Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

I hear this phrase a lot when we present the IoT opportunity in partner training sessions. Some partners get fed up of hearing the latest buzz word. They immediately think of smart meters when we reference the predicted 28 billion devices to be connected globally over the next three years. When we get to the part about the worldwide market for IoT solutions predicted to be worth £5.6 trillion, they have switched off completely because they don’t believe they will see a penny of it.

Current opportunities

Other partners in the room are engaged. They have customers connecting mobiles, tablets and routers to 4G already. They are productising satellite replacement services in rural areas of traditionally poor fixed line services and are offering cost-effective 4G replacements. They have customers wanting short-term connectivity contracts for temporary offices on building sites and have customers with recording equipment travelling abroad at a moment’s notice. They have the knowledge and experience in-house to create bespoke solutions, sourcing hardware from multiple suppliers and already have JolaMobile SIMs and Mobile Manager.

Future opportunities

These partners have forward-thinking customers looking to connect other devices such as CCTV cameras and vending machines and are asking about fixed IPs. CCTV customers are asking to view their cameras remotely over the internet in real-time. Vending machines now take cashless payments and can be managed remotely to check they are working. Low stock alerts are sent in real-time. The ability to connect devices to the internet has changed behaviour, increased efficiency and improved the customer experience.

New legislation

On June 15^th, the EU introduced Roam Like at Home (RLAH), allowing EU residents to use their mobile allowances anywhere in the EU.

What does this mean?

There will be no roaming charges when travelling to another EU country from 15th June. Every existing or new contract that includes roaming services will change to a Roam Like At Home contract. New EU rules will cover data services, voice calls and SMS.

Communications (phone calls, SMS, data) made from another EU country will be covered in the national bundle: the minutes, SMS and gigabytes of data consumed abroad in the EU will be deducted from the volumes of the national tariff plan.

Which countries are covered?

All 28 countries of the EU are covered by the legislation; Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.

New opportunity

This presents resellers with an opportunity to become trusted advisors and experts in mobile SIM management. The mobile networks have created their own zones to include additional countries. Mobile users may still incur overages if they go over their allowances or breach Fair Usage Policies. They will often incur significant, out-of-bundle charges if they roam outside of these ‘Euro Zones’.

Demand

Demand for faster, more reliable internet connectivity has never been higher for business users wanting to work remotely as if they were sat in the office. The reality for many rural businesses is that fibre broadband is not yet available and Ethernet leased circuits are expensive with long lead times. Companies are turning to 4G for both interim and longer term solutions, which creates opportunities for trusted suppliers.

Opportunity

Innovative companies are partnering with specialists to bundle solutions which include routers and devices as well as data SIMs on 30 day rolling contracts.  The challenge for both customer and supplier is one of cost. You need to know in advance how much data you plan to use each month as overages are expensive, but what if they could be managed?

This is the question I get asked the most from Jola partners. It doesn’t have an easy answer and there is no one successful formula. What I suggest often surprises partners, but has proven to work time and time again.

What do you want to sell to whom?

Selling new products into a new market is the most challenging approach, as there are no known factors or existing relationships to build on. This strategy needs the most planning and investment and has the longest ROI, however by establishing clear objectives and a budget you can start working on a strategy.

Start with the basics

Add product overviews, features and benefits to your website. Create compelling packages and offers to attract your target audience. Focus on a strong call to action to generate leads. Think about competitive offers and how your offer differs. Put yourself in the position of your prospective customers. What problems do they have? What options are available to solve this problem? At what cost? How could your solution best meet these requirements? Make sure this information is clearly visible, easy to download and that you are responsive to their first enquiry.

Building a communications strategy to promote new products into a new audience is the next challenge. Attracting your target audience to the website via adverts, social media, email marketing and combining this with more traditional methods, such as direct mail, PR and advertising is key. Building, attracting and converting a new audience takes time, commitment and investment. You need to meet an exact need at the right time with the right solution at the right price, better than your competition. You may also need to overcome competitors that have existing relationships with your target audience.

Once you have generated interest, you need to be ready with materials to support the customer engagement and conversion process. Some customers are fine with PDFs others prefer printed glossy packs for the board to peruse, along with detailed product descriptions and a professional proposal.

Winning the first deal is crucial and when all goes well can be an excellent springboard to winning further business in the same market.

Adding new products and services to your portfolio often starts with a single opportunity. Every element of supplier services and support is tested from the time it took to answer the first enquiry, to the quality of the post-sales support. Where suppliers exceed expectations and deals are won to the satisfaction of both the partner and the end customer, motivation to find similar opportunities is high. Where demand in the base is also high, companies are more likely to consider productising solutions and dedicating resource to growing new revenue streams. Good support at every stage is vital to closing the first deal. What support does Jola offer for each partner model?

Support for dealers

Dealers use our website and branded materials (flyers, guides, videos) to market and sell solutions. Jola’s Partner Managers are available to attend meetings and conference calls as required and dealers have access to a quoting and ordering tool, which allows them to create co-branded sales proposals and email them directly to the customer. Customers can review and edit proposals and when they are they ready, they can simply click to order, which automatically triggers provisioning actions internally.

