1/4 Companies Say Poor Service is Responsible for Rising Corporate Costs





British business demands faster and more flexible service from communication providers, new research reveals

-/June 2, 2005 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- UK PLC is calling for a fresh approach from communication service providers to help large enterprises meet their business challenges, new research from Affiniti revealed today. (Affiniti is the communications integrator created from the coming together of Kingston Communications? Business Services and Omnetica in 2005.) Nearly half (42%) of all IT/Comms Directors surveyed claim they were not happy with their current communication solution providers and almost one in four (24%) blamed poor service for rising corporate costs.

A quarter of all respondents said they were looking for a faster response, better customer management and improved efficiency.

Peter Halls, director, Affiniti, said: ?This research is a clear call to action to the communications sector to take a long, hard look at its customer service. It is a stark warning when a quarter of all respondents blame their communication suppliers for rising corporate costs. In reality, a communication and IT service supplier should be improving their customers? competitive advantage.?

?We will fail British business if customer relationship management does not come first in our industry. We have to understand our customers, work closely with them and respond to their needs quickly.?

Peter Halls added: ?The experience customers receive is fundamental to the success of our business. If we are delivering true value at every stage then we will establish rewarding, long term relationships with them. To ensure this focus is maintained across the business Affiniti has established a designated Customer Experience Director and Customer Satisfaction team who will also manage the continuous improvement programme (CIP).?

Franco Scigliano, TNT?s Telecommunications Manager, said: ?Affiniti has developed a genuine understanding of our requirements, and adds value through its flexible, customer-focused approach. We can trust Affiniti to just get on with the job, and always feel that the support engineers are willing to go the extra mile for us.?

The research was carried out on behalf of Affiniti, by independent research company Winmark, to evaluate perceptions of the standard of service provided by communication solutions providers (companies that provide telecoms services, network integration and LAN & WAN connectivity). 100 interviews were conducted with IT Directors and Communications Directors at the end of March 2005.

For an executive summary of the research please contact: Alistair Kent / Sally Robards, Kaizo 020 7580 8852 or visit http://www.affiniti.com.


About Affiniti

Affiniti, the communications integrator, is a new kind of partner created from the coming together of Kingston Communications? Business and Partner Services divisions, Omnetica and Technica in 2005.

Affiniti is a Kingston Communications business with offices throughout the UK and in New York, USA. The business employs 1,400 people with a high quality blue chip customer base in a number of key verticals, including the public sector, financial services, manufacturing and retail, distribution & transport. Some of those businesses include: Experian, IVAX, Sage UK, Ford, BMW, Admiral Insurance, the Food Standards Agency, Toyota, British Airways, Total, NHS Greater Glasgow, GlaxoSmithKline, Deutsche Bank, Scottish Parliament, BMI and TNT.

Affiniti specialises in converged communications, combining carrier services, enterprise voice, data, video, mobile, wireless and storage skills, together with network expertise and managed services, providing and enhancing the service capability.

The business has its own 2,200km national broadband network that forms the backbone of the Wide Area services and has partnerships with market-leading technology providers to provide end-to-end solutions and award winning, proven, service delivery.