PSTN Switch Off, 2025 then 2027, the switchover – the noise in channel surrounding the PSTN Switch Off can be overwhelming. That’s where Fit to Switch comes in.
As National Champions, Daisy Partner Business Director Julien Parven sat down with Co-founder of Fit to Switch, Adrian Barnard, to understand their stance.
Discussing everything from the seismic shift facing UK businesses to Fit to Switch’s nationwide objectives, the duo sat down for an intriguing conversation.
Adrian Barnard: “Julien, this isn’t the first time we’ve been forced to change technologies and move to something else. We’ve seen the move from dial less to CPS and then the second wave where we went from PBX to hosted.
Julien Parven: “Yes, that switch from physical PBX to hosted was a catalyst to opening a raft of other services that businesses started to think about above and beyond a box in the corner! It started to broaden horizons and I believe it was the moment that brought IT and communications together to form the IT environment we have today.
“However, we’re sitting here now in a marketplace where there’s a lot of noise about the PSTN Switch Off. But there’s noise in multiple different terms, and that breeds confusion. With confusion comes inertia. There are still nine million PSTN assets that still need to move from one technology to another.”
AB: “There’s around 600,000 ISDN lines too and when you talk about mixed messaging, that’s exactly why we started Fit to Switch. We’ve created an opportunity to become a trusted advisor for your customers and start the conversation about the PSTN Switch Off. If you don’t start pushing the message and having those conversations, other people will!”
JP: “Here at Partner Business Live there are around 70 different businesses serving the UK SME marketplace which is fantastic. But it’s now about our partners relying on their individuality and their locality and relationships they have within their communities to broaden the Fit to Switch message to attack those outstanding assets. We became National Champions of Fit to Switch because I believe we need a force behind us and a support mechanism to talk to the UK SME base and I saw this as something that was going to do that – to cut through the noise and create some cadence behind the message.”
AB: “You’re right, it’s about having that one common message. We can do so much for our customers, and we have to start having those conversations about what opportunities these customers have to improve their infrastructure. According to a recent BT survey, 5% of employees said they had broadband but 31% of IT decision-makers said they provided it so there’s a dissidence there. There’s a massive opportunity to sell broadband as a duty of care package to employers, especially to small businesses who have people who work at home.”
JP: Connectivity is crucial but, stepping back from that, we must recognise the role that connectivity has, and the huge risks customers face if they don’t address their connectivity. Should a business’ connectivity fail, and the business cannot function it can be crippling for small businesses so being able to offer something that sits over the core infrastructure, whether that’s an automatic failover or security backup, that’s a massive opportunity in terms of wallet share. However, having those conversations is also about delivering quality of service to the customer which then encourages them to return and talk to you about other services you might offer. Adrian, how can partners get involved with Fit to Switch?
AB: Fit to Switch came together as an agnostic industry body and then asked those partners who saw the value in our message to be National Champions so that they could push the message alongside us. What I will say is do not be afraid of losing revenue. Yes, you’re selling a hosted service and, as a result, ripping out 30 ISDN lines but look at the opportunity ahead of us. I would be talking to the customer about the PSTN Switch Off because it’s interesting, it’s important to the customer and, most of all, it’s important that your customer knows you’re taking care of them and their business.
JP: Thanks Adrian. From a Partner perspective, I’d first say take a look at the Fit to Switch website and have a look at the media that’s being generated. The Mark Allen Group is supporting Fit to Switch and they’ve got a raft of publications in various verticals. Talking from a Daisy point of view, we’re already National Champions so, for our partners we’ve swallowed the cost of that. Going forward, I would strongly encourage you to use that as a supercharger to help push your brand forward into those different verticals and your customer base. Using the logo and positioning yourself alongside Fit to Switch breeds credibility and credibility breeds trust and with that trust comes onward purchasing from your customers.