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Cloud-based enterprise service
Telstra has extended the Whispir Conversation Platform to the UK. This cloud-based enterprise service allows
organisations to quickly reach and communicate with customers, employees and the community via
SMS, voice, web, email, mobile data and social media networks.
Jeromy Wells, Chief Executive Officer at Whispir, said the scalable, intuitive and easy-to-use nature of the
service, combined with Telstra’s capabilities in the UK, would further accelerate Whispir’s international
growth, particularly across key vertical markets such as banking and finance, media, transportation
and emergency services.
Nathan Bell, Telstra Global Enterprise and Services, Director of Marketing, Portfolio and Pricing, said
Telstra currently offered the Whispir Conversation Platform to its enterprise and government customers in
Australia and would be using this experience to deliver the service to new UK-based customers.
He said: “In less than two years, Whispir’s customer base has quadrupled to more than 1.6 million users
and with this expansion we see significant growth opportunities for this service in the UK. From a major
bank using the platform to communicate with staff about IT incidents, critical events and business continuity,
to a rail operator sharing targeted information about their train network with a local community, or an HR
department co-ordinating the flow of information to job seekers in their network, Whispir can be used across complex
operational environments within any industry and organisation, big or small.”
responsibility lie? Whereas in the past it
was resolved through consultation with
the IT company, there is now a third party
involved, the cloud service provider.”
Gary Downey:
“Our primary means of
service delivery is cloud-based and has
been so for over five years now. We use
cloud technology to proactively monitor the
print and output infrastructures of all our
clients, continually optimising performance
by pre-empting any potential issues before
they occur; to manage consumables and
just-in-time replenishment; to take meter
readings remotely; and to support client
networks. When combined with on-site
field engineering, it is a very powerful
combination.”
Has it enabled you to do more
with less?
David Lockie:
“Yes. For example, products
such as Web 2 Print have enabled us to
create highly automated workflows, rich
in functionality where clients can order
products or create products online (PC,
Mac or mobile / tablet device). The order
interface enables clients to quickly find,
specify, approve and produce the products
they need without having to use traditional,
manual, resource-intensive, slow and
potentially inaccurate order processes.”
Simon Hill:
“Undoubtedly, the advent of
mobile apps created an appetite among
enterprises for fewer steps to complete
tasks and greater command of information
at their users’ fingertips. MPS solutions
must allow users to connect their devices of
choice so they can tap services anywhere.
This ‘instant on’ mentality fostered by
mobile technology and the blend of
consumer and business applications,
commonly known as the ‘consumerisation
of IT’, represents a tremendous opportunity
for the MPS industry.
“In every new conversation we have
with dealers, it’s clear that customers’
desire for greater ease of use extends to
all business processes, including MPS.
This frame of thinking begins to show
customers how MPS can help them keep
up with the fast pace of business, not slow
them down. It can mark the beginning
of a move up the value chain in which
the MPS provider is adding the software
and services that make the network more
valuable to a customer’s organisation – not
simply less costly – and thus delivering on
the requirement to do more with less.”
Mark Smyth:
“Cloud applications as part
of our Managed Services and Solutions
have certainly enabled us to differentiate
and add value in more and more cases.
We are continuing to gain awareness and
traction with both new and existing clients
and that’s resulting in a more advanced
and higher revenue sale.”
Tony Wills:
“At this point we have made
investments in cloud-based services that
are ahead of the demand curve, so we
are investing more on infrastructure and
human resource than before.
“However, as sales of cloud services
increase, we will be able to meet and
exceed customer demand. As the number
of cloud customers increases we will
certainly be able to do more for our
customers in a cost-effective way.”
Matt Goodall:
“For us, it has made little
impact yet, as our infrastructure already
allowed for remote access to documents
etc.”
Gary Downey:
“We have continually
developed the way we deliver service like
this, and how it can best be complemented
by on-site activity as and when
required, and this is true for production
environments as well as offices. Cloud-
based managed service is our primary
route of supporting our clients: we have
doubled the size of our team in this area
in the last 18 months, and this approach
allows us to manage over 15,000 devices
irrespective of their scale or geographic
location.
“We can now support our clients’
network environment and their networked
devices immediately, often without the
need to be on-site, which improves our
client uptime and reduces the need for our
engineers to make that journey.”
Gary Downey,
group marketing
director, Balreed
...show
customers
how MPS can
help them
keep up with
the fast pace
of business...
...continued
