Managing a Global Business Whitepaper from
Global Drivers of Change: There are several driving forces in the global business landscape that will continue to shape the future of these organisations: Technological Growth Technology will continue to be a major driver of organisational change. New technological developments are emerging and being adopted throughout society at a global level, changing the way we work, our business relationships, our identities, and organisational assumptions. The New Economy - an Increasing Demand for New Knowledge. A new knowledge-based economy, driven by rapid innovation in technology, process and organisation, will shift the focus from regional competition of existing markets to targeted collaboration in order to create new markets. An aging and diverse society Workers will have longer work lives, and young workers will enter the workforce with distinctly different expectations of employment that are being shaped by formative work and technology experiences. Globalisation of labour As workers in emerging economies continue to complete higher levels of education, they will become part of the skilled global workforce. In the next century, more than half of the employees in transnational companies will be from developing countries. This trend will continue to emphasize the need for crosscultural management and work practices. The Rise of the New Consumer A new consumer is also emerging globally-with a high level of income, and education and with a familiarity of information and communication technology. New consumers will demand more access to information and resources to make purchasing decisions, and their loyalty will be to value and performance rather than simply to name brand recognition. Workers will have longer work lives, and young workers will enter the workforce with distinctly different expectations of employment... 2
The Global Business Challenge Whilst international business expansion provides lots of opportunities, there are also many challenges facing companies when they operate across the globe. The importance of having an IT infrastructure is paramount. It is a critical factor in being able to successfully conduct international business. Managing economies of scale, leveraging global buying power, business alignment and cost control are some of the most common challenges facing IT departments in today s global business. When you combine this with the complexities of managing a local business across many geographic locations, the rollout and management of international IT deliveries can seem like a huge headache. As a multinational customer you need an IT partner that understands the issues you face and can deliver a solution that suits your business requirements now and in the future. We know that as a global business you need: the ability to efficiently and effectively manage communications across the globe standardised, simple, and lightweight implementations which can be quickly and easily added to the network managed centrally and requiring the minimum of local on site support consistent SLA s for maintenance/support centralised managed ticketing, but with local spares and on-site engineering resource local partner engagement but global direction to minimise the tax liability when purchasing to minimise or remove the issues surround importing goods. These are often additional cost and significant time delays. consistent messages to all users a consistent user experience across communications tools and endpoints the ability to create a single global strategy around the customer experience the ability to integrate CRM and desktop applications with your communications platform As a multinational customer you need an IT partner that understands the issues you face and can deliver a solution that suits your business requirements now and in the future. 3
4net s global business proposition Since our foundation in 2005, 4net has built a reputation for service excellence, which was confirmed by our winning Avaya s coveted Service Excellence Partner award in 2012. Our experience as an Avaya Expert delivering Avaya solutions across the globe, Microsoft solutions, contact centre, unified communications, and telephony solutions are designed to address today s complex business challenges, combined with our unique skills in consulting, integration and managed services allows us to create and deliver bespoke solutions that will support your global business. 4net will support your business through: A Global alliance and partnership of accredited engineers to provide central management with local support Ability to deliver multi- vendor solutions across the globe Single point of contact and accountability for all your communications needs Deliver flexible, guaranteed SLA s across the globe A simple pricing framework 4net sees technology as a business enabler to help you achieve growth, cost savings and improved customer experience. Our solutions will help you to solve critical business issues through: Improving customer relationships improving global communication channels Driving operational efficiencies regardless of location Improving employee productivity anytime, anyplace collaboration, information sharing and knowledge management Reducing costs by consolidating suppliers and hosted/cloud solutions 4
