Category: News

Vox is advancing its strategy to bolster its workforce and invest in talent development in South Africa’s ICT industry.

The company has welcomed its first three graduates into its national call centre in Tshwane through the programme it initiated last year with CTU Training Solutions, an accredited ICT training institution, to offer high potential students with work integrated learning (WIL) experience across the spectrum of solutions, services and products currently offered by the company.

Marius Venter, Head of Vox’s Service Centre, said: “We are delighted to welcome new technicians into our environment to embark on a challenging career at Vox, an employer of choice in South Africa’s telecoms industry.”

Venter said one of the cornerstones of Vox’s talent retention strategy is to identify students with the acumen and skills-set to work in a pressurised customer facing environment.

“It is vital that employees of the future are equipped with both soft and technical skills to provide services to dynamic and culturally diverse customer segments. Our collaboration with CTU has crossed its first milestone. It is now our responsibility as an employer to offer these graduates on the job experience, mentorship and growth opportunities,” adds Venter.

Established in 1987, CTU Training Solutions offers full-time, part-time and corporate IT, design and business studies. CTU’s vision is to make a significant contribution to the development of human capital in South Africa. Partnering with Vox is helping CTU to create educational solutions for future jobs.

“Through our partnership both CTU, we are collectively learning and assessing curriculum requirements that match industry benchmarks. It is our vision to nurture students as future leaders and experts in an industry that is a significant contributor to job creation and skills development.”

Vox has launched Gate Guard, a self-contained access control security solution that allows companies to remotely monitor and manage after hours access to their premises.

Says Kobus van Deventer, Nerve Centre manager at Vox, “Perpetrators are increasingly gaining access to properties (both residential and business), by lifting gates off of their rails, and entering the premise.  Gate Guard triggers an alarm in our remote monitoring centre, and directly with clients, to alert them to the illegal entry, or unexpected access.”

Real time video, accessible via smartphones, enables users to keep an eye on who is entering or exiting premises, and in the event of a robbery, use the footage to strengthen insurance claims, or legal proceedings.

A team of security professionals have created Gate Guard to be self-contained with its own solar power supply, and dual SIM router specifically for 3G connectivity. 

“We have tried to create a solution that overcomes connectivity and power issues, to ensure that customers of all sizes, in locations anywhere in the country, have peace of mind when it comes to their premise access points,” concludes van Deventer.

For business that have a sizeable security contingent, Gate Guard becomes a valuable add-on, rather than replacement of guards and/ or guard houses on-premises.

Satellites are increasingly being used to provide highly-reliable broadband internet connectivity beyond major cities and in geographically remote regions of the African continent, and the trend is set to grow as coverage expands to more countries and costs decrease.

While a lot of attention is paid to the spread of Fibre and LTE infrastructure, these are limited to cities and surrounding urban areas, with rural areas unlikely to benefit from these technologies for years to come; and satellite connectivity will often be the only option available. It is also ideal in areas where existing connectivity is too slow, or have long install lead times.

In South Africa, a sizable number of the country’s commercial farmers and game lodges already make use of satellite services for connectivity. Not only does it give them a voice service to communicate with the outside world, but its reliability means that it also plays a vital role in ensuring their security.

Apart from providing highly reliable connectivity for security services, satellites are increasingly being used for telemetry, which enables the remote monitoring and operation of devices. It is favoured by the telecommunications industry in areas of high copper cable theft, while the maritime industry uses satellites to track ships across oceans.

New satellites a game changer

Ka-Band satellites offer a significant price reduction when compared to alternatives such as Ku- L- and C-Band, and allow the service to better compete with other means of connectivity. Coverage provided by Ka-Band satellites is determined by the positioning of spotted beams, of which six are directed at South Africa.

Many customers are on a 15Mpbs service, with data costs per gigabyte that are lower than those charged by local cellular networks; new satellites to be launched will see throughputs increased to up to 100Mbps and even higher. Couple this with quick installation times and  on-premise equipment can be installed in a single day – and it’s not difficult to see why satellite connectivity is gaining in popularity.

