Sharing networking innovation with the SMB market

MTN Business is passionate about the growth of not only the corporate market, but the Small and Medium-sized Business (SMB) market as well, and as such, is committed to ensuring that the company offers IT infrastructure with capabilities equivalent to a corporate giant, at a fraction of the cost to such a market.

“MTN Business understands the challenges which small and growing businesses face and we are committed to delivering telecommunications solutions that drastically improve any SME’s competitiveness, productivity and service delivery without the exorbitant capital investments typically associated with this infrastructure. It is for this reason, we have launched Sh@reLink – a device (router) that offers small offices and homes the ability to set up a simple, portable and mobile broadband network,” says Nomalanga Nkosi, General Manager of Business Marketing at MTN Business

Traditionally, routers have been used in big server rooms to connect large servers, but MTN Sh@reLink allows SMBs to take advantage of all technology innovation trends such as mobility, Web technologies and Wi-Fi immediately. What’s more, SMB owners don’t need to know anything about the complexity of networking to start using it as it is literally plug and play in a highly secure and flexible environment.

By using Sh@reLink, SMBs can share a single Internet connection, connect multiple devices such as printers, photocopiers, entertainment consoles, wireless phones and even storage servers all wirelessly. Furthermore, MTN Sh@reLink not only creates an instant WiFi zone, but also protects bandwidth and network usage from external abuse.

“Today, business competitiveness is no longer based on the size of the enterprise and the SMB sector is fast realising that technology investments, that enable them to grow in innovation and to provide a ‘distinctive’ application, is no longer optional, it’s essential – and we want to be able to give them that value proposition,” continues Nkosi. “This is where we feel that education of the network technology available to this sector becomes so critical. With all the ‘broadband’ and ‘Web’ application talk out there, how is a SMB business owner supposed to make an informed and affordable decision about technology sophistication?”

While SMBs vary in size and needs, MTN Business’s key message to each business owner is to examine the options and costs available – especially when it comes to setting up a network. The reality of technology implementations and investments, especially at a network sophistication level, have changed drastically over the last 5 years whereas perceptions may have not.

“If we consider that there is an estimated 1,5m SMBs in this country and that they contribute about half of our GDP and employ around 60% of the SA labour force, the SMB sector can’t be ignored when it comes to economic growth and development. It is for this reason that MTN Business is on a considerable drive to educate the SMB sector about the possibilities of networking and the dynamics it can add to a small business,” concludes Nkosi.