Vodafone pushes into SMB with new online business apps
Vodafone Australia has signalled a greater push into the small and medium-sized business (SMB) segment with its new suite of "ReadyApps" for business customers.
According to Vodafone, the launch of the 16 new apps "coincides with a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign reinforcing Vodafone's commitment to providing the tools and support to help small businesses succeed".
Vodafone's apps now on offer include Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Office 365 Business, Microsoft Office 365 Enterprise, Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security, Microsoft Intune, Microsoft OneDrive for Business, Skype for Business Online, Symantec Endpoint Protection, Norton Security for Professionals, Dropbox Business, and Google G Suite.
It also offers CakeMail, ServiceM8, Mozy Backup Desktop, Yammer Enterprise, Project Online, Dynamics 365 for Sales, SharePoint Online, Weebly, and Visio Pro for Office 365.
Additionally, Vodafone said it would be providing business customers with 10 or more connections with a personal account manager.
"This next evolution is part of our passion to treat every customer, big or small, like a very important business," executive GM of Vodafone Enterprise Stuart Kelly said.
Combining its personalised customer service with a "refreshed suite" of business apps and productivity tools will set its offering apart, Kelly added.
Rival telco Optus has also been focusing on the SMB segment for the past year, launching the Optus Smart Shop marketplace a year ago with access to SMB cloud apps and technology, as well as a 24-hour technical support line.
Its smart shop similarly includes access to Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft SharePoint, Sage One, Xpenditure, MozyPro, PlanHQ, Act Cloud, Cloud Flow, and security tools for identifying malware and viruses across files, emails, websites, and social media accounts.
In May last year, Optus also opened 126 SMB specialist stores as well as an SMB call centre in Adelaide, and introduced "premium" support services for SMBs in order to "show that we're the small business support network".
Telstra's SMB apps include Office 365, Box, Squirrel Street, Canvas, Zunos, Deputy, GeoOp, Time Tracker, Neto, and DocuSign, with the incumbent provider also recently announcing that it will change its Telstra Retail business name to Telstra Consumer and Small Business under a company-wide restructure.
In a move to combine some of its SMB functionalities with its consumer team, within the new Consumer and Small Business arm Telstra will create the three core divisions of Consumer and Small Business Sales and Service; Customer Experience and Transformation; and Telstra Products.
Telstra Business will also be broken apart, with the Premier Business customer segment and its related teams to move to Enterprise, and the Small Business customer segment to move to a Consumer and Small Business arm. Telstra will also combine its domestic and international marketing teams for Enterprise.