Operators have realised the market potential offered in connecting the majority of Africans to the internet, and are moving to take advantage – the Y1B satellite that we use for our service currently covers seven African countries, and soon additional satellites will expand services to a further 10 countries, bringing 70% of the continent within Ka band satellite coverage.

Still room for growth

Locally, thousands of rural schools are not yet connected; satellites are not only able to bring internet to students and teachers, but also offer WiFi services to the broader community.

Another growth area going forward will be in the aviation industry. There is a growing demand from passengers for onboard WiFi during flights, as well as increasing interest in tracking aircraft, and the only way to provide this is through satellite connectivity. In the near future, almost every commercial aircraft will be connected. We also continue to see users moving away from the more expensive forms of satellite connectivity toward Ka-Band services.

One of the shortcomings of the Ka-Band service is that we do not yet have a landing station in South Africa; and data traffic is routed through Europe. However, we see this changing as satellite usage grows.

Satellites are by no means expected to replace fixed-line – fibre or ADSL – or LTE connectivity; these should be used whenever possible to ensure the best throughputs and experience. They’re also the better option if you use a virtual private network (VPN), applications or games that are sensitive to latency, or are a heavy downloader.

However, satellite connectivity is here to stay, and will play a major role in servicing individuals and businesses beyond the cities, and well as in a growing number of niche areas, in the years to come.

Vox has merged its managed services and cloud computing divisions in an effort to provide an end-to-end solution for businesses, irrespective of whether their infrastructure is hosted on site or in the Cloud.

Craig Freer, executive head: Cloud at Vox believes that the move to consolidate the two divisions is a direct response to where the market is heading. “Although we see many companies adopting a Cloud strategy, the majority see this as a phased approach, not a short term goal. In reality, this means a continued reliance on on-site computing as their Cloud strategy evolves” says Freer. “With the current ICT skills shortage in SA, we are seeing increasing volumes of customers turning to ICT Outsource as a business model”

 The merging of the two divisions has seen the business restructure its core managed services components to be more ‘as a service’ orientated, giving customers full customisability to meet changing business needs.  We are able to deliver consistent services irrespective of whether infrastructure is physical or virtual. “We have aligned all of our products in line with ITIL methodologies and in so doing ensure consistency across everything that we deliver,” adds Freer.

Concludes Freer, “Finding a partner that not only understands how to translate a cloud strategy into business reality, but also the requirements for cloud transition, is critical.  We believe our best-of-breed solutions, coupled with a robust managed services offering, enables us to be just that partner.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever opened up an email only to delete it before you even register what it’s about? Well you’re not the only one. Email marketing has received a bad name in recent years due to the large number of spammy and thoughtless emails that flood the inboxes of many people. Luckily, with the use of some clever and well thought out strategies, email marketing doesn’t have to be met with an eye-roll from your customer base. Email marketing is still alive and well, and can be used strategically to ensure that your emails are well received, no matter what kind of business you would like to conduct.

First of all, how important is email marketing? While the tool has received some bad press, it still has a vital role to play within your marketing efforts. Why? Because people like to stay informed, educated and aware of what may be affecting them personally. Email marketing is also highly affordable, it doesn’t take a large chunk out of your budget to start up an email campaign even if it is unsuccessful. Basically people find it useful, and according to Hubspot, 86% of consumers would like to receive emails from companies they do business with. That being said, it was also reported that 78% of consumers have unsubscribed from an email newsletter because a business was sending too many. So, how do you as the marketer create the right balance throughout an email campaign so that people will want to respond to it?

Introductions are key

While the subject line of an email may seem like the least important part of an email, it’s the first thing a potential customer will see, so make it count. Limit the amount of words you use to less than 10 and make it about the customer and how it could potentially benefit or help them. No one wants to open their email up to find subject text that’s too long to appear in one line and doesn’t make any reference to them. If you’re contacting a blogger for example to ask for a sponsored post on their website, a simple line emphasizing how your brand is offering an opportunity to them will influence their decision to find out more.

