CEO Vim Vithaldas said the creation of the unit – which will see Azzurri develop applications in-house for the first time – will enable the company to lead in the B2B mobile market
Telecoms company and O2 partner Azzurri Communications has today (January 9) launched a mobile business unit which will see it develop enterprise applications for the first time.
The creation of the division, headed by former Telefonica executive Richard White, follows Azzurri’s announcement in October that 2013 was its most successful year in mobile.
Azzurri CEO Vim Vithaldas told Mobile News the company saw a 20 per cent increase in mobile connections during 2013, thanks to significant contract wins such as Biffa Waste Management (4,500 mobiles over three years) and Severn Trent Water (5,000 handsets).
The new division will focus on offering mobile services such as security and device management. It will also include an application development team, previously outsourced.
Vithaldas said the launch of the unit will enable Azzurri to “lead” in the enterprise mobility space, as it has a history of offering mobile management products.
“Nearly two-thirds of organisations anticipate that they will be using a mobile device as their main productivity device within three years. Azzurri’s new Mobile Business Unit is the manifestation of this shift to a mobile world, bringing together under one integrated service the products, services and expertise required to enable this new way of doing business. Azzurri is poised to lead the change in this new world order,” he said.
White joined Azzurri in December from Telefonica (O2) where he was responsible for leading its bid to roll out 53 million ‘smart’ gas and electricity metres (which enable customers to better monitor usage) in the UK.