Ahead of commencing operations as New Zealand’s specialist internet service provider with a sole focus on high speed connections, Stuff Fibre understood that in a competitive marketplace, it must offer outstanding customer service. A significant part of its ability to do that rests on its Field Service Management platform, provided by local enterprise software vendor JAVLN. Thanks to the platform, Stuff Fibre can schedule, manage and deliver fibre broadband connections accurately and with a high level of automation.

Launched in September 2016, Stuff Fibre is designed to provide Kiwis with a better, simpler internet experience. With a sole focus on Ultrafast Broadband connections, the company provides premium customer premise equipment and contract-free connections unlimited data, with local customer service.

Stuff Fibre is built from the ground up, using the latest generation technologies to help customers get the best out of New Zealand’s world leading Fibre Network.

Situation
Geoff D’Audney, Stuff Fibre CTO, explains that as a start-up internet service provider (ISP), the company had to get to market as quickly as possible, with a ‘least cost’ model of provisioning new clients. “The only way to do that is to automate so you don’t need a giant contact centre,” he says.

The New Zealand ISP market is (perhaps surprisingly) extraordinarily competitive. There are over 100 for customers to choose from and that level of competition requires any operator, but particularly a new entrant, zero room for anything but exceptional customer service.

D’Audney explains the process of onboarding a client: “Orders come off our website and go into our order management system, then are pushed to the likes of Chorus and other local fibre companies. If you handle this process with people, manually entering and exchanging information, it costs a lot.”

The process of getting a new client on board and connected is crucial as it is the most ‘touch-intensive’ part of the relationship between ISP and customer. As a result, it is a ‘make or break’ opportunity to demonstrate customer service.

Solution
It is primarily for the automation and management of the onboarding and provisioning process that Stuff Fibre looked to JAVLN for its field service management solution.

D’Audney says he was aware of the capability offered locally by JAVLN through previous business engagements in his work in the telecommunications sector. “One thing I knew ahead of this engagement with JAVLN is that it had a product which offers the flexibility to grow and evolve. This is immediately important because one thing that is certain in telecoms is that things will change.”

He adds that a flexible system is imperative, because without it, a telecoms business will set itself up for failure.

“When we engaged with JAVLN initially, our requirements were relatively rough and changed on the path of development. It was this, along with a flexible product, which made JAVLN such a good choice. In fact, the level of change coming from us through this process was probably a bit unreasonable, but they were willing to work with us and make it happen,” D’Audney says.

The process of creating the Field Service Management solution, he adds, took some 16 weeks.

Results
As a start-up business, D’Audney says there isn’t any opportunity to compare how things were before and after the JAVLN implementation. But what he can say is that the biggest benefit was working directly with the developers of a system which is crucial to Stuff Fibre’s operations. “Engaging with people who know what they are doing, who are responsive and care, has resulted in a system which works reliably and underpins the efficiency of our operations,” he says.

“Engaging with people who know what they are doing, who are responsive and care, has resulted in a system which works reliably and underpins the efficiency of our operations.”

Just how important is JAVLN to Stuff Fibre? “We launched with it in place and couldn’t have gone to market without it.”

The system, explains D’Audney, handles all aspects of the onboarding and provisioning process, with automated workflows which are triggered in response to certain events like completion of orders, handover to third parties (like Chorus, as they put the necessary infrastructure in place), billing and more. “The system is based on ‘states’, so as soon as a state changes, the system performs an action. It keeps track of where all processes and orders are, with the necessary escalations to ensure that customers are kept informed of the progress of their connection, while we have the necessary information to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.”

He notes that because provisioning an Ultrafast Broadband connection can take several steps between multiple service providers over a period of time, communication with customers is imperative. “Worse than bad news of a delay, is no news of a delay. JAVLN is a key tool in automating customer updates, so our customers are never left in the dark.”

So important to Stuff Fibre’s business is the JAVLN system, D’Audney continues, that it is implemented in a fully redundant configuration. Should one instance fail, a second immediately takes over. “If JAVLN stops, which it hasn’t ever, our ordering stops.”

With Stuff Fibre’s business going along at a steady clip – D’Audney says it is ahead of projected customer numbers and continues to gain traction in the market – he is satisfied with the work done by JAVLN to enable the business. “The main thing is that it is all very well to have a system which performs a function, and we certainly have that. But more important, still, is the support to change, and to fix things should they go wrong, which is what JAVLN provides. We’ve seen it in action, over the course of 7 months and thousands of successfully processed customer orders.”

