PowerNet Global has re-branded, with a new name, corporate logo, branding elements and content focus. The company will now be known as Powernet, and its new Website, powernetco.com is live.
The rebranding effort coincides with several leadership moves throughout the organization in the past six months, as well as a move to a new corporate headquarters earlier in February. And in addition to the shortened name, logo and Website, the company will also be sporting new colors, a revamped social media presence and a new blog focusing on small and medium-sized (SMB) communications developed by subject matter experts from different areas of the company. High-level executives and members of the product development and implementation teams will be key contributors in developing the new content.
“We thought it was time to really look the part of industry expert and industry leader,” said Allison Stevens, CEO at Powernet. “These changes, combined with a renewed emphasis on digital media, will help everyone realize our solutions are as leading-edge and competitive as any out there.”
She added, “After 22 years, it was time for a refresh.”
Looking forward, making it easier for agents to do business with the company has been a guiding principle. For instance, the design of the new company headquarters in Cincinnati signals a change in the way Powernet is able to interact with its sales partners. The office sports a more modern and open layout, and it includes a specific space for the fulfillment group. It also, critically, adds a showroom, which Powernet is planning to use to demonstrate its phone systems, tablets and handsets for its partners, who the company will bring in to visit to get a hands-on feel for the products.
The redesigned Website also carries the theme forward. In addition to adding the blog and social media focus, the partner area has been completely rebooted.
“We have always had a dedicated area for agents on the Website, but we saw the opportunity to give them a better way to find what they need,” Stevens said. “So we’ve made navigation a lot easier for agents and carriers alike, and there’s a focus on solution selling rather than just offering various lists of our products.”
And to that point, the company also has fresh growth areas to focus its partner sales efforts on for 2014. “We’re now seeing that a lot of our partners are going out and wanting to sell a whole solution to their clients, which may include hosted IP PBX, Internet, mobility and more, for a complete approach to their communications,” Stevens said.
In particular there’s a lot of interest from partners in unified communications (UC), she said. “It’s a need that we can fill with our hosted product and desktop client, and it’s great for smaller businesses and call centers,” explained Stevens. “We’re excited about the solutions that we have in that arena.”
Another area of growth for Powernet is a Wi-Fi solution for schools and enterprises. “We believe that wireless will be part of all communications sooner rather than later,” she said. “So, we’ve been building our own wireless networks in our community.”
The network is based on WiMAX 4G technology and carries both data and voice. The company is also selling Ruckus Wireless gear for enterprise Wi-Fi, which it’s also using to build onto the network as well. And, Powernet is working with other carriers like Sprint and other aggregators to provide cellular coverage.
Taking all of that together, the company is crafting a fixed-mobile convergence play, wherin a single handset can seamlessly jump across Wi-Fi, WiMAX and traditional 3G/4G wireless networks.
“Bernie predicted that the world would go IP and wireless, way back when,” Stevens said. “And it’s already IP and adding more wireless into communications every day. There’s a convergence of those things, and that’s where we see our innovation and cutting-edge opportunities going forward.”
The day isn’t too far away when the phone at office will seamlessly carry a call or data session over to a wireless handset and then on to a soft client or home phone—and the channel will lead the way forward on that for business customers, she predicted.
Partners will have a critical piece of that future reality, too. “The channel is something that I’ve seen change dramatically over time,” Stevens said, “and it’s refreshing to me to see them evolve into technical leaders. They have come up to date on next-gen technologies and what businesses need, and they’re kind of leading the carriers forward in terms of what’s next.”
PNG tablets, a brand of Powernet, will undergo a similar transformation as well, launching a new website emphasizing its buy-one-give-one donation program, Gift1. The revamped tablet site, powernetgift1.com, will launch later in the month.
“The goal with both Powernet and Gift1 is to showcase the people, knowledge and experience at work here,” Stevens said. “It’s great to have a fresh style, but we know that ultimately, it’s the substance behind the products that people really care about.”
