Ooredoo continues to see strong returns from its focus on providing innovative business services across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, realising growing returns in a diverse range of markets, from Algeria through to Indonesia and Myanmar.
In December 2014, the group announced a strategy to invest significantly in the competencies and resources necessary to build its position in the business-to-business (B2B) segment.
With B2B services now representing a record 16% of total group turnover, as of its most recent financial results, it’s a strategy that is returning significant dividends.
Ooredoo Group CEO Dr Nasser Marafih said, “Ooredoo positions itself to be the partner of choice for a full range of businesses, from home offices through to the largest enterprises, and we are offering an innovative range of mobile and fixed solutions to support business customers.  With an estimated potential of 9mn  companies across our footprint, we are developing significant experience and a deeper understanding of business needs, which in turn is driving the development of a new range of smart services.”
In particular, Ooredoo has seen significant returns from the small and medium enterprise SME sector, which provides the backbone of many economies across Asia and the Middle East. Building on its experience in this area, Ooredoo has launched a range of special packages and services.
In Ooredoo’s home market - Qatar, the company has pioneered a range of services aimed at the SME market, including its Ooredoo Web Builder solution, which enables companies to develop mobile-friendly websites using high quality templates, with no design or technical knowledge required.
In addition, Ooredoo’s Business Fibre service, which enables smaller companies to connect to the internet at speeds that were traditionally restricted to large corporations, has delivered strong results.
In Kuwait, Ooredoo has launched the Shamel Business Plans, a market-changing service that is designed to meet the needs of different business segments. Through this offer, business owners and entrepreneurs can ensure uninterrupted communication with free calls throughout business hours, and benefit from outstanding value on roaming, data, international calling, and a large variety of the latest mobile handsets.
Ooredoo Kuwait has also launched Ooredoo Business and Ooredoo Business Pro, which are special packs that include discounts on calls, and bundles of free minutes, SMS, and Internet for businesses with ten employees or fewer.
This success has been repeated in Tunisia, where Ooredoo launched a worry-free bundle called “The Business addict”, an all-you-can-consume plan for small and large businesses, and in Oman, with the Shahry business postpaid plans which offer a complete communications package for B2B customers.
As part of Ooredoo’s goal of helping start-up businesses in its operations, Ooredoo’s Indosat operation has launched a host of SME solutions including ‘Instant Office’ that offers a complete telecom solution package with Wi-Fi, LAN, 3G, fixed telephone and virtual PABX features for up to 20 users. This is in addition to offering the first to market Mobile Broadband tariff with business content from Bloomberg.
Similarly in Tunisia, the Ooredoo Business team has launched an ‘Office in a Box’ product which combines the power of high speed broadband Internet on ADSL or fibre with corporate email, web hosting, VPN, and fixed voice with PBX features.
“These one-stop-shop products provide convenience for small businesses and enable companies to deploy innovative solutions without requiring in-house technological expertise. We believe in liberating businesses and supporting their success with innovations that they can deploy immediately,” added Dr Nasser.
Ooredoo currently has a dedicated team of more than 1,100 B2B professionals as part of the Ooredoo Business Unit, and is continuing to enhance the company’s corporate focus across its primary markets.
As part of this process, Ooredoo has established a ‘Sales Academy’ where more than 600 sales team members are being trained in world-class sales management techniques for business services.