06 NEWS

By Paul Withers

Vodafone is confident the creation of its new integrated partner programme provides it with a “ unique ” offering for both customers and dealers alike .

The network operator unveiled the new programme earlier this month during its annual conference at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester .

The scheme will bring together mobile , fixed and IT services specialists for the first time – around 300 mobile and 100 fixed-line partners initially .

It will run alongside the firm ’ s current dealer programme , Vodafone Partner Services ( VPS ).

The operator is in talks to integrate M2M and cloud hosting services into the programme and said partner numbers are likely to increase in the coming months as these are brought on board .

£ 900m investment Vodafone UK head of partner services Rob Mukherjee told Mobile News the £ 900 million investment in its UK network over the next 12 months , combined with its purchase of Cable & Wireless Worldwide for £ 1 billion a year ago , will enable it to offer capabilities and services its rivals cannot compete with .

“ With our acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide last year , combined with the 4G spectrum we have access to , we have a unique hand to play in creating a truly integrated comms channel , and we are already seeing new partners from other networks attracted to this ,” he said .

“ We have broadened our reach to other partners without actively trying . We have partners coming to us who recognise this longterm strategy and like what we

Electronics recycling firm ShP has appointed Lord Digby Jones as a special adviser .

The peer will advise the Morecambe-based company on its growth and strategy during the current financial year , it said .

Lord Jones was directorgeneral of employers ’ organisation the Confederation of British Industry ( CBI ) for six years from 2000 before becoming Minister for State , Trade and Investment in April 2007 . After 18 months in the post , he resigned and became an ambassador for UK Trade and Investment .

ShP sales director Simon Walsh said : “ Lord Jones ’ s experience

OneCom has been named as Vodafone ’ s ‘ Platinum Partner of the Year ’ for the third year running .

The ceremony took place at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester on July 18 following the operator ’ s annual partner conference , where it announced a new partner programme integrating mobile , fixed-line and IT sales ( see top of page ).

OneCom was formerly known as Premier Telecom and was formed after Premier Telecom merged with business telecoms

Mukherjee – attractive offering

Lord Jones – great British firm

and knowledge in the business community is second to none and we welcome the opportunity to secure his support .

provider Business Phones Direct at the end of last month .

The Platinum Partner of the Year title is awarded to the business which Vodafone deems to have achieved a consistently high level of performance , capability , skill and customer service throughout the year .

OneCom chief executive Darren Ridge told Mobile News : “ I ’ m delighted to have received this accolade for the third year running . It ’ s in recognition of the hard work of our team and it shows that even as the

“ Small , growing businesses are the grass roots upon which economic growth relies and with Lord Jones ’ s outstanding track record we are confident we will develop our growth strategy significantly .”

Lord Jones added : “ Innovation , brand quality and sheer hard work are the components required for 21st-century success and ShP has them by the bucketful . I ’ m proud to become special adviser and am looking forward to supporting the management team to promote further growth and champion the company as a great British business .”

company grows bigger , our focus remains on excellent customer service .”

Vodafone UK head of partner services Rob Mukherjee added : “ We ’ re fully committed to our channel partners and the Vodafone Partner of the Year Awards is a clear demonstration of that commitment , their achievements and future growth potential . The awards rewarded the partners with the recognition they deserve for their performance over the last financial year .” are saying . We are also seeing new players interested as well , such as IT services and managed services businesses .

“ In this total comms space , we are part of a much bigger market and so are our partners . If they take this journey in this growing market , they will grow by default . This is something we can offer partners whereas other providers probably can ’ t .”

More than 100 mobile phone dealers attended Tech Data Mobile ’ s ( TDM ) eighth Aspire conference last month – the largest number of attendees in the event ’ s history .

The conference , held at the Park Plaza Hotel in London on July 9 , saw presentations from TDM ’ s handset and accessories partners about their latest products and road maps .

Handset manufacturers in attendance included Samsung , Sony Mobile , BlackBerry , HTC , LG and Motorola .

Accessories suppliers including Kensington , be . ez , Targus and D-Link were also on hand to showcase their products , while analyst firms CCS Insight and Future Agenda also gave presentations on the market .

Dealers were able to hold face-to-face meetings with

Mobile dealer Activ Telecom has rebranded as ‘ Activ Hello Technology ’, with the aim of reflecting an increased focus on new products and services .

As part of the rebrand earlier this month the business , an O2 approved partner , has split its core activities into three

Vodafone sales director for SME and partners Nick Birtwistle added : “ Our position is one that is unique , which is why we are a true network provider for total comms . We have a partner programme that wraps around that and supports them . Nobody else is in that situation because they don ’ t have that infrastructure at their fingertips to be able to offer something that is on a level par .”

Vodafone has said it will offer dealers three ways to receive commission when its new revenue share plans come into effect on August 1 .

The first plan includes an upfront advance on both new business and renewals , while the second offers an advance on renewals only . Alternatively

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resellers will be able to receive revenue share only .

Dealers who attended a Vodafone partner event in Newbury earlier this month said the operator announced revenue share of 46 per cent for platinum partners , 44 per cent for gold and 35 per cent for silver .

Rob Mukherjee said : “ We www . mobilenewscwp . co . uk

have designed the new Vodafone Partner Programme and commercial model in collaboration with our partners and to date the feedback has been very positive . We believe that we have created a relationship with our partners which rewards value for both partners and their customers .”

manufacturers and networks , as well as Tech Data Mobile staff , suppliers and their peers throughout the day and over drinks and dinner in the evening .

The hardware distributor said registered attendees had more than doubled since the first Aspire event , which took place in May 2011 . It added that 90 per cent of attendees rated it as the leading industry event , with the same number saying they would recommend Aspire to colleagues .

Tech Data Mobile UK and Ireland director of marketing Michelle Henchoz said : “ We were pleased with the turnout for Aspire 8 and the positive vibe that was generated . All the presentations were really interesting and informative , and there was plenty of time for everyone to mingle and mix with our supplier partners as well .”

parts . ‘ Hello World ’ staff will organise volunteering schemes for employees , while ‘ Hello Team ’ will deal with internal communications and changes .

The ‘ Hello Customer ’ team will organise ‘ Activ Academy ’ days , which have also been launched as part of the rebrand .

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