24 Seven Communications' Managing Director David Samuel is a dynamic comms entrepreneur ready to stamp his mark on the reseller channel. Here's how...
Samuel's entrepreneurship, vision and strategic planning could be the spur for something big. He set up Leeds-based 24 Seven Communications in 2002 following a stint working for his father in the telecoms industry. "I recognised the need to demystify telecoms for business, particularly for a SME customer base, and saw an opportunity to do my own thing," he said.
24 Seven's turnover, currently £6 million, is certain to multiply. The firm employs 20 people and Samuel has plans to double the headcount over the coming two years. "During the past year we have made significant advances in the mobile market and launched a national roaming SIM card, Jump SIM," he said. "Its success has been a huge accolade for 24 Seven, along with the overall growth of the team and expansion of our services."
24 Seven's Jump SIM was developed in response to the growing demand for a solution to the national problem of poor mobile coverage. "This has been a topical issue for several years and I am proud to feel established as a leading voice on the subject," stated Samuel. "Jump has tackled an emotive and controversial problem that affects a huge number of people across the country."
Samuel leverages a wide portfolio of services designed to make businesses more efficient. These range from M2M SIMs, national roaming, call conferencing and recording, VoIP, SIP trunking, international termination, number ranges and mobile solutions. "Our bread and butter is in the SME market and this is very much where we see our future," stated Samuel. "We're able to offer an attentive service and our no-jargon commitment is crucial to this."
Direct sales remain important but Samuel has witnessed strong demand from resellers in the past year for 24 Seven's suite of products and associated data and billing platforms, giving customers complete control. "Since the recent appointment of a Reseller Channel Manager, Vinny Sohanpaul, we've quickly increased our profile among resellers," noted Samuel. "If you have the right range of products at a good price and can match that to customer needs it becomes a no-brainer for partners. It's also important that all of our partners are the right fit for our business. It's an area that we monitor closely because this helps to build strong and lasting customer relationships."
24 Seven offers bespoke packages to reseller partners, including M2M solutions across three networks and its roaming solution for both M2M and voice. "Demand for a national roaming service in the B2B sector looks set to continue and we are working with resellers to further develop the strong market for Jump SIM," added Samuel. "M2M services are on the rise and we're now perfectly placed to help businesses stay connected thanks to our recent agreement with EE. This means that we join a select group of businesses offering a 4G, 3G and 2G M2M capability via EE, which will be promoted through resellers."
Becoming an MVNO with complete control over its network and billing platforms was an important milestone and gave 24 Seven a much deserved confidence boost. "In terms of the mobile market, the recent mergers have impacted on competition," added Samuel. "Although it's good to see agreements forming between diverse service providers there is a fine balance to be struck between competition and consolidation if the market is to thrive. As Managing Director of a telecoms company I am monitoring and commenting on this trend regularly in order to keep our offering competitive and maintain working relationships."
The comms sector has always been highly reactive and confusion over technology and regulation continues to be a barrier, believes Samuel. "Therefore, as we look to increasingly professionalise our offer we're finding new ways to develop products and services that won't be constrained by these factors," he added.
"Due to the highly regulated nature of the telecoms sector the success of our business is constantly affected by outside factors - including Government and policy regulation - and it's a constant struggle for businesses like ours to jump through the often silly hoops they construct. That's why it's important to stay ahead of the curve and transition the business in line with the changing market."
With that in mind 24 Seven underwent a rebrand last year, developed new products, increased telecommunications market share and moved towards a more sustainable business model. "It's vital that regulation doesn't get in the way of progress as customer solutions always have to be at the forefront of our priorities," stated Samuel.
"In hindsight I would have been bolder in taking Ofcom to task over industry regulation. On the one hand it's calling for more competition. On the other its capitulating to the demands of big business. We have a foremost responsibility to our customers and nobody should get in the way of this imperative. Let's improve customer service throughout our industry and provide telecoms for better business. It is, after all, an enabler for companies of all shapes and sizes. I'd also like to see the Government take a stronger stance with the multi-national players, in particular the MNOs. They are vital for our business, and because of that they have a stranglehold which is itself a barrier to innovation and competition in our industry."•