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L arge enterprise has many ad- vantages over its smaller com- petitors in the mid-market, an important one of which is access to reliable communica- tion platforms that maximise productivity and customer engagement. “An inability to leverage modern com- munications platforms to the full is one of the biggest barriers to growth for mid- market companies,” says Yves Kanda, Product Specialist at Neotel. “With Neo- tel’s NeoUnify, we are able to help mid- market companies become better at reap- ing the benefits of technology.” Kanda explains how NeoUnify was cre- ated to address key challenges faced by mid-market companies: access to special- ist skills, the capital to buy equipment and the cash to maintain it. “NeoUnify has been especially crafted to mitigate these challenges by allowing companies to buy unified communica- tions as a service. This means companies can access the specialist skills and busi- ness know-how of Neotel to scope the right solution, and then to buy it per user,” says Kanda. The `as a service’ model effectively de- risks the solution: Neotel is responsible for the technology investments and support, while the shared infrastructure delivers real economies of scale. In addition, the challenges around capital and operating expenses dissolve and are replaced by a single monthly payment. In addition, re- liability is guaranteed because the infra- structure is hosted by Neotel, with repli- cation to tier 3 datacentres in different provinces. “We can failover from one datacentre to another mid-call and you wouldn’t even know it,” says Kanda’s colleague, Esso Ndlovu, a Product Specialist. “NeoUnify also allows our customers to leverage the power of Neotel’s core fibre network, along with a range of value-adds, essen- tially creating the next generation of uni- fied communications.” Building on the strength and footprint of the Neotel network, NeoUnify offers mid-market companies cloud-based IP telephony, including conferencing, pres- ence, mobility and a full spectrum of call centre services. The latter makes it pos- sible to set up a call centre on the fly, and would include the necessary busi- ness process framework to run the cen- tre—one that can be integrated into any of the customers’ back-office programs, including ERP and customer relationship management systems. Introducing fully converged future-proof fibre access To make this adoption simpler for pro- spective customers, Neotel is introducing a Mid-Market Bundle which includes fully converged future proof-fibre access with speeds scalable up to 1 Gbps, dedicated, uncapped, unshaped internet at the head office, find me/follow me and NeoUnify services for 31 users, which can also be increased. Neotel’s offering also includes cost effective branch to branch connectiv- ity and teleworker solutions. Unified communications is better for business Neotel believes in creating unified rather than prioprietory communications and as such, NeoUnify is interoperable and not just ‘standards-based’. “Unified communications allows all company employees to access sophis- ticated communication solutions which are both fast and powerful. It essentially brings all communication mediums into one integrated system, thereby ensuring a collaborative, seamless and efficient expe- rience,” says Kanda. Saving money, increasing productivity Neotel figures suggest that a unified com- munications platform increases productiv- ity equal to 23 additional employees for a company with up to 100 users. “It is also more cost effective when compared to the customer’s current spend,” says Kanda. “A strong, competitive mid-market economy is critical, not only because of the contributions they make to overall eco- nomic growth and job creation but also because it propels the rise of small busi- ness into the mid-tier category. NeoUnify levels the playing field between large en- terprise and mid-market companies by introducing cost effective productivity ef- ficiencies that allow them to compete with the largest blue chip companies in South Africa,” concludes Kanda. ■ ADVERTORIAL Esso Ndlovu and Yves Kanda, Product Specialists at Neotel Boosting mid-market companies through technology 0860 636 835 [email protected] www.neotel.co.za Unified communications is the foundation of any successful business in today’s digital, always-on economy. To date, that crucial building block has been elusive for the mid-market—but that’s all set to change. l
