MVNEs: are you able to support B2B-focused MVNOs?
The B2B market is a lucrative opportunity for MVNOs. But to tap it, they need the right support from their MVNE partners. To find out what that means and what’s required, read on…
MVNEs: are you able to support B2B-focused MVNOs?
As you know, MVNEs exist to enable MVNOs to deliver services to customers in their host networks. That means providing a range of operational capabilities, such as provisioning, activation, and billing, as well as end-to-end service lifecycle management.
Consumer offers are evolving from low-cost MVNO models to more sophisticated digital-first offers and brand extension as retail and financial service providers extend to mobile – and most MVNEs have a sophisticated toolkit to support their MVNO partners.
However, while MVNEs have embraced a diversity of B2C oriented solutions to power MVNO offers, many have neglected or ignored B2B opportunities and lack the tools to help MVNOs that wish to target such segments.
For MVNEs, there’s considerable potential value in being able to fully support MVNOs who are seeking to leverage opportunities in the B2B market – which covers a wide range of segments and use cases. We’ve written on numerous occasions about these opportunities – for example, here.
Tapping the B2B MVNO opportunity requires the ability to address niche markets and going beyond simple connectivity offers. Connectivity is one thing but without a value-added proposition, a B2B MVNO will struggle to build compelling offers. And it’s here that MVNEs are generally underequipped to help their MVNO partners achieve the necessary differentiation.
So, given the opportunity – which is well understood – as well as general moves to enhance digital service adoption among SMEs in particular, what should MVNEs do to extend their positioning to help MVNOs address this multi-faceted market?
Diving into B2B
B2B is, of course, a broad term. It could extend to a range of offers, like IoT services and connectivity, for example. However, what we’re really thinking about here are B2B communications services, like mobile PBX – which can run alongside a standard mobile airtime plan or package.
Such an offer, from the perspective of the MVNO would look a bit like this, for example – a service upgrade offered to small business users to enhance the value of the network connectivity they obtain from the provider.
The mobile PBX solution needs to be integrated alongside the other OSS and BSS elements required by an MVNO, as well as interconnected with the host MNO network to handle control and user plane traffic.
So, what’s the role of the MVNE?
How the MVNE benefits
Although some MVNOs can go it alone and source all necessary components for their solution stack, others seek to partner with MVNEs that reduce the complexity of launching mobile services.
As a result, MVNEs help MVNOs get to market and ease the burden of service launch and customer lifecycle management. To support this requires a mature OSS and BSS stack – and MVNEs typically have a complete range of value-added offers that can be selected by their MVNO partners.
These range from commonplace, basic requirements, like prepaid and postpaid mobile offers together with configuration management tools for setting quotas, to more sophisticated solutions that can be integrated with third-party services, like entertainment and so on.
So, MVNEs are used to offering a palette of services to their MVNO customers. B2B services, like mobile PBX can easily be added to this range. They naturally fit alongside other capabilities – like IoT service management, for example.
With the right partner, then, an MVNE can integrate a B2B solution with its existing portfolio and expand the market it can address and the kinds of MVNO partners it can attract.
In other words, it’s another tool for differentiation that can be supported by existing capabilities that are inherence in the MVNEs solution stack. Many also offer additional functions, like a full mobile core and even an IMS for session management – again, these bolster its ability to offer differentiated services, so perfectly complement the addition of solutions like a mobile PBX.
The key is looking ahead. If the MVNE wants to expand and capture B2B MVNOs, then it must have partnerships in place that allow it to position the right offers.
Gintel can help
Gintel can help MVNEs attract the MVNOs that are committed to investing in tapping the enterprise opportunity, often because they’ve identified a niche that is neglected (and is therefore ripe to be picked).
The success of those MVNOs will depend on quality, services offered, and differentiation from their competitors both of which are dependent on the MVNO having an MVNE partner who can deliver a flexible, mobile-first solution optimised for business communications management, like Gintel’s mobile PBX.
We’ve partnered with MVNEs to provide our highly featured and versatile mobile PBX solution for B2B customers, which supports a wide range of use cases in an open, multi-tenant environment.
This means they can offer their MVNO customers the perfect means to accelerate the deployment of B2B services as well as the ability to extend offers beyond retail to enterprise, SME and SoHo customers.
Furthermore, Gintel’s complete range of B2B services can easily be combined with any existing MVNE solution, allowing the MVNE to quickly and easily on-board partner MVNOs and service providers that seek to address business markets and customers.
And, importantly from an operational perspective, the mobile PBX also features digital-first onboarding, provisioning interfaces for easy integration with the MVNE’s stack – and, crucially, offers a mobile-first approach that uses the native mobile network and MSISDN of users.
This is distinct and different from VoIP-based approaches which essentially piggyback on the mobile data connection but which do not natively integrate with the mobile core.
Easy communications for business
Gintel’s mobile PBX enables MVNOs to launch hosted mobile services for business customers quickly, and supports powerful call management and routing capabilities, together with a comprehensive switchboard and user interfaces. It includes rich voicemail and IVR options, as well as a range of modular extensions, such as integration with Microsoft Teams.
In short, Gintel’s solution enriches business communications, enhancing productivity and reachability, while allowing service providers to increase customer value and grow revenue.
It’s also a proven platform that services many millions of end-user customers, in countries around the world. It is hosted by service providers and can be deployed in any network, from 2G to 5G, including options for VoLTE, ensuring compatibility with all generations of network technology and a fully converged offer.
What’s next?
Now that we’ve explored the ways in which an MVNE can support its MVNO partners with innovative ideas to deliver business services, in our next blog, we’ll look at putting the guidance into practice with specific, use case examples of how small and medium sized-businesses can benefit from their MVNOs via offering the sort of enterprise services that really make a difference to their businesses.
Talk to Gintel
Gintel helps operators succeed in highly competitive, regulated markets, enabling differentiation for their business service portfolio. Our telecommunications heritage, know-how and experience are backed by a track record of delivering successful solutions to Tier 1 operators, MVNOs, ISPs and Systems Integrators.
We enable our customers to stay at the forefront of service innovation in a rapidly moving market, offering agility and flexibility and delivering profit for their business. Get in touch.
