BPP, like many other organisations, has sought to create efficiencies and opportunities for cost savings, primarily by rationalising building estates. This has allowed for more staff to work remotely and flexibly, so that over the last two years they have increased their mobile connections from 350 to 600, as they become more flexible in working patterns and less people need or want a fixed-line phone.
Richard Brown, EMEA Voice Services Manager for BPP, part of Apollo Group, explains: “The telecoms market is a really interesting place to be, but as a buyer, the options are almost endless, with many different commercial and technological delivery models. But Olive are a trusted partner who have not just helped us navigate the waves of technology but to take advantage of them. We’ve saved significant amounts for our business, but we’re also ensuring our users are as connected as we need them to be, which supports greater productivity.”
As part of the new contract, BPP will benefit from Olive’s commercial flexibility, with BPP switching between different types of BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) licences, and to a new mobile plan providing free talk time. These combined changes will save them nearly 50% on monthly call charges. Olive will also help BPP devise a converged cloud-based voice and data network, to allow BPP to migrate to Mitel soft-phone and Microsoft Lync functionality and connectivity when they are ready to do so.
Brown explains: “This time around, when we came to renew our telecoms contract, one major network operator in particular tried extremely hard to win our business, but my view was that they were not ready to support business communications requirements. I also didn’t want to switch away from the Vodafone network, which I’ve found very reliable, and from Olive, who have been absolutely outstanding as our managed telecoms partner.”
Brown continues: “Olive are a really dynamic and focused organisation and the people that have recently joined have made a massive impact, taking what was already a very good company to one that I now see as a market leader. The quality and responsiveness of customer service and the proficiency of their account managers are second to none. When this is added to the vision and the ability to help customers future-proof themselves against technology and telecoms changes, it makes for a very potent blend.”
Martin Flick, CEO, Olive Communications said: “We pride ourselves on being obsessed with customer satisfaction. Having existing customers renew with us, despite fierce competition in the market, is the best way to know we are achieving our goals. We’re therefore really pleased to continue the journey with BPP as we ensure they can take maximum advantage of communications convergence, and to help them reach their potential.”