Next-gen telecoms firm comes to market

A new, next generation telecommunications firm, Tele Enterprise, has launched in SA, aiming to meet the need for end to end telecommunications services from a single service provider.

Tele-Enterprise, designs, implements and operates fully integrated, world-class business communication solutions. From Voice and Data, Virtual PBX and Cellular CUG to OTT solution, the company aims to partner with its clients to save them money, increase productivity and streamline communication.

Tele-Enterprise officially launched on 1 March, bringing with it a team of around 30 highly experienced network engineers and IT specialists; partnerships with specialist service providers, and a solid business pipeline, says CEO Riaan Pietersen.

Technical advisor Jaco Voigt from PerfectWorx Consulting notes that the communications landscape globally is changing rapidly. “Now customers dictate what they want, not vendors. In South Africa, the market has been typically vendor driven or services driven – there is seldom an all-encompassing approach.”

This is where Tele-Enterprise aims to fill the gap.

Pietersen says a major focus for the new company will be ‘getting it right’ and delivering the level of support customers need, but aren’t always getting at the moment. He points out that cost is far from the only consideration when implementing a communications solution. “You need to understand the customer’s needs and their operations; you must know what their existing infrastructures are like, before you can even consider giving them a costing. Too many companies are about smoke and mirrors, offering empty promises, and so customers get their fingers burnt,” he says.

“We will offer solutions and services across the full scope of telecommunications,’ says Pietersen. “We’ve contracted some of best guys in the country – from a technological point of view. Some of them are network engineers who actually built the local networks now being used by major organisations around South Africa. They will take charge and train the installation teams who will go out and install products. So, we will take full responsibility for the results, keeping the customer’s business growth at heart. We will even pull out and reinstall existing networks, if necessary, to ensure that what we deliver is truly a next-generation telecommunications experience.”

Pietersen says there has long been a gap in the market for corporate telecommunications services support at branch level. “We will make sure we service these companies properly – even at branch level,” he says. “A typical installation at a branch may take most companies just an hour or two. But we know it should really take three or four days, because when a team is on site for just a few hours, they cannot test properly that all the settings and special diversions are correct. You actually have to sit with every single person at the branch, to ensure the system is up and running right, and doesn’t need tweaking later. We will do this.”

“Our philosophy is not to be the largest, but to be exclusive – to get the thing right,” says Pietersen.