The world of business has become increasingly mobile. Reliable and secure connectivity is essential to keeping enterprises connected and productive. In South Africa, where business is rapidly adapting to the digital landscape, having the right enterprise mobile connectivity solution is more critical than ever.

Additional driving forces that have increased the demand for quality enterprise mobility are hybrid work trends (work from home), continued load shedding (requiring backup connectivity) and the deployment of a range of connected devices as part of digitisation projects.

Given these requirements, some traditional corporate APN solutions are no longer adequate for the demands of modern organisations.

The challenges of traditional private APNs

Traditional private APNs haven’t changed much over many years. They can pose several challenges:

Complexity of managing separate private APNs with more than one mobile network to ensure network coverage, security and redundancy across networks;
Lack of advanced online tools (one plane of glass) to manage Sims and APNs from different mobile networks;
Not being able to set up Sim data quotas that are monitored with rogue Sims blocked in real time (relying on “after the fact” and delayed billing records);
Complicated invoicing and account administration with no real-time view of all costs (to avoid bill shock);
Long-term contract commitments for both the Sim as well as the pooled APN data bundles. Data commitments cannot be scaled up or down according to your actual usage (month to month) and can even attract out-of-bundle charges;
Complicated and costly network customisation around radius and IP provisioning, firewalling and custom data routing for Internet breakout or to terminate on your own private network;
Expensive private APN data with no bulking up between networks.

SIMcontrol: the next generation of enterprise mobile connectivity

If you are tired of dealing with slow, inflexible and complex traditional APNs for your business, why not try out a next-generation managed APN as a service, designed to solve these challenges and empower your business with seamless and secure mobile connectivity.

With SIMcontrol’s Managed APN solution, companies can take control of their mobile workforce connectivity with flexible and scalable mobile networking solutions that are geared for the modern digital enterprise.

A modern and easy-to-use managed private APN service makes it easy to:

Manage your entire private APN Sim base on different mobile networks using a single online platform;
Use a single pool of data bundle across multiple networks that all Sims feed off to avoid individual data expiry and to bulk up data usage to ensure the best data rates;
Monitor Sim data usage in real time and automatically stop rogue Sims;
View and manage individual Sim usage, last session information and troubleshooting information;
Increase or decrease pooled data bundle sizes as you needs change, while avoiding any long-term lock-in or out-of-bundle penalties;
Access real-time detailed reporting across your Sim base;
Easily set up and manage custom radius/IP, firewalling and data routing options to control what access a Sim is allowed and where data is routed;
Get fast Sim supply and access experienced, tier-1 enterprise technical support;
Ensure compliance with modern security standards; and
Existing private APNs can also be migrated to SIMcontrol without having to swap out Sims or update devices.

Real-world applications

Here are a few real-world use cases where next-generation enterprise mobile connectivity, including pooled data, can provide tangible benefits:

Enterprise mobility

Let’s look at a BPO provider with a workforce of say 800+ remote call centre agents requiring work-from-home LTE mobile connectivity as primary or failover connectivity. The business requirement is to provide a managed private APN service on two major mobile networks, with devices only allowed to access very specific applications or websites.

Furthermore, the data usage on each Sim needs to be monitored in real time and be capped at specific levels depending on the use case. Pooled data must be scalable (up/down) month to month as the business requirements change. Unused Sims must be easy to suspend. The organisation needs an online platform to show real-time spend, get manage Sim quotas, do troubleshooting and get access to detailed reporting across the entire Sim base (across multiple mobile networks). It also needs enterprise-grade technical support and quick Sim supply with no long-term commitments.

With a large and dispersed mobile workforce, having the tools to effectively manage reliable enterprise mobile connectivity is critical to ensure that services remain connected and staff are productive.

Retail

In the retail industry, enterprise connectivity can be crucial in ensuring efficient and effective store management. For instance, a retail chain with multiple stores can ensure its store systems and point-of-sale systems are seamlessly connected. To optimise their connectivity, retail chains can use Sims from two networks sharing one pooled data bundle, allowing them to allocate a certain amount of data to each store without worrying about individual Sims running out of data. By utilising pooled data, retail chains can achieve cost savings by purchasing data at an optimal rate.

Fintech

Fintech companies using point-of-sale terminals can leverage enterprise connectivity to safeguard financial transactions and protect customer data. Managing a large deployment of single or dual-Sim point-of-sale devices can be challenging to administer and manage. The centralised management of individual Sims ensures compliance with regulatory requirements and prevents data misuse.

Transportation, tracking and logistics

Enterprise IoT connectivity can help transportation companies track their vehicles and shipments in real time, optimise routes, reduce fuel costs and improve delivery times. It also allows companies to provide real-time updates to customers on the status of their shipments, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

By using managed pooled APN data, logistics companies can ensure that all their tracking devices are connected to a reliable and secure mobile network, regardless of location. Custom networking and firewalling ensure Android-based proof-of-delivery devices can only access specific apps or data destinations, while troubleshooting tools helps support team to quickly identify device or Sim issues.

Embrace the future

While traditional private APNs have not always kept pace with the advancement of enterprise mobility needs, they can present challenges for businesses with a dispersed workforce.

SIMcontrol’s Managed APN provides a modern approach to the corporate APN. Using new-generation cloud networking principles coupled with an advanced but proven online management platform, SIMcontrol enables connected businesses to scale and adapt to changing market conditions.