Throughout the past twelve years working in the telecommunications industry, I’ve seen technology transform not only the way we work, but also the way we play, the way we communicate, and quite literally, the way we live.
During FLOW 22, a major Digital Transformation event held last month in Malta, I had the pleasure of addressing the audience and explaining how I’ve seen technology changing the world.
Let’s face it, nowadays, having a fast fibre internet connection is no longer a luxury or a top-range business necessity, on the contrary, it has now become a basic commodity as essential as water and electricity.
In my role as Senior Corporate Services Sales Manager at Melita, I work directly with small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in a customer facing B2B environment. One thing that I’ve noticed is that whilst in the past we used to treat and offer fast internet and mobile as two separate services, nowadays we consider them to be a single amenity, crucial for optimum connectivity. Fibre Internet and mobile services working together in a tailor-made fashion is how we keep people and businesses connected, wherever they are.
We are connectivity partners, not just solution providers
We feel that by providing the best possible connectivity to SMEs, we enable businesses to perform at their peak. We consider ourselves as business partners rather than solution providers or suppliers and that is how we position ourselves.
As partners, we are most efficient and effective when businesses reach out to us and share their stories. When businesses take the time to explain essential parts of their processes and operations, and when they share their challenges and experiences, we provide connectivity solutions that truly help make a difference and positively affect business outcomes.
But don’t big enterprises get all the juice?
In most business models the bigger clients get allocated more time, more effort, and more resources, but at Melita, we have created a structure which means we have specific resource for SMEs. Thanks to this effective way of working, which involves experience sharing and segment specialisation, we ensure we can work as well with a small to medium enterprise as with a big corporation.
Whether we partner with big corps or SMEs we enable digital transformations by employing three main principles:
- Handing over full control to the customer. We keep our clients informed of any planned maintenance so they can work around these times.
- Avoiding bill shocks at all costs. We understand the importance of budgeting and cash flow for SMEs in particular.
- Offering the best value by bundling services together to provide the best possible connectivity solution.
Every business is different.
We believe that when it comes to connectivity solutions, there’s no such thing as ‘one size fits all. Even businesses operating within the same industry have different needs and challenges, so when you contact us for help, we take it upon ourselves to find out as much as possible about your business, your industry, the challenges of your ecosystem and much more. The solution we offer you depends on what we find out. Factors include the following:
- Your current connectivity infrastructure.
- Whether your business can rely on a single internet connection and whether it would benefit from moving to the cloud.
- Your current and future digital communication flow.
- How much data processing and storage is involved, and the type of backup strategy required to always keep your data safe and accessible.
- If your business forms part of a franchise or requires a multi-shop connectivity solution in the form of a private network as opposed to a fast internet connection.
The SME ecosystem
Typically, it is more cost-effective and efficient for SMEs to outsource their IT function, and most often, SMEs prefer to have one supplier. Whilst this strategy is worth challenging there is no doubt that a business’ telecommunications partner should be involved in the discussion as early as possible. This is how we can best make sure that your business is enabled with an optimum connectivity solution and how you can focus on what you do best rather than managing your connectivity suppliers and issues.