Case Study

Bird and Bird roams free with mobile airtime

Flexible mobile contract to reduce end-user costs.

Replacing an outdated, split estate mobile airtime contract for a more flexible option. With a seamless switchover, we helped reduce costs while remaining mindful of end-user needs.

An inflexible contract no longer meeting client needs

Bird & Bird had recently come to the end of a three-year mobile airtime contract. By the time the contract ended, it was no longer addressing their needs. This can be a common problem with mobile contracts as they take a fairly rigid approach which rarely accommodates for changing requirements, market conditions, user behaviour and technology.

As a result, such contracts mean that companies employing them aren’t future-proofed, and find that they do not continue to receive the full value throughout the course of a contract.

Challenges

Data Use

The main issue Bird & Bird identified was related to data usage; with users requiring more data than they had available under the existing contract.

This resulted in either having to encourage reduced data use or face excess costs, which made controlling costs in a proactive way very challenging.

User experience

Users travelling were frustrated at times with any technical restrictions that were in place to help control costs.

Bird & Bird’s IT department knew they had to find a solution which enabled a smoother user experience, which was easier to manage.

We wanted someone who could look at our usage, look at our month-on-month trends, and come back and advise us on it.

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The search for a flexible mobile partner

When it came time to look for new vendors and different more flexible contract solutions, Bird & Bird had a clear vision of what they wanted to achieve.

They were looking for a provider who was flexible to work with and wouldn’t just provide them with a contract, leaving them to deal with any potential consequences of overuse.

Finding a business who would proactively work alongside them to manage their mobile airtime contract was a must.

Managing a split estate

As Bird & Bird had connections on both O2 and Vodafone, being able to manage a split estate was a key requirement of any prospective supplier.

Although an estate of split connections provides flexibility for the users, they do require more management, as it often creates its own set of challenges.

Such as:

Bill processing complexities
Support queries
End-user advice
Usage reviews

We had a relationship and there was a level of trust there. The backend team, both on the account and the airtime side are very helpful and very proactive.

What Kocho offered

2 networks on a single contract

Bird & Bird were able to retain two separate networks. But they were now delivered on a single contract, single invoice, and each connection placed on the same commercials.

And, all supported by the same helpdesk team.

Customer portal

The customer portal provided an easy-to-use hands-on approach for Bird & Bird. With a large organisation, swiftly adapting starters and leavers is essential.

The customer portal gave them the ability to easily swap SIMs to accommodate any fluctuations of staff.

It also offered a detailed insight into mobile and data usage, allowing alerts to be set up related to call spend and data usage.

As part of Kocho’s Managed mobile services we set up the portal and handled all associated monitoring and alerting. Advice could then be proactively given around suitable actions that could be made when such alerts were triggered.

A seamless deployment

The transition between the two mobile airtime contracts was seamless for end-users. With mobile restrictions relaxed, Bird & Bird were now able to offer a more flexible approach to mobile data for employees.

Working alongside Bird & Bird, we were able to support their newly introduced tariff with in-month proactive monitoring and alerting, which comes as standard under our Managed Service.

These changes meant that Bird & Bird were able to be aware of, react to and address any exceptional usage in that month.

In addition, Kocho now undertakes a monthly consultative review with Bird & Bird.

These are carried out to review data, key metrics and usage, with Kocho able to advise on how things could be further improved or, in the right circumstances, done differently. This gives the firm the flexibility to evolve in-line with changing requirements. Allowing their mobile airtime to adapt to future needs and avoid becoming outdated.

Travelling users are more enabled, with employees on the move now supplied with automatic data bolt-ons.

By bringing Kocho on-board to manage Bird & Bird’s mobile airtime, employees have a greater degree of freedom with their data use, and the business is able to reduce end-user usage controls.