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FROST & SULLIVAN BEST PRACTICES AWARD
Product Leadership 2019ENTERPRISE BYOD SOLUTIONS - NORTH AMERICA
BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH
© Frost & Sullivan 2019 2 “We Accelerate Growth"
Contents
Background and Company Performance .................................................................................... 3
The Enterprise BYOD Solutions Industry ............................................................................. 3
Product Family Attributes and Business Impact .................................................................... 4
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 7
Significance of Product Leadership ............................................................................................ 8
Understanding Product Leadership ............................................................................................ 8
Key Benchmarking Criteria ............................................................................................... 9
Product Family Attributes ................................................................................................. 9
Business Impact .............................................................................................................. 9
Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices ..... 10
The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards ................................... 11
Research Methodology .................................................................................................... 11
About Frost & Sullivan ........................................................................................................... 11
BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH
© Frost & Sullivan 2019 3 “We Accelerate Growth"
Background and Company Performance
The Enterprise BYOD Solutions Industry
The BYOD (bring your own device) phenomenon remains strong in North America, with the
Frost & Sullivan 2018 Mobile Business Solutions Survey revealing that a majority (66%) of
U.S. and Canadian companies currently support an environment where employees use
their personally-owned mobile devices for work-related communications. These support
levels remain consistent across all company sizes.1
Two major drivers behind instituting BYOD are:
Worker convenience: Employees have become more insistent about satisfying their
own needs. Workers are comfortable with their own smartphones, and they simply do not
want to have to carry an additional work-only device.
Company cost savings: The employer views BYOD as a way to save money by not
having to purchase devices, keep track of devices, manage the life cycle of the devices,
handle repair and end-of-life, etc.
While these two drivers are compelling, there are challenges inherent to dual-use
situations that must be addressed and neutralized by businesses and BYOD solution
providers. Too often, companies allow BYOD but do not offer a clear arrangement for how
to govern work versus personal use. The lack of a wireless communications policy and a
solution that addresses evolving security, operational and legal considerations can present
a number of business challenges, including:
Ensuring communications privacy and security: Violating regulatory requirements
around communications privacy and record-keeping can result in fines and other serious
penalties. There can be legal, financial, and marketing repercussions. Leading providers in
this product sector furnish enterprise-grade security and give customers the control they
need to ensure employees are following the law.
Creating a clear process for reimbursement accounting: Without proper
management tools, a clear and fair process for reimbursement accounting is difficult to
achieve. This can turn into an expense nightmare for both the employee and the
accounting organization.
Providing solution affordability: “Lack of budget” is a typical North American purchase
barrier when evaluating mobile solutions. Companies that are adopting a BYOD policy are
saving money by not having to purchase new hardware; however, leaders in this space
understand that the pricing model for the BYOD communications and management
solution must also be affordable.
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Prioritizing ease of use: Overly complicated, hard-to-use mobile apps are unacceptable.
Workers rebel and customers churn as a result. Product leaders design solutions that work
smoothly with the employee’s device. They also ensure that their solutions are easy to
administer and work seamlessly with any related company or third-party systems.
Maintaining company control of the customer interface and relationship: Using the
employee’s personal phone number for work communications could put ultimate control of
the customer relationship in the hands of the worker. If the employee leaves the
company, it can be very easy for him/her to take the customer and their contact
information with them. Also, answering a business call on a personal number can just look
unprofessional, negatively impacting the company’s image and brand as a result. Product
leaders recognize the need for a dedicated work phone number that is controlled by the
company, not the end-user.
Businesses that are contemplating implementing a BYOD policy cannot decide to manage
blind and ignore these issues. A hands-off strategy puts brand, clients, security, and
compliance all at risk. Instead, companies are encouraged to take the time to conduct a
thorough internal inventory of personal devices and how they are being used, to define
goals and clarify risks, and to evaluate current potential enterprise BYOD communications
and management solutions.
In summary, in today’s BYOD environment, businesses are challenged to optimize and
manage communications and work flows on personal mobile devices while also meeting
the privacy needs of their worker and the compliance and financial requirements of the
company. Product leaders in this market are those who are customer-focused, capable of
creating enterprise-grade solutions, and not afraid to innovate.
