How telcos partnership with corporates, SMEs boosts economy

There is growing awareness of entrepreneurship as a key driver of economic development in Nigeria. Major telecommunication companies are prime enablers of this revolution through partnerships and 9mobile, formerly Etisalat, typifies how telcos are partnering with large corporations as well as small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) to help them achieve their business objectives and boost the economy, writes CHUKA UROKO

Statistics and economic indices suggest that some sectors of the Nigerian economy have experienced significant growth over the last decade. Top amongst this group is the telecommunications industry. The industry has not only expanded in terms of its contribution to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it has also become an enabler, powering virtually every other sector amid the prevailing global Information and Communications Technology revolution.
This growth was quite evident at the peak of the economic recession which Nigeria exited recently. The National Bureau of Statistics noted that growth in the telecommunications industry remained positive, in contrast with other sectors of the economy that experienced negative growth for five consecutive quarters.
In the second quarter of 2016, the industry contributed approximately 9.8 per cent to the GDP. This confirms that telecommunications was one of the pillars that upheld the economy during the worst economic crisis in the nation’s history. Of greater significance is the role the telecommunications industry plays in powering operations and transactions across various sectors of the economy, enabling greater efficiency and value creation.
The innovative services currently provided by telcos have the capacity to transcend business communications way beyond basic voice calls. By deploying these various telecommunications solutions, companies can develop processes that enable their employees to work smarter and more productively. It also enables them to collaborate more seamlessly in order to deliver improved services to their customers.
Telecommunications companies have become important strategic partners to various sectors of the economy including manufacturing, oil and gas, banking and ancillary services. This is because beyond communication between persons, telecoms and ICT infrastructure have become must-have for corporate organisations both large and small.
Considering the comprehensive portfolio of business solutions and the quality of services it offers large corporations as well as small and medium scale enterprises, 9mobile stands out as a good example of how telcos are partnering with corporates and SMEs to help them achieve their business objectives and contribute their quota to the economy.
Maintaining, arguably, the largest base of corporate accounts amongst Nigerian telcos, 9mobile (which formerly traded as Etisalat Nigeria) has, over the last nine years, played a critical role in the development of the various sectors of the Nigerian economy. According to the Director, Enterprise Segment, 9mobile, Plato Syrimis, the company plays premium role on every opportunity to add value to the growth and profitability of businesses across the country.
“In furtherance of the vision of 9mobile and its brand heritage, which is Nigerian in many ways, we continuously endeavor to empower people and organisations across the country. As we provide innovative solutions, and a diverse mix of products to help organisations achieve their business objectives, we do so with the overarching purpose of impacting the Nigerian economy positively”, he said.
As the Federal Government continues its efforts to improve the ease of doing business in the country, it has become imperative to understand the role telecom companies play towards facilitating this process. It is evident that 9mobile’s leadership role in this respect cannot be over-emphasized.
The company considers large corporations and SMEs critical to the growth of the national economy and therefore empowers them with customised products that are relevant to their business needs. The SMEs are also empowered in different ways and Syrimis such empowerment involves providing them with services and opportunities that enhance business performance and productivity, and organizing regular forums such as the Market Access which provides empowerment and networking opportunities to young entrepreneurs.
“The enterprise segment within the telecommunications industry offers services that are mostly driven by the specific needs of corporate customers. As a result of this and the fiercely competitive nature of the industry, telecoms service providers typically offer a similar suite of services with varying degrees of distinction and peculiarity. For 9mobile however, the key differentiators are our consistent ability to innovate, our superior network quality and excellent customer service. These qualities have made us the preferred telecoms service provider for corporate organisations”, Syrimis said.
9mobile uniquely empowers enterprises and, according to Enterprise Segment Director, the firm always focuses on delivering the best customer experience. “We guarantee our customers 99 per cent availability of our data services and we have consistently delivered on this promise”, he noted.
Amongst the services 9mobile currently offers its corporate customers is the fixed line service which is provided either by microwave radio or fiber. This service offers multiple channels which enable 30 concurrent calls, meaning that 30 individuals can call 30 unique numbers concurrently.
9mobile also provides broadband internet services directly to its corporate customer’s operational locations, offering extremely fast internet at very competitive prices with well-defined Service Levels, which help to ensure minimal service disruption. Several offices, work stations and factories are connected to the 9mobile network through either microwave or fiber links, which provide access to unlimited data on a specific bandwidth within a defined period of time. This service assures corporate consumers of better network coverage and flexibility than what is possible with mobile broadband in a way that improves business efficiency.
9mobile also provides leased line services which basically allows organizations to connect all their offices in different locations to the 9mobile network. This enables direct and seamless communication within the organization.
“We provide high quality fixed internet access to all personnel within the organization irrespective of their location. This presents a huge advantage to our customers who can have staff at their various branches access internet services that are domiciled at the head office. This presents customers with a cost effective solution as they would otherwise have had to purchase and install separate hardware at each of their branches”, he assured.
This unique service also benefits SMEs as it allows them to share resources and save cost. Syrimis revealed that the telco provides this service through an Access Point Name (APN) which allows SMEs share resources, on an even smaller scale. APN is what is applicable in POS terminals, ATM machines etc. Even oil companies employ this service to monitor oil utilization at offsite locations where they insert the SIM on a device and place it on top of the oil storage tank.
9mobile additionally offers its enterprise customers the lowest roaming rates to their frequently visited international destinations through its corporate roaming packages. Syrimis highlighted that the roaming packages are unique because they are customized for various levels of corporate staff. For instance, the lower-end roaming package offers users access to social media and email when they roam at a cost of N2, 500 weekly. The higher-end package offers 1GB data and 100 minutes of talk-time when they roam at a cost of N36,000 monthly.
Another innovative service from 9mobile is the corporate add-on bundle that allows its corporate customers to determine the mobile services that will be utilized by each member of staff, the permitted limits as well as the maximum amount the company chooses to spend on each staff. According to Plato Syrimis, this package is ideal for companies that seek to maximize staff productivity and minimize costs.
Co-location is, perhaps, the most impactful service that 9mobile offers organisations. At its large data centre in Abuja, 9mobile has set-aside multiple spaces where it can host servers on behalf of multiple clients and organisations. This helps organisations to reduce the burden and cost of constructing their own data centres and maintaining their own servers. 9mobile’s data centre provides 24-hour power and security.
Companies interested in acquiring any of 9mobile enterprise services or solutions may visit the 9mobile corporate website to learn more.