February 6, 2013

What You Need To Know Now...

Biz Customers To TWC: Who Loves Ya, Baby?
An independent Frost & Sullivan report says Time Warner Cable Business Class subscribers rank that service Number One when it comes to customer loyalty. They like it so much, notes analyst Karolina Olszewska, that “more than eight out of 10 TWC Business Class customers are not at risk of switching." However, even though 83 percent of current TWC Business Class users are categorized as "low risk" when it comes to changing providers, the MSO “has to keep a sustained effort to retain customers since the market is crowded with strong incumbent, regional and competitive local exchange carriers and compelling product portfolios,” she adds. And business customers as a group appear to be migrating toward MSOs and nationwide fiber/hybrid networks and away from traditional providers.
 
The Cloud: Somewhat Easy But Definitely Not Cheap
More than 650 business and IT leaders in 16 countries polled by KPMG International say they’ve adopted cloud services, but the transition came at a price…literally. The survey found about one-third of respondents said the costs of moving to the cloud were higher than expected, and a similar number noted “significant” implementation challenges. As Rick Wright, KPMG's Global Cloud Enablement Program leader, explains, "One of the most important lessons uncovered by this research is that business process redesign needs to be done in tandem with cloud adoption if organizations hope to achieve the full potential of their cloud investments.” And the group says security – always a sticking point when it comes to business data – should improve, rather than weaken, when cloud is implemented. To make this happen, business execs and IT need to work together to create a cloud security strategy.