Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

We have been talking for years about the tipping point. That point in time when internet connectivity is fast enough, cheap enough and reliable enough for organisations to benefit from the cloud. Jola’s experience has been that many SMEs are still struggling with broadband and this is inhibiting their adoption of cloud services. Superfast broadband and dedicated circuits for businesses are now available at around 20% of the cost of traditional leased lines.

UK SMEs are lagging behind when it comes to the adoption of ‘The Cloud’ when their only way of accessing critical applications and data is over an unpredictable, insecure, best-efforts broadband circuit. If SMEs are dissatisfied with their internet connection when it is being used for web browsing and email, they are unlikely to run their telephone system, accounts packages and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems over it too.

1 – To give them more functionality

Premium Broadsoft hosted telephony licences come with just under 50 features and add-ons. You can run one telephone system over several sites and manage calls as if you were all in the same building. Auto Attendant is available so you can set up options for callers to choose and then create call queues so calls are answered by the next available agent. Music on hold is available, so is video calling and conference calling. Bundles are available with the latest handsets where busy lamp fields show who is on the phone.

2 – To reduce costs

Hosting business applications, such as telephony, in the cloud typically has low upfront costs, as solutions are sold on a per-seat-per-month basis. There may be a small set-up fee, however it is possible to upgrade to a feature-rich phone system, with the latest IP handsets for under £10 a month per extension, including unlimited UK landline and mobile calls.

1 – To give them the advantages of faster technologies available

Fibre Ethernet is a fibre optic cable connected all the way from the exchange into the customer’s premises. Due to the cost of planning, equipment and engineering work this is usually the most expensive technology, often taking the longest time to install. Where a carrier has already terminated a fibre in a building (known as a ‘lit’ building), lead times and costs reduce dramatically. Available speeds are practically unlimited and are not distance dependent.

FTTC is a broadband service built on BT Openreach infrastructure where speeds of up to 80Mb/s downstream are attainable by limiting the length of copper that the service has to run over. This is achieved by running fibre from the serving exchange to cabinets closer to the customers’ premises. FTTC can be supplied over an existing telephone line, which can continue to be used for making and receiving calls. FTTC is a contended service and at peak times the amount of bandwidth available may reduce. It is much more stable and reliable than standard broadband. Virgin Media Business offer a similar product with speeds up to 300Mbs. There are also a number of niche carriers that tend to target areas not served by BT or Virgin e.g. business parks.

EFM (Ethernet First Mile) is delivered using copper from the exchange and pairs are ‘bonded’ together to increase the maximum speed attainable. Speeds of up to 35Mb/s are achievable dependent upon how far the customer site is from the serving exchange.This is a leased line and both upstream and downstream are uncontended.

Ethernet over Fibre To The Cabinet (EoFTTC) uses copper from a local fibred cabinet to the customer’s premises. It comes with its own dedicated telephone line which is usually included in the price. At the exchange, rather than being connected to a carrier’s broadband network, it is plugged into their Ethernet network. This creates an uncontended, symmetrical business-grade leased line. EoFTTC has a maximum symmetrical speed of 20Mb/s.

Fibre Ethernet leased lines offer symmetrical, uncontended speeds up to 10GB. They are popular with larger companies that need more, dedicated bandwidth and with organisations that rely heavily on their internet connection for their core business.

As trusted suppliers to the SME market you may be asked to recommend or supply new services. This may result in a search for a new supplier to partner with. What five things should you look for when finding a new supplier?

According to a recent survey conducted by Sage, 57% of employees say the availability of flexible working in their workplace is important to them. This is one of the many reasons more and more businesses are turning to the cloud.

Hiring, training and retaining good staff is not an easy task. If you can offer flexibility, you often get loyalty in return. There is a proven link between satisfied employees and satisfied customers.

Cloud-hosted applications like Office 365, accountancy packages such as Xero and CRM packages like SalesForce are all accessible remotely with a reliable internet connection.

