Are you a switcher?

Pro

Many small businesses are uninterested in switching telephony, mobile telephone and broadband providers because they do not have the time to investigate the alternatives on offer.

Research conducted into the small business market on behalf of ComReg by Millward Brown IMS and published last month found “a common barrier to switching any type of provider is the time involved in exploring different offerings and making the time to choose the best one for your business”.

It concluded that many owner/managers “were so caught up trying to stay on top of pressing business demands that they simply let some areas slide”.

Based on eight focus groups with businesses in Cork, Dublin, Sligo and Athlone during September and October last year, the report found most companies had little real awareness of technologies such as VoIP or 3G.

“While some did spontaneously mention VoIP as a viable alternative, most businesses appear to have limited understanding of VoIP or its potential benefits in a business environment,” the report found.

As for 3G, awareness of 3G services and the technology’s potential uses for business “was limited”. Those who had some knowledge of 3G services and were keen to use them had experienced issues with coverage or access and the battery life of 3G handsets. Their “experience to date had not been overly positive”.

Adoption of mobiles varied depending on the nature of the company. Those with a salesforce on the road found mobiles critical and would feel lost without them.

Vodafone and O2 were considered the two most credible operators for business users although some small businesses in Athlone used Meteor. Awareness of 3 was limited and most seemed to think it catered mainly for consumers.

A spokeswoman for 3 said the company had only recently entered the SME market so it was “no surprise that the old networks would garner more awareness in that area as they have been offering tariffs for that market for years”.

But she argued the operator had a “great opportunity” because it had “the most extensive 3G network offering Ireland’s fastest mobile broadband speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps and the market is there for the taking”.

A lot of businesses admitted to struggling to understand mobile price plans and were unable to calculate which one would work best for them.

Most businesses were  happy with their mobile service provider. Switching activity was low, but coverage was a big issue to those that did change provider particularly outside large urban areas.

Despite the strong adoption of mobile telephony, many businesses said they would not operate without a landline because it added credibility to the business.

The dominant telephony provider was Eircom. Several companies had switched away from Eircom but come back because they were given competitive offers, had a poor service experience or the savings they anticipated did not materialise.

There was a reluctance to move to less well-known suppliers and Smart’s withdrawal from the fixed voice market had deepened their caution.

Those still using alternative suppliers had high levels of satisfaction and value for money.

Companies which had adopted broadband viewed it very favourably. Broadband was considered good value for money, particularly compared to ISDN or dial-up.

The only dissatisfaction was from those who were unable to gain access to broadband and were stuck with dial-up or ISDN.

Many small businesses admitted they were technology-followers and had no real understanding of what products and services were around the corner or how their needs might develop. Only a minority spoke about developments such as convergence, mobile broadband, VoIP, greater use of 3G services.

There was a strong interest in bundled services with many attracted to the idea of a single point of contact and bill, but others were concerned at putting all their eggs in one basket.

The report states: “Overall the findings suggest that businesses for the most part, would only be open to using a single provider if they had a very high level of trust in them and were confident of a reliable and honest level of service.”

Read More: Hardware & Equipment