Product Family Attributes and Business Impact
In the enterprise BYOD solutions market, Sprint has distinguished itself by developing a
best-in-class product—Sprint MultiLine--that ably satisfies the needs of both the worker
and the employer regardless of which carrier they are using for their personal phones.
Unlike other major carriers, Sprint is facing the bring-your-own-device phenomenon head-
on and is focused on prioritizing enterprise-quality communications and administration,
ease of use, and high-value integrations. As a result, Sprint stands out as the product
leader in this market.
Key success factors for Sprint in the enterprise BYOD solutions category include the
following:
Unique solution that directly addresses unmet customer needs: With 66% of North
American businesses reporting that they support BYOD, there is a clear and growing need
for secure, enterprise-level communications for the worker and straightforward
management and billing capabilities for the employer. Sprint is the only major U.S. carrier
proactively offering a BYOD communications and management solution designed expressly
BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH
© Frost & Sullivan 2019 5 “We Accelerate Growth"
for businesses. The carrier views BYOD—the use of personal mobile devices for work
purposes—as a business reality that needs to be addressed in a direct, secure, user-
friendly way. Its Sprint MultiLine solution was launched in January 2018 and is an all-in-
one downloadable application for business use on an employee's personal smartphone,
regardless of carrier. The app creates a second phone number and business area on the
employee’s existing mobile device. Sprint MultiLine deploys as an over-the-top (OTT)
service with carrier-grade VoIP and time-division multiplexing (TDM) for enterprise-grade
voice and text capability.
Sprint’s unique standing in this sector cannot be overstated and is illustrated by the
actions of other major U.S. carriers. These carriers have taken a step back from offering
or proactively promoting their own dual-persona BYOD solutions for the enterprise.
Instead, they are either offering limited consumer-grade products or are encouraging
customers to work directly with Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) providers
regarding mobile device management requirements.
Innovative and user-friendly product design: Overly-complicated, difficult-to-use
product design can be a major app-killer. With MultiLine, Sprint has taken great care to
create an application that prioritizes both ease of use and ease of administration.
For administrators:
o The solution is carrier-agnostic, deploying across all domestic carriers and allowing the
customer to work within a single contract rather than requiring multi-vendor procurement.
o There is also a cloud-based management portal that allows administrators to easily
manage a pool of business phone numbers, including reclaiming and reassigning the
numbers to new employees as needed. The portal also delivers granular visibility to
business line metrics, enabling review of detail records and usage statistics in real time.
o Sprint also recognizes the limited value of siloed BYOD solutions and understands that
significant value-add is achieved by MultiLine being able to integrate with other apps and
systems. These other systems might be internally-designed legacy solutions or purchased
third-party products. Whatever the situation, employees interface with these systems on a
regular basis and need them to work smoothly and seamlessly with their BYOD solution.
To meet this need, Sprint makes APIs for business integration available. The carrier is also
partnering on adding out-of-the-box integrations (for example, with popular CRM
systems).
For users:
o Ease of use for the employee begins with an easy download process. Once available,
Sprint MultiLine is multi-modal, providing high-quality calls over cellular voice, cellular
data, and WiFi.
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o Sprint MultiLine also provides full work phone functionality, including: carrier-grade voice
and text communications; call recording and text logging at individual and group levels; a
separate dialer, contact list, voicemail messaging, caller ID, Do Not Disturb, auto-
attendant, transfer, three-way calling, and scheduler; the app works on both iOS and
Android smartphones.
Powerful focus on satisfying vertical-specific requirements: In a still-early market,
enterprise BYOD solutions naturally tend to be horizontal in nature. As a result, however,
these solutions’ capabilities can be less than optimal in certain industries. Responses to
the 2018 Frost & Sullivan Mobile Business Solutions Survey indicate that businesses
recognize this drawback and have designated vertical-specific expertise as a top selection
criterion when evaluating potential mobile business solutions partner. Sprint has taken a
leadership position in responding to this dynamic. The carrier has quickly penetrated the
Financial Services sector—a demanding market segment that is highly focused on
compliance with both security and privacy regulations. Sprint is working closely with major
Financial Services companies to deploy Sprint MultiLine and to develop additional product
capabilities that are especially needed in that industry. These include text opt-in and
redaction features.