As a niche insurer with growth intentions, an Auckland-headquartered operation has selected a locally-developed cloud solution to power all aspects of its line-of-business operations. That solution is JAVLN; used by some of the biggest insurers around, it extends enterprise functionality on a cost-effective and scalable basis. As a result, Mariner Marine Insurance is equipped with a complete business system which expands in concert with business growth.

Operating for nearly a decade, Mariner is a specialist insurer solely focused on the needs of boaties in New Zealand. An underwriting agency of Vero Insurance New Zealand Limited, the company prides itself on its knowledge of everything to do with the marine industry. Its staff is passionate about boats and hold a range of boating qualifications, including RYA Yachtmaster, BITO Boatbuilding Electrical and Electronics, and instruction qualifications.

Situation
Aaron Mortimer, director at Mariner, explains that the insurer found itself roped to a legacy system which had little development behind it. “We wanted something more modern and oriented to the future rather than the past. Our legacy system had no options for cloud applications and nothing to support modern work practices,” he says.

This, Mortimer adds, meant technology systems were limiting Mariner’s ability to respond flexibly and rapidly to meeting the needs of its customers, particularly since the system could not be accessed outside of the office.

“When we went to market to find a suitable solution, we looked near and we looked far for the most appropriate solution. What we sought was cloud architecture, a high level of process automation and a complete system which would cater to all our needs, both in the immediate and longer terms,” Mortimer explains.

It was ‘close’ that the right solution was identified. “What we liked most about JAVLN is that it is a locally developed and supported solution. That means we engage directly with the vendor should we run into any issues or require additional features or functionality. You just can’t get that when dealing with a big international provider,” Mortimer adds.

Solution
JAVLN is a complete back-office which provides client policies, claims, accounts and reporting functionality. It provides an internet-accessed portal that enables secure online and mobile access; underwriters can work remotely, while customers are provided with ‘self-service’ access for quotes, payments and policy documentation.

Mortimer says the completeness of the feature set available in JAVLN, coupled with its flexibility – it can configure any term-based insurance product – makes the solution ideal for Mariner’s needs.  “But probably the biggest advantage we saw was in the automation it offers. Being able to natively email renewals straight to the client, and automating management of other elements like credit control, is a real win for us,” he notes. “That and the fact that this is a locally developed product. We can speak directly with the people who made it.”

The advantages of the new system, Mortimer continues, can be found in ‘a lot of little things’. “Those things add up to a much better bigger picture. This is a solution which ticked a lot of boxes for us and that has driven the implementation. And a big part of that is the ease of use and cloud architecture.”

Results
While it is still relatively early days for Mariner’s JAVLN implementation – which was signed off in August 2016 – Mortimer says the benefits are becoming clear. “The major change is that we have been freed up from a lot of the administrative tasks which previously bogged us down. We were a certificate processing machine before, now we’re able to focus attention on sales and growing the business.”

Much of that is thanks to the automation and self-service features of the JAVLN solution. “The new system means it is a lot quicker to get things done. Moreover, as a cloud solution, if there is a need to work from home or set up a satellite office for a show, we can do that with ease.”

That’s further bolstered by JAVLN’s compatibility with tablet computers.

From a customer point of view, policyholders can choose to have all their documents sent via email, enabling ‘paperless’ operations. “Of course, some customers like that, others prefer to receive documents in the mail. JAVLN enables either option,” Mortimer adds.

It isn’t measurable, but he says ease of use which comes with a modern user interface provides a further boost for Mariner’s people working with JAVLN. “Ease of use and cloud-based is good for us. We’re looking to migrate the rest of the business – around 90 percent – into the cloud, and that means no need to maintain infrastructure or worry about support or capacity, while there are far better disaster recovery options. We can focus on the business rather than making sure the gears are turning.”

The ability of the system to scale smoothly with growth, says Mortimer, is a further advantage which is likely to play a role into the future, as in New Zealand’s boat-crazy society, Mariner believes it has the headroom to expand considerably. “Growth is always a chicken and egg thing, with staff and customers – which do you add first? With our JAVLN solution, provisioning new staff with the system is simple, it’s just a case of ‘bang and off you go’. But before we even get to that point, the automation and ease of use means we can manage a whole lot more customers with the same number of staff members.”

“The automation and ease of use means we can manage a whole lot more customers with the same number of staff members.”

In short, Mortimer says Mariner is equipped for the future. “We’re freed from process and operations to focus on sales, growth and the introduction of new products. JAVLN the product works for us and JAVLN the company has proven responsive and forward looking. That works very well for us.”