Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

Education

The channel educates businesses to adopt new technologies and find smarter ways to solve problems. We highlight products being switched off, such as 3G and PSTN, to help companies prepare with improved, more cost-effective solutions.

New Technologies

With technologies being switched off and the current economic climate, demand for cost-effective, managed mobile data solutions from the channel has never been as high. We are seeing an exponential rise in demand for SIMs, not only for use in 5G/4G routers, pre-Ethernet connectivity and Ethernet back-up but also for digital signage, monitoring and smart devices.  Resellers, manufacturers and service companies are finding new uses for mobile data daily, and as we accelerate towards 5G, this is unlikely to slow down.

Marketing is key

Companies need to know their target audience, requirements, buying habits, competition and unique selling points. Businesses need a multi-touch marketing strategy to reflect common problems and highlight unique solutions. It is important to be visible on and offline. Your website needs to be visible in searches for your audience, your content should be clear, and your call to action should be easy. Be where your buyers are. By joining local trade associations, winning and promoting opportunities won in the local area and delivering a constantly reliable and excellent service.

The Channel

Our partners pride themselves on excellence and trusted relationships with their customers. They understand their unique requirements and deliver what they say they will when they say they will. Being local, they can spend time with customers face-to-face in their offices, offering personalised support that the competition cannot compete with.

MSPs and resellers partner with aggregators and experts in their fields to allow them to deliver the widest range of solutions at the best possible prices. They look for partners with automated portals so they can retain control of their customer experience.

Suppliers

Channel-only suppliers are only successful if their resellers are successful. As a result, the best channel-only suppliers will have a tried-and-tested go-to-market programme to help resellers be successful as quickly as possible. Jola partners benefit from our MRG™ programme, a proven process for targeting and closing opportunities, maximising customer satisfaction.

During lock-down businesses were forced to make remote working available for all employees very quickly. Jola helped partners supply mobile data solutions to suit every requirement. Since then, we have seen a rise in the use of cloud-based, collaborative software, such as Microsoft Teams for seamless hybrid working. A focus on communication and collaboration is required to support this. 

Hybrid working has many benefits. For employees, they don’t need to battle the traffic every day and can manage their workload effectively.

Many of our employees work in the office a couple of days a week to facilitate wellbeing, social lunches and informal meetings. This encourages cross-departmental team building and problem solving. We are conscious of employee burn out and encourage regular coffee breaks and lunchtime walks wherever they work.

Being in the same room for key meetings is also useful to ensure every participant is fully engaged and not distracted by someone at the door or urgent emails coming in.

New starters can feel a little isolated. It is useful when starting a new job to be in the office to build relationships with key departments to know who to go to with any issues and who can support them in their role. Corporate culture is hard to learn remotely when you are not living and breathing it in the same office as your colleagues.

At Jola, we work with with our partners to build differentiated propositions to facilitate hybrid working. We help partners to create a compelling proposition, highlighting how it uniquely solves the problem and the current and future benefits.

In the annual partner satisfaction survey, Jola scored a Net Promoter Score of 63 up from 55 last year. This score is categorised as ‘great’, with 48% of Jola partners giving them 10/10 and 93% scoring them 7 or higher. In the comments, Jola partners praised Jola’s wide portfolio of differentiated products, new ultra-competitive pricing, real-time portals, helpful people and professional service.

Adrian Sunderland, Jola’s CEO, commented, ‘I am delighted with our NPS score and the feedback we have received from partners. We have over 1500 resellers choosing Jola as their preferred mobile connectivity supplier. Our relentless product development continues with a list of unique products you can’t buy from anyone else, designed to help partners differentiate and win bigger deals. We continue to grow and invest in people, products, platforms and processes. We have a fantastic team dedicated to supporting our growing partner base and it was great to see so many of them named in the survey.”

Having a supplier you trust, who understands the market and provides live examples, gives the customer confidence.

Jola has over 1500 partners selling mobile data solutions to vertical markets such as retail, transport and logistics, security and the public sector. We have SIMs in digital signs, ticketing systems, CCTV cameras, ANPR cameras, alarm systems and tracking and recording devices.

Resellers can significantly build traction in a specific vertical market by creating case studies illustrating how they have resolved issues within that sector. You will appear more credible and achieve greater success in a vertical market when you can discuss how you have assisted others in that area.

