OptiBond™ Technologies for 5G & 4G Router Bonding, Load balancing and Failover

Get Out of Jail Cards

Comms Business Magazine talks to Andrew Lambert, CEO of Hampshire based Electronic Media Services Limited (EMS), a provider of connectivity solutions for business in challenging locations for fixed line access – one recent example of which was the Women's British Open 2014 held at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in July.

Comms Business Magazine (CBM): What have been your key growth areas during the past year and what are your growth expectations for the coming 12 months?

Andrew Lambert (AL): In the last year we transitioned from a direct sales model to one totally focussed on developing a re-seller network and helping partners win new business with great margin. This has opened up significant new opportunities in new verticals such as broadcast and retail.
We recently introduced a new product which bonds two ADSL lines and can bond two data SIMS channels together. This has generated interest from ISP and SIs who need a solution for customers where FTTC is unlikely to be available in the immediate future.

CBM: What are the three main market trends and emerging markets that are influencing your go-to-market strategy this year?

AL: A. The move to the cloud means that end-users are becoming even more dependent on having a reliable high-speed internet connection.
B. The roll out of 4G means that customers can use bonded 4G as their primary connection or as back up to their existing DSL line.
C. Increasing requirement for having reliable business quality connectivity at all and every location.

CBM: How do these market drivers translate into your near/mid-term channel strategy?

AL:These market drivers mean our near/mid-term market strategy is to ensure that our solutions become a part of any portfolio to ensure a complete connectivity solution can be offered. We are able to support new and existing channel partners with a free sales and technical accreditation programme backed up with technical and bid support direct from us, the manufacturer. We will continue to invest in our own data centre and global cloud based offering to enable our partners to re-sell our own ‘white label’ bonding services.

CBM: What strategic channel moves will you be making in the coming year in terms of attacking existing markets with new products/services and addressing new markets with new products/services?

AL: Our aim is to establish i-MO OptiBond as the solution of choice for bonding routers in our highest projected growth markets. We have been supported by UKTI in this area by them helping us exhibit our latest solutions at CeBIT in Hanover earlier this year at CommunIcAsia, Singapore in June and at GulfComms/GITEX in October. We will also raise the profile of EMS and the i-MO product range considerably, through an integrated media plan that will result in considerable sales pull through for our local partners.

Additionally we will work with partners to construct successful local marketing plans and initiatives.

CBM: What do you see as the biggest challenges/opportunities in the UK ICT channel and how will you maximise the opportunity and address the challenges as they relate to you?

AL: We see the biggest challenge in the UK ICT channel as being able to earn good margins with recurring revenue to capitalise on the explosive data growth that we are seeing and to be able to centrally manage and rapidly configure an agile network infrastructure.

The opportunity is to be able to provide always on business class connectivity seamlessly whether with bonded fixed line or bonded cellular, with appliances that integrate into existing infrastructure without the need for additional back end bonding appliances.