Telecommunications giant AT&T announced starting at $90 a month,
small businesses can get connected to the business communications
technologies, including tech support and data backup services, as a
consequence of the company’s All for Less bundle. The company noted
pricing would vary depending on services purchased. Built for
businesses with up to 10 wired voice lines, the bundles feature wired
broadband and unlimited domestic calling as core services, with
additional options including wireless voice, mobile broadband, remote
technical support, online data back up and Website hosting.
The bundles are available to qualifying small business customers across
AT&T’s 22-state local footprint. In addition to essential services,
including unlimited local and domestic long distance calling, high
speed Internet (with download speeds up to 24M bps), and access to
AT&T’s more than 20,000 domestic WiFi hotspots, bundle options
include wireless services and Web Hosting – Shared Hosting, which
includes tools to set up an online presence.
TechSupport 360 features unlimited 24/7 live, IT certified, U.S.-based
tech support and provides remote setup, configuration, troubleshooting
and performance optimization support for PCs, laptops, WiFi networks
and peripheral network devices. In addition to Tech Support 360, this
bundle features Tech Support 360 Back Up and Go, a cloud-based service,
offering unlimited backup and storage of data per PC with remote access
from any location via broadband Web-connected computer or mobile
device. In case of emergency, data can be recovered and loaded onto
another computer.
“Until now, small businesses didn’t have the option of bundling
traditional communications services with other necessary services like
tech support and data backup,” said Karen Nielsen, senior consultant
for telecom practice at technology market research firm AMI-Partners.
“Communications bundles, like the new All for Less bundles from
AT&T, enable small businesses, who stand to benefit from the
convenience of working with a single provider, to take advantage of
bundled pricing across a wider range of essential business services.”
A company release stated the bundles provide savings up to 40 percent
over what customers would spend if the services were purchased
separately. In June 2009, AT&T initially introduced the All for
Less bundle, which featured wireless voice, high speed Internet and
unlimited domestic calling for less than $100.
“No other company is offering small businesses a bundle that features
essential mobile and wired broadband, wireless and wired voice, and
managed services,” said Ebrahim Keshavarz, AT&T vice president of
small business product management. “The new All for Less bundles
provide affordable and flexible communications options that help
customers mobilize everything, making their businesses more productive
and, ultimately, more successful.“
In August, the company unveiled a Broadband on the Go bundle, also
aimed at small businesses. The bundle includes high speed Internet
access, WiFi and mobile broadband, plus unlimited online personal
computer data backup with remote access from any broadband Web-connected device. According to Compass Intelligence, a high-tech
market analytics firm, small businesses (less than 100 employees) spent
$5.6 billion in 2009 on wireless data services and expect to spend
$18.9 billion in 2014, resulting in a compound annual growth rate of
27.6 percent.
“We estimate that small businesses make up roughly 38 percent of
business wireless subscribers, while comprising about 45 percent of
wireless data spend,” said Compass Intelligence President Kneko Burney.
“As such, small businesses are a crucial segment of the wireless data
market, and these customers’ spending is only expected to rise in the
coming years. Additionally, our research shows that small
businesses spend more on average per user for wireless data than their
enterprise counterparts, primarily because a greater percentage of
their workforce is mobile and likely to rely only on wireless for their
business connectivity.”
AT&T’s Small Business Technology Poll, a national study released
earlier this year by the company, found 71 percent of small businesses
responding indicated they use laptop data cards and nearly 79 percent
indicate they use WiFi hotspots to conduct business-related
activities. Moreover, 60 percent of small businesses said they use
their laptop more now to access data through mobile networks than they
did two years ago and nearly 68 percent use WiFi hotspots more now to
access data than they did two years ago.
In addition, the study revealed that nearly 85 percent of small
businesses feel that recovering data would be important following a
disaster. Yet only 30 percent of small businesses use off-site data
backup, such as online backup. So in the event of a disaster that
destroys their office, a majority of small businesses might well lose
critical data because they’re not fully prepared.
Midmarket News & Reviews 