Retail

Supermarkets, clothes shops and bus and train stations are investing in digital signage solutions. Digital advertising boards require 24/7, reliable connectivity that can be rapidly deployed. Typically the advertising screens belong to a third party who needs a mobile broadband solution they control and manage across multiple sites.

Security

Security specialists are investing in mobile broadband in rural locations, where 4G/5G speeds are fast and fixed-line services are slow. 4G CCTV is growing in popularity, as it doesn’t require direct power or a WiFi connection. 

4G/5G CCTV

Data SIMs with static IP addresses within 4G or 5G routers allow users to access their CCTV camera footage when fixed-line connectivity is unavailable. An external antenna can increase signal strength and routers are generally pre-configured for a plug-and-play solution, that works in every location.

Security specialists require access to a wide range of cost-effective, large data packages on short-term contracts. They need a supplier to send out SIMs and pre-configured devices on time, with a portal they can manage their entire SIM estate.

5G

Significant progress has been made with 5G. We’ve seen the 5G footprint improve across all networks. EE, O2, and Vodafone have also deployed 5G standalone in the last 12 months.

Standalone 5G delivers on the full promise of 5G with lower latency, higher data speeds, better efficiency, improved reliability and support for large-scale IoT.

2025 will continue to see both the 5G footprint and 5G capabilities improve.  2025 will also see the merger of Three UK and Vodafone, which should provide improvements for customers of both networks.

The PSTN Switch-Off

The PSTN switch-off will have a huge impact on the channel. For Jola, it has been the underlying reason for the majority of the growth we’ve experienced over the last 12 months. This compelling event leads businesses to reevaluate how they use telecom services to meet their business needs.  The conclusion in many cases has been that 4G and 5G services can do more for less without the complex or time-consuming installation of replacement fixed lines.

Satellite Connectivity

Satellite has the potential to have a significant impact on the channel.  Most resellers will be familiar with the need to deliver solutions to multi-branch businesses.  These businesses could be offices, retail locations, petrol forecourts, schools, EV charging stations, etc.  The reality is that a single operator is unlikely to be able to deliver the right service, on time and budget, to all these locations.  5G and satellite are an ideal solution to be installed rapidly and provide fibre-like performance, either as a precursor to fibre being installed or as the permanent solution.

We recently worked on a large retail rollout where satellite was chosen as the standard delivery mechanism and alternatives chosen only where satellite couldn’t be installed due to landlord restrictions.

Jola is delighted to be a founding member of The Big Goal, an initiative dedicated to addressing youth homelessness through the transformative power of football.

The Street Soccer Foundation is tackling youth homelessness with the support of clubs across The Premier League and English Football League (EFL) by equipping individuals with the skills and support they need for a brighter future.

The Big Goal Initiative is known for its holistic approach to youth development, aligning with Jola's commitment to fostering positive change and well-being. By supporting this initiative, Jola aims to make a lasting impact on the lives of young people.

Cherie Howlett, CMO Jola, commented “We got involved with this charity because it is a great cause. By supporting the Big Goal Initiative, we support vulnerable young people in our community, who may one day work in the industry. This initiative focuses on imparting valuable skills and is changing lives for the better.”

For more information on The Big Goal and to pledge your support, please visit www.thebiggoal.co.uk

Why get involved? 

High Demand

With technologies being switched off (PSTN, ISDN, 3G) and the current economic climate, demand for cost-effective, managed mobile data solutions from the channel, has never been so high. We are seeing an exponential rise in demand for SIMs not only for use in 5G/4G routers, pre-Ethernet connectivity and Ethernet back-up but also for digital signage, monitoring and smart devices.  Resellers, manufacturers and service companies are finding new uses for mobile data daily and, as we accelerate towards 5G, this is unlikely to slow down.

Quick-win Opportunities

Public Sector

The NHS has rolled out iPads to ambulance crews all over the UK recently. The iPads will help them access medical records to help inform their course of action. MSPs have found that partnering with aggregators offering multi-network services and a management portal gives them so much more control and removes the headache of dealing with multiple carriers and manual requests for changes.

Retail

AV Specialists are ordering complete, secure connectivity packages for digital signage, to arrive plug-and-play to each site and consisting of an intelligent 4G router, a SIM and some clever configurations to prevent hackers from accessing the signs. Devices arrived pre-configured with an app, allowing auto-configuration, saving time and money.

