Vodacom Business in Johannesburg today unveiled a new strategy that the company has named ‘Turn To Us’. The implications are apparent. The company wants South African businesses to turn to Vodacom to find solutions to problems they may face. It’s not hard to agree that South Africans face plenty of the latter and could do with more of the former.
Turn To Us is not a product. It’s more of a statement of intent. The company wants South African businesses to partner with businesses of all sizes and shapes to tackle issues the country faces. It plans to do this by offering up its extensive platform to facilitate better connectivity for businesses.
Serious Vodacom Business
Vodacom Business is comprised of mobile and fixed connections, an SME platform, cloud and internet-of-things (IoT) infrastructure, a financial service platform, and then Africa-wide enterprise services, plus access to its own physical infrastructure. If you’re even vaguely entrepreneurial, you’ll notice that each of these data points would be useful for any company looking to expand its reach or range of services.
The company offered up a scenario around how South African farmers could make their operations smarter, via a product called Mezzanine. The main idea behind the platform is to connect farmers with folks in need of their products or companies that sell the gear farmers need in order to produce. There’s also IoT.nxt, a digital payment security arm called X Link, Afrigis (a company that has loads to do with geography), and others to explore.
From small to medium and beyond
The idea seems to be offering companies an all-in-one stop to grow their businesses called the V-Hub. This covers marketing, financial services, cyber security, and productivity and collaboration solutions. Some of it’s free. Other aspects will have a cost, obviously. It’s a little like the company’s consumer-focused VodaPay app, except that it’s not all running via an app. Companies that talk to Vodacom about boosting their businesses will likely end up on VodaPay at some point, but founders, CEOs, and startups won’t get into contact with Vodacom Business via the app. It’s not that kind of project.
In function, based on Vodacom’s presentation this morning, the company’s Turn To Us initiative seems to be laying the foundation of a smarter city or smarter country. Companies that partner with Vodacom will generate data and skills that could be more effectively shared via Vodacom Business’ platform. This integration could let companies pick and choose from functions that might otherwise be out of reach.
A spaza shop could get access to financial advice that it might otherwise not have. A small enterprise could consult a chartered accountant, and a medium-sized company could transfer its operations to a cloud platform that it might not afford on its own. The result should be positive for companies and it’ll obviously be good for Vodacom Business as well. Being the conductor of the orchestra has its perks.
Mostly, though, Turn To Us is an ad campaign for Vodacom Business and its plans for the immediate future. That future looks increasingly integrated, accessible, and based online.
