SMEs outsource more ICT: resellers step in

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SMEs outsource more ICT: resellers step in

Published: August 17, 2009

In a world of shrinking demand and slim margins, one business market appears to be defiantly bucking the trend.

The UK’s small- and medium-sized businesses are already investing about £22 billion on their ICT (Information Communication Technology) needs – and the predictions are that the recession will grow rather than prune that spend, precisely because SMEs have the agility that their bigger corporate counterparts don’t. Both sizes of company face similar issues: how to trim overheads and boost productivity without increasing costs. But SMEs can be much more flexible in what, how and where they buy. As a result they can welcome a fresh, all-in, multi-play offering – rather than a one-product offering – from their existing voice, IT, mobile or data supplier.

“Even with the backdrop of the credit crunch we find ourselves in the midst of a data explosion that shows no signs of abating” comments Stephen Bryan, a Senior Sales Professional at BT Wholesale, speaking recently at the Margin in Voice & Data event at Twickenham Stadium.

He continues: “This means that to gain the most from the SME market opportunities, today’s resellers must really have a data offering: a strong IP portfolio base and a way to offer voice, video and data down one flexible pipe at a cheap cost. BT Wholesale’s wide range of managed pay-as-you-grow services can equip resellers to do that. They’re an ideal way to enter new markets without commercial risk and at low cost because you can market-test new services or trial a bundled services approach and scale up if they prove successful. And while we take care of managing the services, you can concentrate on what’s really important to your business: building your customer relationships.”

Two examples of the services available to deliver the economy and convenience of convergence that SMEs are looking for are BT Plusnet Partner managed broadband and BT Wholesale Ethernet.

Stephen explains: “If you’re a voice reseller and want to get into data to offer your customers voice, broadband and connectivity from a single point, these are your simple and effective solutions.”

21CN-ready BT Plusnet Partner comes with no set up costs and no commitment to customer numbers but provides competitive prices and flexible charging. The idea is to help resellers and smaller ISPs to get to market quickly without big upfront investments: key essentials at a time when budgets are tight and funding hard to find. “We’ve made this outsource model really easy to use, with an online portal to place and track orders, monitor service at a glance and report faults – making migrating existing customers painless too” Stephen adds.

‘Cost-effectiveness’ is also a vital ingredient in BT Wholesale Ethernet. With its 600+ nodes, it offers the largest and densest 21CN Ethernet network in the UK with the greatest reach. Stephen comments: “And the closer you can get to your customers, the cheaper it is to provide Ethernet for their combined voice, video and data needs. Plus it’s very flexible. You don’t have to buy 100Mbit/s. You can buy 11Mbit/s if that’s what your customers need. And our new ‘Ethernet in the first mile’ (EFM) product opens up even more opportunities by offering 2Mbit/s to 10 Mbit/s access connections.”

Equipment too can be a simple addition both to the reseller’s portfolio and to the bottom-line. BT Wholesale research suggests that anti-spam filtering and anti-virus scanning are among the top things that UK SMEs are prepared to pay extra for: a natural complement to their phone line, modem/router and email account. Stephen concludes: “And answering those needs is easy with the help of the BT Wholesale eCatalogue. This offers a fast-expanding range of equipment from world-leading manufacturers – everything from firewalls and IP phones to the latest PBXs – for fast and easy ordering 24/7.”