Nationwide Charity

About the Customer

Starting life in 1977, this customer has grown from a tiny volunteer-led Sussex based organisation, to the nationwide charity that it is today; one that helps tens of thousands of people with drug and alcohol dependencies get back onto a more even keel. Over recent years, its remit has expanded via a journey that has allowed the business to ascertain what services they provide to those most at need and where they can add more benefit and value.

The organisation benefits from being within the charity sector while operating like a corporate entity, meaning it enjoys real flexibility in terms of how it procures solutions and services, which in turn ensures value for money.

The Challenge

This unique business structure forms part of the explanation as to how they consolidated their existing mobility solution with Wavenet*. Wavenet was initially introduced via an acquisition that customer had recently made; a Manchester-based organisation that Wavenet provided mobiles to which, at point of acquisition, was around 100 mobile connections.

By contrast, the organisation’s mobile usage was around 2,000 connections at any given time, and that number is dependent on the number of projects being procured. As a nationwide charity, the organisation run projects across the UK and are simultaneously bidding to win new projects. And this is where the conversation with Wavenet started.

At the time, the business’ connections came directly from Vodafone, but Wavenet saw an opportunity to carry out a review of the business’ entire mobile fleet and consolidate several solutions in place across the board. They discovered that the existing contract directly with the network could be more competitively priced and better managed, and that there was scope to get much better mileage out of what was essentially a fleet of traditional business handsets and SIM cards.

The Solution

Today, thanks to organic growth and subsequent acquisitions, the customer now uses between 5,000-7,000 connections and that’s thank to an enduring relationship with Wavenet that can be described as a journey; one that has scaled to match the growth of the business and the people it serves.

Due diligence throughout the journey on the customer’s part has meant that the mobile handsets and SIMs that Wavenet now provide directly rather than Vodafone, not only underpin its entire communications strategy, but also act as the catalyst for further transformation. What was a traditional business solution of handsets used for simple voice calls is now one where everything from an operational perspective is driven via smartphone handsets that touch every key touchpoint from email and calls, through to the organisation’s own internal apps.

More recently, the introduction of Microsoft Teams onto said handsets will unify communications across the organisation’s workforce.

The Results

By consolidating its mobile provision with Wavenet, the organisation now enjoys a commercial model that truly works for them. It benefits from visibility at a granular level thanks to its management portal which also allows them to manage usage, ensure there are no overages and have overall clarity of usage and spend day and night.

As one of the first customers to take Wavenet’s Configure & Deliver solution, the organisation also has the peace of mind that any required handsets are delivered to its London headquarters ready to go and ready for distribution at the push of a power button. The current Samsung devices are pre-installed with Samsung Knox for an extra security footprint and warranty. Ultimately, this means that the business’ requirement of having one device that does everything for every one person is met; it ensures that those working out in the field with the UK’s most vulnerable citizens, and who cannot afford any downtime, are connected and contactable at all times.

As an added failsafe and as an extra way of ensuring that the customer always reaches those that need to be reached, Wavenet holds a buffer stock of devices so that if the customer needs something quickly, we mitigate the risk of supply chain issues and can ensure that additional or replacement handsets are delivered quickly.

The Future

In the immediate future, Wavenet will continue to evolve as the customer evolves and continue to provide mobiles for use as the core communications platform. A strategic overview with the Chief Information Officer (CIO) will further enable this strategy in terms of how we can utilise other solution areas such as Unified Communications and Cyber Security to provide even more added value as the relationship continues.

*The initial engagement was with Daisy, acquired by Wavenet in 2024.

If you’d like to find out more about how Wavenet could help your business with the areas covered in this case study, then get in touch at enquiries@wavenet.co.uk.