Voice and data solution provider Storm has launched Econo-pack, a leased-line solution tailored to meet the needs of small enterprises in SA. This entry-level product is designed to provide SMEs with cost effective, reliable and permanent connection to the Internet, which is underpinned by Storm's support infrastructure and customer care centre.
Tim Wyatt-Gunning, managing director at Storm, says: "Although SMEs make up 35% of SA's GDP, services to this sector remain under-developed particularly when it comes to communication solutions. Our customer research showed that the greatest challenge facing our SME customers when it came to Internet connectivity, was finding a solution with predictable, affordable monthly costs, consistent bandwidth and a fixed IP address. Therefore, Storm set out to provide a cost-effective alternative to our ADSL, ISDN and traditional leased-line solutions with the final result being the launching of Econo-pack."
The advantages of Econo-pack are that it is a complete packaged solution, providing a permanent connection, fixed IP address and no monthly traffic limit. At a total fixed cost of R2 995, it is the most cost-effective leased-line product on the market. The package includes a 64kbps Diginet line from Telkom, the rental of a Cisco 1601 router, a free .co.za domain transfer or registration - all at a fixed monthly cost. "Essentially, Econo-pack has all the security and reliability benefits of the traditional leased line product at a reduced cost," says Wyatt-Gunning.
"As our SME customers may already be using ADSL or a dial-up solution, we decided to forfeit the installation cost as many businesses would have already invested in their existing IT infrastructure and yet another installation cost may prevent them from taking advantage of this perfectly suited connectivity option," says Wyatt-Gunning. Though slightly more expensive than an ADSL connection, it provides a platform for a growing business, unlike ADSL or ISDN, where the technology confines it to a residential or SOHO business.
Early trials of the product have shown very rapid uptake, especially from businesses with between five and ten employees who have been considering a permanent connection using ADSL or Diginet connections. "This clearly demonstrates how this product fills a definite gap in the market. We will continue to work closely with our customers to improve the services we offer and ensure that we adapt to meet their needs," concludes Wyatt-Gunning.
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Storm is the South African retail brand for STWS, a leading low-cost voice and data service provider for the African market. Focusing exclusively on the needs of business users, Storm was launched in Cape Town in June 1999. Storm's goal is to challenge the major players in the telecoms market by consistently providing innovative voice and data products and services that help companies to communicate more efficiently and cost-effectively.
Storm currently provides over 4 000 South African businesses with a range of high quality voice and data communication services including Storm international, Storm cellular, Storm access, Storm fax and Storm sms. Storm international lowers the cost of a business's international calls through its latest callback technology. Storm cellular and Storm fax reduce the cost of calls to cellular phones and the sending of faxes. Storm offers Internet connectivity, which includes domain name registration, Web-site design and server hosting services. Furthermore, Storm is positioning itself to offer converged voice and data services on one network, once deregulation of the local telecommunications market takes place.
Owning and managing its own network, Storm will continue to differentiate itself in the South African market by providing value-added services such as its newly launched Customer Zone and VoIP (once legalised).
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