With hosted telephony platforms such as JolaPhone, calls can be answered and transferred by employees remotely as if they were sat at their desk. Companies can offer more flexible working and route calls to remote workers. This is also useful in busy periods as an overflow, routing calls to part-time staff working from home to ensure call answer targets are met and fewer calls are missed.

Businesses continue to operate efficiently and can also offer flexibility to employees who need to work remotely or from home. They often feel more valued by the company and much more motivated to help grow the business as part of a team.

Demand for business internet connectivity in the UK is being driven by the availability of faster more reliable, fibre and Ethernet technologies. Our records show that leased line pricing has reduced by 20% in the last six months, helping to further fuel demand.

Companies are looking for faster, more reliable internet connectivity to access cloud-hosted applications such as CRM, accountancy and telephony applications. Cloud applications tend to be pay per seat per month and come without the investment in servers and internal management.

Businesses are looking to their trusted suppliers to advise them on what is available and expect the best possible price, smooth installations and excellent technical support.

IT and telecoms providers are looking for suppliers that can offer them the widest choice of carrier services at best possible pricing with tools to make quoting and ordering easy. They are looking for experienced providers who understand the carrier installation processes and potential barriers to sale, such as lead times, wayleave and excess construction charges. 

According to McKinsey, Machine 2 Machine SIM revenues are set to increase dramatically in the next 7 years to over £11bn by 2022. Demand is being driven by the availability of fast, cost effective, reliable 4G and the development of smart devices.

IT and telecommunications companies servicing the UK SME market are experiencing this surge in demand first hand and are looking for a trusted supplier with a comprehensive management portal for maximum control and minimum cost.

Small businesses are looking to 4G for faster, more flexible connectivity on a monthly commitment. Their IT and telecommunications suppliers need a management portal to manage large estates of SIMs, where they can monitor usage and alert users approaching their data limits, back-dating bolt-ons to the beginning of the month to completely avoid additional monthly charges.

Mobile Data SIMs on 30-day rolling contracts from multiple suppliers are aimed at tablet and laptop users but also work for Machine to Machine (M2M) applications. You can usually choose the amount of data you think you will use on a monthly basis and add bolt-ons as required, connecting your device directly to the internet. 4G is becoming widely available and offers fast, reliable internet connectivity.

Things to think about when choosing a data-only SIM

• Where will you be using the data-only SIM?
• Is 3G/4G enabled in this area?
• How much data do you think you will need each month?
• What type of SIM card do you need for your device?

About Jola

Jola is a channel-only supplier of internet connectivity, hosted telephony and mobile solutions to UK SMEs, via a channel of IT and telecommunications partners. Our mission is to sell ‘with’ rather than ‘to’ partners, with the objective of finding the right solutions for their clients. Our vision is to provide as much automation as possible to allow partners to quote, order and manage solutions via easy-to-navigate online portals. We offer monthly training webinars to all partners and experienced 24/7/365 technical support.

Reseller or Dealer?

We operate two partner programmes and you can choose the right one for you and the products you sell. Some of our partners are both reseller and dealer e.g. they may be a dealer for JolaNet where they do not have the 24/7/365 resources to manage 36-month leased line contracts on their own; and reseller for JolaPhone where they can support monthly rolling hosted telephony within working hours.

Some business owners in the voice and data channel are on the lookout for complimentary, often recurring revenue streams, to help grow their business. Traditionally these companies have looked for new products high in demand with excellent growth potential and sales and marketing support.

Others, particularly in the data channel take a more reactive approach. Trusted by their customers, IT specialists are led by customer demand and approach new services as solutions to problems. One product does not suit all and the range of solutions available and recommendations from peers become important factors when considering a new supplier.

Typically, a conversation takes place internally to agree to proceed and recommended suppliers are interviewed. Commercials are then agreed with the winning provider and solutions are quoted. If the deal is won, the companies work together to install and support the solution throughout the lifetime of the contract.

Recommendations from trusted sources are essential, as so much is as stake on this first order. If it works, the customer often becomes a reference site and the product becomes part of the portfolio.