MainOne’s SME-In-A-Box, Solution to SMEs Connectivity Issues

MainOne, a leading provider of telecom services and network solutions for businesses in West Africa, recently launched an all-important one-stop-shop solution for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.
Dubbed “SME-In-A-Box”, the solution is a bundled service specifically designed to provide high speed internet, crystal clear fixed voice and other value added services to small and medium enterprises in the country.
The solution is a simple to use, plug-and-play service that helps SMEs drive business growth, improve operational efficiency and become more productive in the ever evolving and competitive business landscape without compromising quality and value for money.
The SME-In-A-Box service helps to solve the communication needs of SMEs enabling them focus on their core business with confidence of a solution that is always on and a committed partner that is available 24/7/365 to provide support and guidance. Customers also enjoy a robust, reliable and secure service that ensures business continuity.
What differentiates MainOne’s SME-In-A-Box is its uniqueness and ability to deliver custom made solutions to customers based on their varying business needs.
It is a one-stop-shop solution offering customers a combination of multiple affordable service options, a unified accounting, internet burstability at no extra cost, superior quality voice calls to local and international destinations and excellent support tied to Service level agreements.
The solution expresses MainOne’s commitment to continually drive innovation by bridging the digital divide that exists within the SME space and enabling them gain access to the same quality of service experience available to larger businesses, at affordable costs.
The service was initially available in Ikeja and Apapa and has now been extended into Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Marina, Surulere and Yaba with further planned expansion into other business areas within the Lagos metropolis.

Users’ Perception About SME-IN-A-BOX
Users of SME-In-A-Box today cut across various sectors of the economy, such as hospitality, oil & gas, education, professional services firms. 

Responses from MainOne customers who adopted the SME-In-A-Box solution during interview with Nigeria CommunicationsWeek show that they (the customers) are happy using the service to drive their business operations. Due to the reliability of the internet service, majority of them said that  they are beginning to sign up for additional services.
Remi Okegbenro, an IT consultant with Essay Holdings, said the Company switched to SME-In-A-Box once it was introduced and has recommended the solution to different clients.
“Since we adopted the solution we have not had major challenge except for the inevitable downtime, and they have a good support team that follows up almost immediately you alert them. I have been recommending them to other customers too. I have been using their radio connection for over three years now. So when they introduced the SME-In-A-Box, we switched to it. In terms of cost it depends on your own subscription and usage, but what I am paying is not too much. “
Tolulope Akinfire, Commercial Officer of Power Gas, said that they adopted the solution four months ago to leverage on the internet experience offered by MainOne’s broadband solutions. “Since we have been using the SME in a Box solution, the downtime periods have been very minimal and the most impressive is MainOne’s response time. They leave no stone unturned to see that the network is working efficiently. Before adopting MainOne we had a network we were using, but we are satisfied with the experience we are getting now, due to the fact, it has improved our operations too and internet experience.”

Cost Efficiency
On the cost efficiency, Ikechukwu Anumba, partner, Peritus Technologies, said although no operator offers 100% uptime, they were satisfied with the “very minimised downtown” SME-In-A-Box offers with fair cost implication.
According to him “We activated it about three months ago. It works very well; but nothing is perfect as it has very minimized downtime. Even when that happened I was called by the operator. In other words, we didn’t even notice the issue was going on till they called us; this stresses their proactive response process”. On the cost, he said, “The pricing is fair compared to trying to subscribing to foreign solutions at the present economic realities. There are some companies that are supposed to renew their subscriptions abroad, but are trapped in the midst of depreciating Naira and dollar scarcity”.

MainOne Continues to Support SMEs
Speaking to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek on the solution, Adeyemi Tanimomo, Product Manager, Value Added Services, MainOne, said that the support teams are ready to go the extra mile to ensure timely resolution of complaints from the clients. 
“As an organization that is committed to continuous improvement, MainOne has continually engaged with the customers to ensure their optimum satisfaction through cost saving services.

What can a Customer get for subscribing to SME-In-A-Box?
The service offers both dedicated and contended internet offering, fixed voice lines and other value added services such as business productivity suites to help SMEs grow. The service is suitable for SMEs who desire to take their business off the ground, move to the next level and stay ahead of competition”, he said

Conclusion
It is Nigeria CommunicationsWeek’s understanding that as small businesses are increasingly viewed as key drivers of the economic growth, playing a very vital role in alleviating poverty and providing job opportunities for a nation, this SME   in a Box service is commendable in view of MainOne’s commitment to enable them (SMEs) increase market efficiency, ensure rapid scalability and expedite their growth.