Working closely with specific industries to address their BYOD needs not only
demonstrates a keen willingness on Sprint’s part to identify and meet vertical-specific
requirements, it also produces new capabilities that may be of interest to the broader
MultiLine customer base and constitute a new revenue stream. For example, after
succeeding in the financial services segment, text opt-in and redaction are now available
to all customers as a Sprint MultiLine add-on.
Partnering for comprehensive data security: Sprint MultiLine works seamlessly with
leading EMM platforms to protect the data (company information, contacts, etc.) residing
on the second number.
Prioritizing solution affordability and value: In addition to the general benefits of
BYOD—avoiding hardware, asset management and depreciation costs—Sprint MultiLine’s
web-based reporting and EMM integrations enable companies to more accurately track and
reimburse business usage on the employee’s personal smartphone.
The carrier also promotes affordability with its subscription pricing model, which charges a
monthly per-phone-number rate for the app. The monthly price point for Sprint MultiLine
is reasonable and predictable. Add-on features are also available and growing in number,
including data analytics and the popular mobile recording option.
Dedicated support to enterprise customers: Strong post-sale support to customers
can provide a number of significant benefits both to the customer and the BYOD solution
provider. These benefits include:
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o Reducing churn: Unaddressed implementation difficulties can result in the customer
churning out. Providers must stay in touch and make sure that customers are satisfied
and that the solution sticks.
o Improving the product: Customer feedback can result in a better offering.
o Increasing revenues: Post-sale contact can unearth additional sales opportunities and use
cases.
Sprint MultiLine customers receive the support of the carrier’s business care team. Each
business works with a designated and extensively trained care representative who assists
with implementation, activation, and ongoing project management. This assigned support
is part of Sprint Business’s Bend-Over-Backward™ customer service and is focused on
enterprise accounts. It includes in-region tech support and a single point of contact for all
account needs.
In summary, Sprint has expertly leveraged a long list of success factors to achieve a true
product leadership position in the enterprise BYOD solutions market.
To access Sprint's MultiLine Content please visit
https://business.sprint.com/solutions/sprint-multiline/
Conclusion
The enterprise BYOD solutions market is currently in flux, with the future of Bring-Your-
Own-Device still a contested outcome. Frost & Sullivan research indicates strong business
support for personal devices in the workplace and a sizeable market opportunity for
communications and management solutions that address the risks inherent in these dual-
use environments. Sprint has surveyed the market, recognized its potential, and created
an affordable and unique way to provide enterprise-grade communications, simplified
management, accurate user reimbursements, and communications privacy and security.
With its strong overall performance, Sprint has earned Frost & Sullivan’s 2019 Product
Leadership Award.
1 North American Enterprise BYOD Solutions Market, 2019. Frost & Sullivan, April 2019.
BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH
© Frost & Sullivan 2019 8 “We Accelerate Growth"
Significance of Product Leadership
Ultimately, growth in any organization depends on customers purchasing from a company
and then making the decision to return time and again. A comprehensive product line
filled with high-quality, value-driven options are the key to building an engaged customer
base. To achieve and maintain product excellence, an organization must strive to be best
in class in three key areas: understanding demand, nurturing the brand, and
differentiating from the competition.
Understanding Product Leadership
Demand forecasting, branding, and differentiating all play critical roles in finding growth
opportunities for your product line. This three-fold focus, however, must be complemented
by an equally rigorous focus on pursuing those opportunities to a best-in-class standard.
Customer communication, customer feedback, pricing, and competitor actions must all be
managed and monitored for ongoing success. If an organization can successfully parlay
product excellence into positive business impact, market share will inevitably increase.
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Key Benchmarking Criteria
For the Product Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts independently evaluated 2
key factors—Product Family Attributes and Business Impact—according to the criteria
identified below.
Product Family Attributes
Criterion 1: Match to Needs
Requirement: Customer needs directly influence and inspire the design and positioning of
the product family.
Criterion 2: Reliability and Quality
Requirement: Products consistently meet or exceed customer expectations for
performance and length of service.
Criterion 3: Product/Service Value
Requirement: Products or services offer the best value for the price, compared to similar
offerings in the market.
Criterion 4: Positioning
Requirement: Products or services address unique, unmet needs that competitors cannot
easily replicate or replace.
Criterion 5: Design
Requirement: The product features an innovative design, enhancing both visual appeal
and ease of use.
