UK cloud specialists Content Guru and Dutch telco giant KPN have signed a partnership to deliver cloud-based communications services in the Benelux region. The equal revenue split partnership will launch with Cloud Contact Centre run on the storm® platform.
With a market cap of €9.9 billion and turnover of €13.163 billion for 2011, KPN is one of the largest communica¬tion service providers in the world, making a net profit of €1.546 billion last year. The alliance will leverage KPN’s incumbent status in Holland to provide a broad base of addressable customers for the new storm service.
“For decades, the Communications Service Provider business model has centred on core voice and data services,” noted a recent report by Gartner (Agenda for Enterprise Communications Markets, 2012. Gartner; 28 February, 2012. Daniel O'Connell & Gregor Petri). “Voice revenues are now decreasing by 5% to 10% per year, while traditional data revenues are flat at best. These trends are expected to persist for the next five years.”
As voice and data markets become increasingly commoditised, storm will help KPN transform from a ‘carrier’ into a ‘communications ser¬vice provider’. Built using Redwood technology, the new deployment of storm will be made available to the full spectrum of organisations that KPN sells to, from large enterprises to small start-ups, across a range of vertical sectors.
Sean Taylor, Managing Director of Content Guru, comments, “In our dealings with customers over the last six years, we have frequently encountered and overcome the typical challenges which organisations encounter as they explore migration to the cloud. We are greatly looking forward to capitalising on this experience as we partner with KPN. It’s a hugely important relationship for us. They are one of the biggest telcos in the world, and will offer us a fantastic channel to market. They seem hungry to explore the opportunity that cloud represents and they understand the value of our expertise and experience. KPN is embracing the new cloud partnership paradigm, which represents a huge cultural and operational shift from the traditional vendor-carrier model.”
“I have personally worked with KPN for over 20 years, and I have great confidence in them as an organisation. We were early into cloud, and have enjoyed strong growth in the initial phase of the market. With KPN as our partners, we are well positioned to take advantage of the commercial opportunities cloud has to offer as mainstream adoption progresses.”
“The next 5-10 years will be crucial as business and IT leaders develop a fuller understanding of cloud and what it can do for their organisations. Enterprises will benefit from more efficient and consistent management processes by being able to automate and manage all different channels of communication under one roof, and consumers will enjoy a more personalised, faster customer experience.”
About Content Guru
Content Guru provides cloud-based communications integration services for SMEs, mid-market, large enterprises and public sector organisations worldwide, including well-known brands such as Rightmove, Auto Trader, National Rail Enquiries and UK Power Networks.
Content Guru’s primary delivery platform is storm, which is owned and operated in conjunction with network partners Cable&Wireless Worldwide and KPN. Using this platform, Content Guru offers a range of services, starting with standard off-the-shelf products like cloud PBX and multi-channel contact centre infrastructure.
Moving up the value chain, Content Guru uses the flexibility and scalability of the cloud model to offer framework solutions for business issues such as PCI-compliant payments, business continuity and mass personalisation for customer service and sales optimisation. Content Guru uses bespoke integration to achieve I.T. synergy with the customer, overlaying their legacy hardware or software to enhance existing investments.
About KPN
KPN is the leading telecommunications and IT service provider in the Netherlands, offering wireline and wireless telephony, internet and TV to consumers. KPN offers business customers complete telecommunications and IT solutions. KPN Corporate Market (previously known as Getronics) offers global IT services and is the Benelux market leader in the area of infrastructure and network related IT solutions. In Germany and Belgium, KPN pursues a multi-brand strategy in its mobile operations and holds number three market positions through E-Plus and BASE. KPN provides wholesale network services to third parties and operates an efficient IP-based infrastructure with global scale in international wholesale through iBasis.
KPN markets a big portfolio of quality products. Separate brands serve different target groups. Consumers in the Netherlands can choose from KPN (fixed and mobile telephony for families), Hi (mobile telephony for young people), Telfort (no-frills mobile telephony and Internet) and XS4ALL (the innovating Internet provider). The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium have the mobile telephone services of Simyo (competitively priced SIM card) and Ay Yildiz (focused on the Turkish community). BASE and E-Plus are the third mobile telephony brands in Belgium and Germany, respectively. For all their service requirements, the Dutch and international business community can rely on the KPN, Getronics, XS4ALL, Gemnet, Newtel and CSS brands. I-Basis is one of the world's largest carriers of international voice traffic.
At December 31, 2011, KPN served 44.5 million customers, of which 36.6 million were in wireless services, 4 million in wireline voice, 2.5 million in broadband Internet and 1.4 million in TV. With 18.687 FTEs in The Netherlands (31.084 FTEs for the whole group), KPN reported full-year revenues of EUR 13.1bn and an EBITDA of EUR 5.1bn.
For further information, please contact:
Content Guru Press Department.
Michael Fox
T +[44] (0)1344 852 350
F +[44] (0)1344 852 351
E mpf@contentguru.com
Source: http://www.contentguru.com/latest-news/kpn-storm-launch/