4net s Global Support the difference Our innovative cloud based Managed Service offering, 4net ESP, is an ITIL based, proactive, online service management tool for the unified communication environment, which aligns IT services with business needs. 4net ESP is a hosted, pay per user service delivered through our web portal, that can help organisations improve business performance and service availability across the globe. Our solution enables complete service transparency, real-time visibility of assets, maximises system uptime and improves efficiency through automation of manual processes providing, cost savings, a deeper customer relationship and supporting your international business. 4net ESP provides management of your Avaya estate and your Microsoft Lync environment supporting users with a unified desktop experience and helping to improve productivity while reducing costs. Along with our unique ESP offering 4net can also deliver: Desktop integration The highest levels of Avaya accreditation Microsoft integration and expertise A 24 x 7 Global helpdesk A wealth of experience international purchasing and tax implications along with rules to procure in the most efficient way The capability and ability to procure centrally or locally A proven track record of delivering a standardised, global infrastructure and adding new sites quickly and efficiently A global strategy and roadmap 5
The benefits of working with 4net For our international clients the benefits of working with 4net Technologies include: Global pricing, you benefit from receiving one quote, in one currency Centralised billing model Consistent and flexible solutions and services Single point of contact, accountability and ownership A consistent, effective service delivery that crosses all continents and all technologies Global service level agreements 6
Customer Case Studies Study 1 As part of a cost reduction and service improvement exercise across our telephony estate, we went out to tender to find a supplier who could support and develop our global Avaya platforms and applications. We wanted a partner that had the highest Avaya expertise and service credibility along with a flexible and agile approach that could support our extensive Avaya voice network. It is important to us that we work with a customer focused communications partner, where we are considered to be an important part of their business. We also wanted to achieve operation efficiency and find innovative ways of continually reducing costs. 4net fitted our exacting criteria with the flexibility needed to work in the demanding environment in which we operate. 4net now provides a multi-million, fully managed service to our organisation that covers 68 global locations, supporting 7000 users worldwide. The solution, which supports our Avaya infrastructure, incorporates a 24/7 Avaya Helpdesk, 4net¹s ESP Managed Service and dedicated on-site resource. Within a very short space of time the ESP Managed Service was able to identify a wide range of areas where we could make changes, efficiencies and savings. As well as supporting the global projects team with new deployments across the world, 4net work closely with our telecoms team to provide on-going improvements in the core telephony environment, increasing resiliency and efficiency, in line with the business and IT infrastructure roadmap, to help deliver the company¹s aggressive growth plan. Global Head of Infrastructure 7
Customer Case Studies Study 2 As a leading, worldwide provider of navigation systems we required a telephony and contact centre platform that could manage all our locations across EMEA as part of a centralised communications strategy. 4net designed and delivered a resilient, highly available integrated solution which has been rolled out in 3 stages: Phase 1 - A centralised Avaya Platform, Media Gateway, Enterprise Server and Avaya Aura in the UK and Media Gateways and LSP in Netherlands, Denmark, France, Austria and Italy. The Platform provided the integration our business required to deliver a consistent contact strategy for new business customers and partners. Phase 2 - The local stand-alone sites on the Avaya CM6 with enterprise licences, that can be integrated if required into the centralised solution for additional sites in Finland, Germany and Romania. Phase 3 - Contact centre and CRM integration with all contact centre functionality in all EMEA sites including South Africa. The contact centre platform provides a centralised, resilient solution that will enhance the customer experience and deliver a world class contact strategy for every sales location. The centralised solution will integrate with our multi-channel CRM solution to deliver and report on all customer contact and deliver a best in class practice. 4net designed and delivered an implementation, service and training plan tailored to support our business ensuring that the implementation worked in parallel with existing systems/network solutions across EMEA. EMEA IT Manager 8
4net s powerful combination of service excellence and technical expertise makes us the partner of choice for organisations who want to transform the way they communicate with customers, staff and stakeholders, reduce costs and gain competitive advantage. Our contact centre, unified communications, managed services and telephony solutions are designed to address today s complex business challenges, helping you to respond to your customer and staff requirements. From simple IP Telephony Solutions to Virtual Contact Centres, from Unified Communications to Cloud Services, we partner with best in class vendors such as Avaya, Cisco and Shoretel to deliver a solutions portfolio that will address today s changing workplace and build tomorrow s future, making 4net the preferred communications partner for business across the globe. 4net Technologies Ltd, 3 Scholar Green Road, Cobra Court, Manchester M32 0TR 0333 323 0700