Business Impact
Criterion 1: Financial Performance
Requirement: Overall financial performance is strong in terms of revenue, revenue
growth, operating margin, and other key financial metrics.
Criterion 2: Customer Acquisition
Requirement: Product strength enables acquisition of new customers, even as it enhances
retention of current customers.
Criterion 3: Operational Efficiency
Requirement: Staff is able to perform assigned tasks productively, quickly, and to a high
quality standard.
Criterion 4: Growth Potential
Requirements: Product quality strengthens brand, reinforces customer loyalty, and
enhances growth potential.
Criterion 5: Human Capital
Requirement: Company culture is characterized by a strong commitment to product
quality and customer impact, which in turn enhances employee morale and retention.
BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH
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Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching,
Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices
Frost & Sullivan analysts follow a 10-step process to evaluate award candidates and
assess their fit with select best practices criteria. The reputation and integrity of the
awards are based on close adherence to this process.
STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT
1 Monitor,
target, and
screen
Identify award recipient
candidates from around the
world
Conduct in-depth industry
research
Identify emerging industries
Scan multiple regions
Pipeline of candidates that
potentially meet all best-
practice criteria
2 Perform
360-degree
research
Perform comprehensive,
360-degree research on all
candidates in the pipeline
Interview thought leaders
and industry practitioners
Assess candidates’ fit with
best practices criteria
Rank all candidates
Matrix positioning of all
candidates’ performance
relative to one another
3
Invite
thought
leadership in
best
practices
Perform in-depth
examination of all candidates
Confirm best practices
criteria
Examine eligibility of all
candidates
Identify any information gaps
Detailed profiles of all
ranked candidates
4
Initiate
research
director
review
Conduct an unbiased
evaluation of all candidate
profiles
Brainstorm ranking options
Invite multiple perspectives
on candidates’ performance
Update candidate profiles
Final prioritization of all
eligible candidates and
companion best practices
positioning paper
5
Assemble
panel of
industry
experts
Present findings to an expert
panel of industry thought
leaders
Share findings
Strengthen cases for
candidate eligibility
Prioritize candidates
Refined list of prioritized
award candidates
6
Conduct
global
industry
review
Build consensus on award
candidates’ eligibility
Hold global team meeting to
review all candidates
Pressure-test fit with criteria
Confirm inclusion of all
eligible candidates
Final list of eligible award
candidates, representing
success stories worldwide
7 Perform
quality check
Develop official award
consideration materials
Perform final performance
benchmarking activities
Write nominations
Perform quality review
High-quality, accurate, and
creative presentation of
nominees’ successes
8
Reconnect
with panel of
industry
experts
Finalize the selection of the
best practices award
recipient
Review analysis with panel
Build consensus
Select recipient
Decision on which company
performs best against all
best practices criteria
9 Communicate
recognition
Inform award recipient of
recognition
Present award to the CEO
Inspire the organization for
continued success
Celebrate the recipient’s
performance
Announcement of award
and plan for how recipient
can use the award to
enhance the brand
10 Take
strategic
action
Upon licensing, company is
able to share award news
with stakeholders and
customers
Coordinate media outreach
Design a marketing plan
Assess award’s role in
strategic planning
Widespread awareness of
recipient’s award status
among investors, media
personnel, and employees
BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH
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The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best
Practices Awards
Research Methodology Frost & Sullivan’s 360-degree research
methodology represents the analytical
rigor of our research process. It offers a
360-degree view of industry challenges,
trends, and issues by integrating all 7 of
Frost & Sullivan’s research methodologies.
Too often companies make important
growth decisions based on a narrow
understanding of their environment,
resulting in errors of both omission and
commission. Successful growth strategies
are founded on a thorough understanding
of market, technical, economic, financial,
customer, best practices, and
demographic analyses. The integration of
these research disciplines into the 360-
degree research methodology provides an
evaluation platform for benchmarking
industry participants and for identifying
those performing at best-in-class levels.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, helps clients accelerate growth and
achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's
Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's growth team with disciplined
research and best practices models to drive the generation, evaluation, and
implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages nearly 60 years
of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses, and the
investment community from 45 offices on 6 continents. To join Frost & Sullivan’s Growth
Partnership, visit http://www.frost.com.
360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING ORDER IN THE CHAOS