INTERVIEW
The Building Blocks
When it comes deciding the future of Britain’s connectivity roadmap, history has taught us that our incumbent
can’t be left to lead the build out alone. In this piece David Doherty, Product Director – Access and Digital Strategy
at Gamma explains why it is important to collectively push together for a faster Gigabit footprint
Comms Business
Magazine (CBM): What is
your assessment of the
connectivity landscape right
now?
David Doherty (DD):
Businesses of any size need
high speed reliable Fibre based
access services. ese services
provide the main building
blocks for the Channel to
deliver their ICT services. e
UK has lagged behind Europe
and the developed world in the
availability of these services.
Only now are we starting to
catch up. As Ultrafast Fibre
broadband and lower cost
Ethernet services become a
reality to Business premises
across the UK the Channel
can use these faster, reliable
services (with the right support
wrap) to build all the ICT
services with condence for
their end customers.
CBM: Does Openreach have
realistic competition to drive
competition?
DD: Openreach, as part of the
BT Group, still needs to bid
for capital investment from
its parent. Recent history has
shown that direct competition
spurs Openreach on to deliver
faster. We can’t just leave this
to Openreach, apart from ‘all
our eggs in one basket’ their
priorities may not match those
of the business community and
Alt Nets can help deliver an
overall Gigabit footprint faster.
e recent consultations from
Ofcom and the investments
seen in infrastructure providers
helps to ensure that the UK
Fibre roll-out keeps its pace,
in all parts of the country
with a number of alternative
connectivity providers that
CSPs like Gamma will connect
to and enable consumption of
a full range of Access Services
over these bre carriers.
CBM: How is the development
of SD-WAN going to impact the
market?
DD: Like any new technology,
SD-WAN has become over
hyped, and the term SD-WAN
David Doherty, Product Director -
Access & Digital Strategy, Gamma
has become a shorthand for
a number of technologies,
approaches and use cases just as
the term ‘Cloud’ was misused 5
years ago. However, separating the
Network & Access functions from
the service functions is a great
opportunity for the Channel to
provide services and exibility that
many business’s need. CSPs such
as Gamma can help the Channel
design exible WANs that meet
the needs of various use cases
that the market is looking for
and avoid the pitfalls of a more
complex design.
CBM: How can partners equip
themselves with the right
digital skills?
DD: A new generation of
business buyers are entering
the workforce and they are
digital natives. Being able
to deliver the ICT services
that these businesses need
in a way they want to buy,
understand, pay and consume
these services can only be
achieved by a digital ecosystem
from provider to channel to
customer. It’s fundamental
for channel partners to work
with suppliers that have the
skills to integrate business
processes with technology.
Without a solid foundation in
this relationship, the partner
can be held back by the lack
of experience and support.
Gamma’s focus is, and will
continue to be, on developing
innovative ways to help the
channel succeed. e Gamma
Portal allows partners to take
full control and ownership
over their customers, as well
as, provision and manage
services online. e Gamma
Academy provides access
to video tutorials, eLearning
courses, knowledgebase content
and step-by-step guides for
partners to train or upskill their
teams. Gamma Accelerate,
our online partner marketing
portal, designed to make it easy
for channel partners to access
and customise white label
marketing materials, generate
new leads and engage with
prospects and customers.
www.commsbusiness.co.uk Digital Britain 2019 | 15
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