Transport and Logistics

Specialists are novating SIMs on various tariffs and price plans with their Private APN for bus and coach companies for cashless ticketing systems and WiFi. End-users can manage data usage directly on their management portal.

Tracking and Monitoring

MSPs are helping property owners and developers to monitor carbon levels. They have created solutions to monitor energy consumption across many different devices within the home. Their devices need 4G to report usage information and for general maintenance of the equipment.

Suppliers that can help resellers target opportunities they can win are crucial. Solutions need to be easy to sell, roll out and manage. Jola has a tried and tested six-step process called the Mobile-data Revenue Generator™ to help partners win their first deal. 

Join our webinar and win more opportunities

According to McKinsey, revenues from mobile data are set to increase dramatically over the next five years due to the availability, speed and reliability of 4G, 5G and IoT. Statista forecasts that there will be over 25.4 billion IoT devices worldwide in 2030. Fortune Business Insights predicts this market will be worth £1085bn by 2027. 

Mobile data is an attractive line of business for the channel to pivot into, with high demand and good margin potential. Adrian Sunderland, Jola’s CEO hosts a webinar for MSPs and resellers looking to do just that. The webinar takes place on 29^th April at 10.00hrs and you can book your place using this link: https://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=E952D782814D3E6F

Adrian will share the secrets of Jola’s success with mobile data and the opportunities the channel is winning. Using case studies, Adrian will explain the mobile data opportunity and how high ARPUs and good margins can be achieved. He will help the audience uncover opportunities within their customer bases. He will explain how mobile data can only be successfully scaled with a supplier who can deliver unique and differentiated solutions, managed in a fully-automated, real-time portal.

“We are hosting this webinar for channel partners looking to grow their business by winning new lucrative opportunities. Adrian has a wealth of experience working with channel partners, to create innovative solutions to common problems. We were the first channel-only mobile data aggregator, the first to launch a fully automated real-time portal to manage global SIMs from multiple suppliers and the first to launch game-changing mobile data solutions you can’t buy from the MNOs directly. To find out more, join our webinar.” Cherie Howlett, CMO, Jola.

Jola has helped over 1500 partners win new opportunities by solving common problems with unique mobile data solutions. Building and retaining trust is a key element of their success. Partners need full control of their solutions, so having real-time fully automated portals allowing direct control over live orders is welcomed.

Jola’s MRG™ programme takes partners through a tried-and-tested process to help them close their first deal and build recurring revenues, avoiding common pitfalls. The Rev Up programme rewards success and has had a huge take-up from partners.

Partners work with Jola to help identify and qualify opportunities from within their customer bases. They invite account managers and pre-sales engineers to customer meetings to understand challenges and propose solutions. Jola has extensive vertical market experience which provides peace of mind for customers with references and case studies in their fields.

"Our mission is to serve the channel providing solutions for every mobile data requirement globally. We strive to make solutions you can't buy from anyone else and ensure they are reliable, easy to sell, provision, support and bill. We enjoy working with partners on new and innovative solutions to common problems using the latest technologies." Cherie Howlett, CMO, Jola.

The Challenges

One of the biggest challenges is integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) into business strategy. If you aim to increase EBITDA and sell your company for the highest multiple, how does ESG align with this? The second challenge is measuring success, and the third is often resources. Companies with ESG initiatives that support the overall business strategy are more likely to invest in them, support them, and measure their success.

The Standards

Looking at key metrics can be helpful when developing an ESG strategy to understand a starting point, what success looks like and how to get there.

Carbon emissions, energy consumption, waste production, and water usage can serve as valuable metrics, alongside employee satisfaction, community involvement, and regulatory compliance. Having the right KPIs, motivations and measurements is key to success.

The Risks

Like any new initiative if the ESG strategy does not align with business strategy and corporate values, if it is not properly resourced, measured, monitored and reported on, it may fail. Without proper communication and engagement, it can fail miserably.

The Benefits

Building a successful team that can deliver growth is crucial for any company in the channel. Finding, training, and retaining the right people who can understand and exceed your partners' expectations is challenging, but when achieved, it becomes difficult to replicate. Loyalty is fostered by creating an engaging and financially rewarding environment for learning and acquiring key skills that are invaluable to our partners.