Resources from Unified Communications

Vodafone Germany Uses Broadsoft to Develop One Net Business

By Casey Houser
Contributing Writer

Global telecommunications company Vodafone (News - Alert) Germany has decided to use the Broadsoft UC-One cloud-based software as the base for its own cloud-based unified communications (UC) service.

Vodafone Germany, a subsidiary of the global Vodafone that operates out of Great Britain, has created the new One Net Business software for small and midsize businesses that intends to meet their needs for scalability and ease of use, especially on mobile devices. Alexander Saul, the company’s director of enterprise business, commented on Vodafone Germany’s approach to mobile and the benefits it can bring to its target market.

“Vodafone One Net Business marks a significant landmark in our ongoing strategy to meet rising customer expectations at a time when demand for cloud UC is increasing,” Saul said. “It is ideal for businesses with a highly mobile workforce and a need to customize their current telephony. With its mobile-centric approach, BroadSoft’s (News - Alert) UC-One is the ideal solution for the German small-medium market where seamless mobility, productivity, and cost-effectiveness are the key decision criteria.”

TMC (News - Alert) has commented on the growth of UC and its addressing of the mobile workforce. It cited a report published at MarketsAndMarkets that expects mobile UC to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.5 percent between 2014 and 2019. TMC said growth of the cloud, in general, will lead this growth by making it possible for businesses to easily move their operations off-site. In addition, expansion of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) practice, which allows employees to use their personal smartphones for business tasks, will push enterprises to cloud-based software that gives them better control over all the devices under their wings.

Vodafone Germany fills in the blanks about what market growth could look like in its own country. Noting an MZA study, it reports an expected 18 percent CAGR by 2020 for the cloud-based UC market. One Net Business will take advantage of that possibility through its own platform that combines calling and voicemail features and consolidates all employee actions into a single funnel. It creates one phone number for all employees, one voicemail collection for all missed calls, and the ability to channel all calls through one supplier. Everything then leads to one bill.

What this achieves is a simpler experience for both employees and customers. Voicemail, for instance, may be accessed by anyone in a company. Its mobile-capable software can also allow employees to dial or receive calls from anywhere. Call forwarding moves each call to the correct company representative. Customers will then have access to the entire company through a single phone number – not many that are associated with multiple individuals in various departments.

Vodafone Germany and Broadsoft indicated their positive feelings about this partnership and its potential to lead One Net Business into the greater part of the expected market growth. This could make for an easy path for small and midsize firms to keep pace with the demands of their customers.