A number of years ago, Telcom made the decision to become an internet service provider that could deliver clients a complete end-to-end solution. It’s a decision that has been richly rewarded.

On course to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year, Telcom finds itself in a strong position. As an ISP (Internet Service Provider) offering up to 1 Gigabit fibre broadband, unified communications, VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) and cloud telephony services to name a few, it has positioned itself to be one of the top ISPs in Ireland.

One element that played a major role in its progress is the amount of time and investment it put into building and developing its core network and services.

Everything it offers, from fibre broadband to on-net solutions, has been built from the ground up. None of its services rely on third-parties to operate, meaning there is little friction when it’s addressing a query or problem.

All of this is the result of many years of research and development, making it both its main differentiator and its strength.

“We have devoted significant resources into research and development with the aim of being at the forefront of changing technologies. This has allowed us to anticipate the direction of telecoms services,” said Director of Cloud Solutions, Liam Tully Jnr.

“We invested in our voice carrier network which we’ve greatly expanded over the years and now carries thousands of lines and millions of calls. However, R&D proved that to have good quality voice we needed excellent broadband connectivity, so we built our own internet and data networks to become an ISP in Ireland (Internet Service Provider) in 2015. Our robust infrastructure means we can provide direct managed fibre to businesses with speeds of up to 1 Gig delivering a range of enterprise telecoms solutions nationwide from our core network.”

Strength through support

The decision to become an ISP was also in response to customers’ requests to simplify the overall telecoms process for them.

When a problem emerged, a business would have to go through multiple providers to figure out the problem – one for its phone line, another for its internet connection and so on.

The result would be time and finances wasted. By bringing everything together, Telcom takes away the headaches associated with this and customers benefit from a complete end to end solution using a single communications partner for all their requirements.

“What we eradicated was the blame game,” said Michelle Brown, Director of Retail Sales at Telcom. “All our services are delivered from one core network, supported 24/7 by an engineering team that is highly skilled in everything from internet connectivity, security and voice, whether on-site or in the cloud.”

“Our engineers are part of the support centre so when a customer contacts Telcom with a problem or query, they talk directly to an engineer. Resolution time is a lot quicker and with our network monitoring software, we proactively resolve issues, sometimes even before the customer realises there was one in the first place.”

Augmenting the core

While Telcom’s focus has been on providing an end-to-end solution, it has formed a number of strategic partnerships to augment its offering. One of the most significant is with Avaya, an industry leader of unified communications and contact centre solutions, which has greatly complemented Telcom’s services. Offering Avaya on-site as well as Powered by Avaya Cloud Telephony allows Telcom customers to have a full on-net experience without having to worry about managing the infrastructure.

The partnership works so well that Telcom is now the largest Avaya cloud partner in the country, deploying thousands of seats this year alone.

“The partnership with Avaya was a great move for Telcom. Avaya’s best-in-class communications, collaboration and contact centre solutions really complement our other core network services,” said Tully.

Brown adds that the combination of quality on-net connectivity and Avaya’s solutions has enabled a better work-life balance for so many of its customers. “The flexibility and freedom of movement offered by Avaya’s solutions has been a game-changer,” said Brown. “Teams can connect easily from anywhere using any device or channel with one tool bringing it all together.”

Telcom customers can now gain peace of mind knowing they are always up to date in a secure, compliant environment with the flexibility required to manage their business. Avaya’s Unified Communication solutions are available on a subscription basis and delivered from the Telcom Private Cloud securely.

Speaking of the partnership David Flood, country manager for Avaya said: “‘Powered by Avaya’ gives companies access to a robust enterprise-grade cloud telephony service with UC, call centre and video communications for the first time, with the same reliability and security expected by end-users and synonymous with the Avaya brand. By 2020, 78 per cent of businesses will have fully adapted to the cloud. Telcom’s partnership with Avaya means it is now in a prime position to assist businesses with this transition.”

Probably the biggest endorsement Telcom has is that the vast majority of its customers have been using its services since the company’s inception back in 1999.

“The key to retaining most of our original customer base has been building on those relationships over the years. Our growth and expansion has come about as a result of responding to the changing needs of our customers. Many have been with us for as long as we’ve been around. That is something we take great pride in”, said Tully.