Dubai: Over the past year, local telcos made much headway in putting together special packages that addressed the needs and concerns of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Needless to say, the reception from end-users was one of overwhelming acceptance.
More so, as the "high" tariff structure for telecom and allied services has traditionally been a bone of contention with businesses. Now with these getting dismantled and even more competitive pricing on the way, they, and particularly SMEs, have a lot to look forward to.
Abdullah Hashim, senior vice-president for business solutions at etisalat, unveils a new set of initiatives for the SME space that comes into effect next month.
Gulf News: You plan to expand your channel partner programme for your SME initiative. But isn't it more likely SME clients would prefer dealing directly with etisalat?
Abdullah Hashim: The main objective of the etisalat Channel Partner Programme is to enhance convenience for the customer, while increasing our reach into the SME segment to offer competitive ICT value propositions. We are making multiple channels available to them along with a diverse portfolio of offerings for them to choose.
The internet economy has made the customers more sensitive to response times and they prefer their service providers are located close to their business operations.
In addition to regular direct account manager, etisalat Business Solutions has created dedicated business desks and focused SME outlets in specific business areas with IT companies as channel partners. These are aimed at providing convenience and increasing reach for the customers.
Over the years, we have observed that many SMEs prefer dealing with channel partners and local IT companies for support and they may feel comfortable using our partner channels. We have also developed strong partnerships with many free zones, where we have a dedicated business outlet to service SMEs there. However, all these channels are auxiliary and not restrictive in nature and the customer can choose their preferred channels.
Have the channel partners been given specific mandates on the SME profiles they should be targeting?
They have been selected taking into consideration factors such as potential market, channel resources, knowledge and experience among others. Etisalat's objective is to create operational synergies and leverage the channel partners' resources, customer base and industry expertise.
Through this, etisalat aims to ensure that most of the SMEs are served under the programme, while taking into consideration their individual business needs. Etisalat plans to conduct regular business trainings programmes, specialised workshops and joint marketing activities that will enable channel partners to focus efforts on increasing reach in the SME sub-segments, specific geographical areas, and untapped demand.
What would be the median cost for the SME in implementing these packages?
Unlike many consumer type products, it becomes difficult to state a median cost of whole set of SMEs. There are low entry packages for high-speed internet and mobile services; for example, the cost of Business One Super goes from Dh395 a month for a 4 Mbps package and the MyBusinessPlan goes from Dh29 monthly for the basic package.
Is etisalat providing a measure of the kind of savings that SMEs could hope to achieve by signing up for these packages?
The recent offerings by etisalat are substantially cost-effective and have become very popular. As an example, customers get at least four times more bandwidth (up to 100 Mbps) without much change in their price with Business One Super. Their requirements due to evolving applications have increased and they need not incur additional costs for bandwidth. The My Business plan mobile offerings can save them 15 to 20 per cent cost due to various incentives and downward price changes that are built in these packages.
Is it something that your operations in Saudi Arabia would consider as well?
The Channel Partner Programme is specific for the UAE business and not related to etisalat's international operations. However, as an international operator with presence in more than 18 countries, etisalat always shares its best practices across regions, and hence this could be shared as a case study in the other markets.
An increase in broadband speeds is something that local businesses have been hankering for, and closer to the kind of deliveries in the US and Europe. Is it still some way off as far as the local telecom space is concerned?
High speed broadband is integral to the overall economic development of UAE, given the country's emphasis on conducting more business activities on-line.
With BusinessOne Super, Etisalat has made high speed broadband easily accessible to the entire SME landscape and removed the barriers to business opportunities and the perception that they cannot afford a high quality broadband service.
BusinessOne Super also provides the benefit of higher upload and download speed enabling SMEs to conduct their regular business activities more productively through high speed browsing, using on-line applications and more efficient sharing of the bandwidth with all their employees.
