Monday, 29 January 2018

GUEST BLOG: How to cut the cost of doing business abroad


Businesses looking to expand often have to look abroad for new markets and customers. And securing these new markets inevitably includes having to travel to meet potential buyers and sellers.  Despite developments such as video conferencing evidence shows that doing business face to face brings greater financial benefits to companies.

A report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research found that a London-based company doing business face to face could see an average income increase of almost £250,000 a year.  And research by Premier Inn found that for every £1 a company spends on business travel it could see a return of 60 per cent on the investment.

But business trips, especially abroad, can be costly if travellers are not able to work efficiently while on the road.

Is this scenario familiar in your organisation?  You send people at great expense to meet a client abroad and are unable to keep in touch with them because of the high cost of communication? Are your teams trying to work with limited data roaming packages, paying high fees to access hotel wi-fi or using unreliable and slow free public wi-fi? 

High costs mean that communication can be intermittent - hardly the most effective way to work at a time when we all expect to be able to be constantly connected with the office and home, be able to check emails and access the internet.

This can all be changed with a handy little gadget from Majesti-Fi that gives travellers peace of mind from sky-high data roaming charges and provides secure 3G or 4G internet access 24/7.  With Majesti-Fi data roaming charges can drop to as little as a few pence per MB compared to up to £6 per MB charged by UK suppliers.

The device can be used to access data, surf the Internet and make VOIP calls.  The size of a smartphone, the device works as a mobile wi-fi hotspot connecting with the strongest local provider.  It is easy to use with no need for fiddly SIM cards and currently works in over 110 countries. Another major benefit is that all communication is encrypted so there is no danger of hacking as can happen with public wi-fi networks.

Up to five devices can be connected ensuring travellers can work effectively. It has a battery life of 9 hours in operation and 48 hours in standby and an in-built USB port means that it can also charge devices.

Since its launch in 2015 Majesti-fi has helped companies to save thousands of pounds – sometimes from just one trip. 

The CEO of an international consulting company decided to try the device for himself over a three-month period while travellers in the USA, Israel, Dubai, UAE, Italy, France, Switzerland, Nigeria and Egypt. Using the best bundle offered by his UK provider he would have been charged a staggering £18,435 for using 18GB.  With Majesti-Fi this cost dropped to just £1,105.92.  

At the end of the testing period, the CEO said, “It really has transformed my life and the way I am able to work whilst significantly reducing my costs."  And he has now decided to roll this out to all international travellers within his organisation.

Companies are careful to look at the cost of flights and accommodation but all too often overlook the cost of data roaming.  If these costs are not budgeted for they can have major implications.  One organisation was faced with such a high bill for data roaming that it had to dip into funds for other parts of the business.

Perhaps most importantly the device is actually improving the travel experience and helping to maintain a healthy family life.  One traveller is now able to Skype his children everyday – something that would have been impossible on his data contract where his allowance would have been used up with just one Skype call.   And travellers can even keep up with their favourite soaps or TV programmes when stuck in remote areas.  Having happy staff has to be a plus when it comes to retaining good people.

For more information visit www.majestifi.com or book your free place at www.businesstravelshow.com/register and meet them at the show this month! 


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