Support for resellers

Resellers have typically sold similar solutions and have a view of the potential demand. They usually understand pricing models and know what their buy price needs to be, to protect margins and be competitive. These companies may already have a web site, marketing collateral and defined terms and conditions. They tend to use our product overviews, feature summaries and competitive comparison documents, available in word, to shape their own proposition. They have their own brands, a good knowledge of their competition and their own unique selling points. They like to bundle solutions to include their own service wraps, tailored to meet the specific needs of their target sector. Once their pricing is set and products have been added to the website, they use our white label product flyers and guides to create branded versions for their sales and support teams.

IoT describes the networking of devices that can collect or transmit information. The data amassed from these devices can then be analysed to optimize products, services, and operations. The market is anticipating big things from IoT in the next few years, however today, according to Cisco, three quarters of IoT initiatives fail.

The IoT opportunity

By 2020 Cisco predict there will be 50 billion connected devices worldwide. Demand for the first generation of IoT products (fitness bands, smart watches, and smart thermostats) will increase as component technologies evolve and their costs decline. 

Companies, such as Jola, have developed Mobile Manager to manage large estates of 4G data SIMs in remote devices. The portal communicates in real-time with Vodafone and O2 4G networks and can be used by both resellers and their end users. Mobile Manager handles SIM activations, ceases, suspensions, reports, alerts and bolt-ons. 

In IT and Telecoms, SMEs are looking for ways to connect an increasing number of devices, (laptops, tablets, smartphones, cameras) in multiple locations to the internet on short-term contracts. 4G is widely available and fast. The range of 4G MiFi/WiFi routers is extensive and reasonably priced, however the challenge of how to manage usage and potential bill shock remains.

Demand

The global VoIP services market is set to reach £108 billion by 2021, according to a recent report by MarketResearchStore.com. SMEs are turning to trusted advisors, amongst their current suppliers, for help once they have identified a need.

IT and Telecoms companies are looking for reliable suppliers who can provide not just market-leading solutions at the best possible price, but also support to ensure customer requirements are uncovered and addressed to their satisfaction.

Recommended sales approach

Don’t be tempted to reel off all the features. A good place to start is asking questions. What’s their current situation? How do they currently manage calls?

What problem is the customer trying to solve and are they aware of the problem? What is causing them headaches with their current phone system?

What’s the implication? Agree with the customer what the problems and deficiencies of the current situation are really costing the business.

What’s the need pay-off? How valuable would a different solution be to the business? Can this be quantified?

According to the 2016 Cisco Mobile Visual Networking Index, mobile data consumption is to grow sevenfold by 2021. By the end of the forecast period, mobile data is projected to account for 20% of total internet traffic, up from just 8% in 2016.

Smartphones will account for more than 50% of connected devices and the number of smartphones is predicted to rise to 6.2 billion by 2021. Mobile video is to grow 870% making up 78% of total mobile traffic due to the wide adoption of live video, AR and VR. Data networks offloading to wi-fi is also to soar.

Business consumption increases as 4G is being increasingly utilised in areas of slower fixed connectivity and for connected devices nationwide. The challenge for businesses is how to manage the cost.

Unlike FTTC, which is largely unlimited (usually with a fair use policy), mobile data is sold with monthly usage allowances and financial penalties for over-usage. Until recently pricing has been high and there has been no easy management portal.

As speeds increase and prices tumble, mobile data revenues are likely to soar. To allow resellers to manage large estates of mobile data SIMs, Jola has developed Mobile Manager. Mobile Manager handles SIM activations, ceases, suspensions, reports, alerts and bolt-ons.

Who are Openreach?

Openreach owns the pipes and cables that connect the majority of homes and businesses in the UK to the national broadband and phone networks. It is owned by BT.

What was the issue?

BT was accused of abusing the monopoly by underinvesting in the broadband infrastructure and charging over the odds for services. There were ongoing calls for the regulator Ofcom to force a split between Openreach and BT.

What happened?

Eventually Ofcom announced that BT would legally separate from its Openreach subsidiary, describing it as a “significant day” for consumers.

Openreach will soon become a distinct company with its own staff and management. Ofcom says the new Openreach will have “its own strategy and a legal purpose to serve all of its customers equally”.

When working on a deal, answering queries quickly can make a big difference to the outcome. Partners want information at their fingertips to ensure their customers have the detail they need to decide on a solution. How do you access this information?

Via Account Managers

In the channel, we tend to use Account Managers and portals. Each partner is given a dedicated Account Manager who can be contacted by phone or email during business hours. By picking up the phone or forwarding a query from a customer, they can usually get the answer they need quite quickly.

Via Portals

There are partners who prefer self-service. These partners use portals and look for answers to sales or support queries whilst on the phone to their customers.

Via Quoting Tools

Some portals go a step further and build branded sales proposals, inserting key product information as the quote builds. Partners can edit these proposals before sending to end users, who can also amend and accept terms and conditions to place the order.

Popular requests

The most popular documentation requests are for feature and benefit descriptions and comparison documents for both supplier services and their competitors. Partners want to be armed with all the USPs to meet customer requirements, solve problems and beat any competitive bids.