Sona Business has forged a strong reputation in Europe over the past decade and more, but is now bringing its range of internet, cloud and hosted UC solutions to the UK market – and looking to make a big impact. Sona Business has recently entered the UK market and is looking to make an impact in a growing and competitive market.
John McKindland UK partner manager, Sona Business, talks about the company, what it brings to the market and what makes it stand out from the competition.
UC Advanced: Sona Business has just entered the UK market – what will you be providing to customers?
John McKindland: Sona Business is a wholesale internet, cloud and hosted UC solution provider backed by a 12-year international pedigree. The privately owned business, founded by Sonia Harjani and Walter Perris, has global operations centred from Dubai and Rotterdam – supported by data centres across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Sona’s wide-ranging portfolio includes hosted UC, SD-WAN and private cloud services, offering ‘last mile’ access and data connections across the UK and Europe. Sona enjoys a strong market presence in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, supported by a 24/7/365 Global Network Operations Centre.
UCAD: What can you bring to customers that others don’t? What is your USP?
JK: Sona is on a mission to shake-up the market and forge a strong UK presence based on high calibre connectivity and speed of service through a personal touch. Our core areas are connectivity, communication, cloud and mobility. We are a one-stop-shop with a global reach. Equally the short lines of communication with after-sales helps us stand out from the competition. We are reachable, caring and professional.
In addition, we have a very strong ‘Bring Your Own Carrier’ offering that provides customers with simplicity to expand their services, carry their own call and control costs as part of an ‘end-to-end’ proposition.
UCAD: What is the strategic thinking behind entering the UK market? How big is the opportunity?
JK: The UK has taken great strides forward in recent years but in many ways we are still lagging behind the rest of Europe in terms of network performance. We want to raise the game and provide more choice.
For the past 12 years we have been building a strong global presence especially in Europe. Entering the UK is the next logical step forward for us as part of a sustained, controlled and profitable growth strategy. New offices in Hull will be the focal point of our activities. The infrastructure is in place and we are ready to make a big market impact.
UCAD: What are your ambitions for Sona Business in the UK? Are there targets for growth/market share capture, for example?
JK: There are no limitations to what we can achieve, based on small steps forward. It’s about on-boarding a select group of partners – not just any partner as they need to share our vision and ambitions. We offer something a little bit different, want to organically grow the channel and become a market leader in the UK. We want to work in a controlled and careful way, working with the right partners at the right time, doing things in the right way.
Yes, we consider ourselves to be a disrupter by offering something different, but we’re not looking to smash or break the channel. We want to offer partners the ability to grow their business with us. It’s not about changing the world overnight.
UCAD: Are you planning to work with the channel as part of your growth plans? If so how will this work and how can channel partners get involved with Sona?
JK: The channel is at the heart of our operations where we offer a defined set of products and services that a customer can quickly educate themselves on, become self-sufficient and take the baton forward. We are there to support them on the journey with a very nimble management team, which is always available from the top downwards.
UCAD: What is your assessment of the UK market – how is it faring and what are the current trends from what you have seen?
JK: We feel UK channel partners are more adaptable and open to change than other areas. Pricing is less aggressive for example in Europe where there is less of a desire to change provider even if it’s more financially appealing. The opinion is if it’s not broken don’t try to fix it. But in the UK, it’s a lot more of a hungry market that is more proactive searching for added value in a more competitive way.
UCAD: What innovations in the sector can we look forward to in the next 18 months?
JK: The market will continue to mature. Moving forward there will be much greater integration with other apps, connectivity services plus AI. It’s about giving partners more power in terms of being able to offer their own dedicated bespoke services such as call bundles and contact centre solutions in a pain-free way. Creating a compelling menu of services in a very easy way. In five years’ time a reseller will become a virtual service provider offering a very broad and diverse mix of technologies.
We are an ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certified company, and our vision is to become the leading provider of advanced IP communications solutions to businesses around the world. We are committed to providing cutting edge technology services to make sure our clients are connected on a secure and extensive network.