Have a point

If a customer opens up your email they’ll want to know how it applies to them. Essentially your email has to have a point, and it must be clear within the first few lines. If it isn’t, chances are its receivers are going to delete the email before finishing it. A potential customer will respond if your email has a relevant point, and you get to it quickly. For example if you’re emailing people to promote a new product, the product firstly has to be applicable to the person you’re sending it to and it has to be clear in the email. Don’t send a mass email out about a new cleaning product for example, to 17 – 20 year old students who most likely don’t do any cleaning themselves. Take the time to do your research, so that you make your point to a relevant and interested audience and you get to the point within the first couple of lines in your mail.

Be easy to reach

An email that requires a direct response needs to include either a signature which details all your contacts including phone number, email address and social channels or you need to include this information within the email if you don’t want it to be a part of your signature. Customers aren’t going to respond to you if they are unclear of how to get hold of you. But, being easy to contact not only helps customers respond, it also relays the idea that you are happy to converse directly with them should they have any questions or concerns. This builds trust and a positive association to your brand.

Build relationships

Email marketing is the perfect tool to build strong relationships with existing and potential customers. This will ensure that even if your subject line isn’t optimal or your email isn’t as informative as it could be, they’d still be willing to open your mail because they know you. How do you build a relationship with customers? Aside from ensuring the points above, take the time to personalise your mails by tailoring them to the individual needs of each person. Most customers can spot a mass email from a mile away, and respond far better to an email that uses their first name, asks them how they are doing and doesn’t waste their time with long-winded explanations. So while keeping your emails to the point, ensure that the information within the email is specific to the person you’re writing to and you’ll start to build relationships with your contact base.

The Media Image recently published an article on writing the optimum email for distribution, highlighting how effective it can be to your entire content marketing strategy, so do make sure to have a look.  Emails can still play a pivotal role within your marketing efforts, as long as its tailored to suit your customer base.  And while these are just guidelines, if you use them to your advantage you will be on your way to ensuring people not only respond to your emails, but do so positively.

A dwindling database has more to do with people changing jobs (and with it email addresses), or neglecting their personal email accounts, and on rare occasions, opting out of a mailing list. But, according to Vera Romano, Marketing Manager for Everlytic, there are ways of not only enhancing your database, but ensuring longevity of interest, and continued subscription.

Here are some tips and tricks to enhance your list of contacts, that actually want to hear from you.

Social media

Providing good content across your social media platforms is a sure-fire way of gaining new subscribers, especially if you frequently provide valuable, useful content for free download.  These can include guides and free resources (think about all the blogs that offer free printables on Pinterest).

Adding social links to your sites will prompt visitors to sign up to exclusive content or receive your marketing campaigns. The campaigns and competitions that are run on social media should provide content and also entice contacts to sign up to your database.

Campaigns

Build targeted campaigns for your new and prospective contacts by interacting with your contact base, run polls to learn about the things that interest them.  The result will be a better understanding of the type of content your subscribers expect from you.  Send reminders to your existing database, and encourage them to engage, and encourage them to opt-in to your mailing list again. This ensures that your current contacts want to continue receiving your content.

Adding a share button on your email will motivate your subscribers to send it to others that might be interested.

We recommend running a welcome campaign for your new subscribers to let them know what they can expect from you and also establish if there is something specific that they are looking for. Once you know what they want, you can personalise your marketing messages to them from their responses.

Multiple subscription forms

Another way to increase your database is to create multiple subscription forms across your social media platforms, stating clearly what your subscribers are agreeing to. This can be done by utilising a pop-up form on your website, this will elicit every visitor to subscribe to your list.

Develop a subscription button on your website.  Add a link to your blog that encourages readers to sign up to your marketing list.

People respond well to competitions, run a few throughout the year, where the entry requirement is to sign up to your email or SMS marketing list.

New content

And finally, content is king, so make sure that you keep your current subscribers engaged with new content. People are always looking for ways to improve their businesses and themselves, they react well to blog posts or white papers that talk about tricks and tips. Providing such content will make your subscribers trust you as well as your emails, resulting in higher opens.

Vox has launched VoxAir, a cost effective video conferencing solution specifically designed for small to medium businesses and virtual workforces that need to stay connected to partners, suppliers and customers.

