need and went online to research potential suppliers.

Trusted suppliers

I started with companies that I had used in the past. Companies with robust solutions I had tried and tested with Account Managers I could pick up the phone to. I updated myself with the latest bells and whistles and checked them against current and potential future requirements.

Recommended suppliers

I then looked at recommended suppliers other trusted marketing professionals and co-workers had used in the past. I collated new information, compared pricing and had a demo of their platforms.

Market leaders

In case I was missing I trick, I looked to the market leaders for inspiration. What did they have that may work for me and how did they compare pricewise?