VoxAir, a web browser based video conferencing solution is ideally suited to those organisations that want to take a bold step beyond just voice in a cost effective manner.  Pricing is provided per unique contact number which can accommodate up to twelve  concurrent participants at any time.

¨It was important to ensure that our solution was vendor independent – enabling integration and use across any formal conferencing equipment anywhere in the world, without the need to invest in costly video conferencing bridge equipment,” says Mauritz van Wyk, senior product manager: Visual Communications at Vox.

VoxAir has been designed to work in conjunction with all video conferencing platforms, including the large-scale hardware driven systems typically found in large enterprise businesses.  Ideal for the mobile workforce, VoxAir can be used on laptops, desktops and mobile devices for non-office bound employees.

Concludes van Wyk, ¨Video conferencing has become a buzzword – everybody wants to try it out.  Locally, one of the biggest inhibitors of video conferencing adoption, was connectivity.  This has largely been overcome, but business owners do not want to spend thousands on hardware for a single boardroom to enable the technology in their business.

VoxAir lowers that barrier to entry, by offering a cost effective, cloud-based, mobile-enabled service for smaller to medium businesses.¨

VoxAir has Skype for Business integration as a standard, does not require any downloads and is plugin-free.

Integrated ICT and connectivity provider, Vox is dropping the retail rates of its Fat Pipe Home DSL to below R1 per GB effective, 17 November 2016.

¨Our data prices are falling, just in time for some festive cheer,¨ says Simon Butler, Head of Product for Carrier and Connectivity at Vox.

The price decrease will apply for all new online sales, across its Fat Pipe DSL product range, on top of which, a payment holiday will be applied for all subscriptions bought online before 01 January 2017.

Adds Butler, ¨The first subscription fees for qualifying customers will only be due in February 2017.¨

Vox has indicated that existing Fat Pipe customers can look forward to additional data, for the same price as they are currently paying, effectively bringing their per GB price below R1 as well.

¨A 100GB customer paying R189 for example will be bumped to 200GB with no change in their monthly subscription costs,¨ says Butler.

Vox delivers an unshaped internet experience, available on all line speeds with up to six months data rollover and now for less than R1/ GB.

Concludes Butler, ¨Not everyone has access to fibre but the message we are getting loud and clear is that people want more data, for a better price.  This price drop makes getting online cheaper than it has ever been before and we´re excited about playing a part in the move to drive down the cost of data.¨

Vox has launched Vobi, a mobile softphone that allows users to make and receive calls from their mobile phones, using the Vox Telecom network, for better rates than those offered by the operators.

¨For 20 years the mobile operators have overcharged businesses and consumers. There is a better way and it is called Vobi¨ says Henda Edwardes, Executive Head of Communication Solutions at Vox.

Vox believes that the perception that voice is disappearing is incorrect and that it is only the rates that are declining (although reduced costs are not always passed on to the customer).

The real shift, is the point where the voice service terminates.  People are running voice services over their PCs when they do conference calls.

¨For businesses in particular, traffic is moving off of PBXs and onto mobile handsets and mobile penetration is reflecting this shift.  In order to remain relevant we have to follow the traffic, and ensure that we pick it up where it terminates.

It is this shift and the ability to find more cost effective alternatives, that prompted us to develop Vobi,¨ adds Edwardes.

The Vobi app can be downloaded via Google Play and Apple App stores.  Customers will be prompted to subscribe to a separate rate plan after which, voice and video calls can be made for a fraction of the cost over the Vox Telecom network.

Says du Edwardes, ¨Customers can save on their telephony bills by cancelling existing landlines, moving their numbers to Vox and using Vobi to make and receive all their calls.” Reduced call rates on video and voice calls, across networks, and international destinations, call recording, conference calls and call transfers are all delivered within the app.  Vobi integrates with address books and supports Bluetooth headsets.

Consumers can choose between two Vobi packages to suit their requirements:

1. Monthly fee of R25 and R0.41 flat rate per minute calling plan anywhere in SA including mobile numbers and low international call cost
2. Uncapped package of R299 per month with uncapped calls anywhere in SA

Concludes Edwardes, ¨There has never been a better time for businesses and consumers to choose mobile and OTT services for a more cost effective, better quality voice service.¨