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2 | OneAccess inside

12 OneAccessisyearsold10

03 Edito04 Keychallenges06 SalesTalk07 OneAccessTerritory08 PeopleFirst09 WelcomeOnBoard10 AllforOneandOneforAll11 PeoplePassion12 MajorMilestones OfficeWithaView

ExtremeRouters

OneAccess inside | 3

e d i t o

Welcome to Inside OneAccess, a newsletter to keep you up-to-date with the latest

news and events, the challenges ahead, and to celebrate our successes to come. Very soon, we will celebrate one such

event – the 10th anniversary of the creation of our company. There are only a handful of technology businesses in France who have achieved anywhere near our level of export success, and a significant number who started out on this journey at the same time, who have not survived to this stage. Congratulations to everybody inside the company who has helped us get to this present situation over the past decade. We now need to build on this success, to continue to change and adapt to meet the challenges of the future, just as we have done in the past.

➥ BertrandMeis,CEO OneAccess


WWorking at OneAccess today requires employees to rely on information provided by somebody in

another department, quite possibly in a different timezone. If you fail to keep your promise to somebody, they will not be able to complete their task, and vice-versa. Because of this, some of the informal processes and communication methods that we (and indeed I !) have relied on inside the organisation in the past are no longer up to this global challenge.

IrememberwhenwestartedwehadwhatIaffectionatelyrefertoasa‘commando’styleofdoingbusiness.Toughanddetermi-nedsalespeople,backedupbymotivatedtechnicalteams,operatedlargelyontheirowntowinlargecustomeraccountsandbuildrevenue.Wehaveallprofitedfromourwillingnesstoworkhardforthegoodofthecompany,togrowourcustomerbaseandhelpsellourproductrange.However,asfunandexcitingIrememberthejourneybeing, thisstyleofworking isnotnowsuitedtoanorganisationwithover120customers in60-pluscountriesaroundtheworld.

key challenges

AccountabilityThis isoneof thereasonswhywehavechangedtheorganisation;tomakeusmoreaccountabletoeachother,todrivethebu-sinessforwardandtomakesurethatwehonourourpromisestodeliver.Weneedtobesmartandadapt to thechangingenvironmenttocontinuesucceeding.Thelongerwestaythesame,themorepainfulitwillbeintheendtochange.

We need to change our way of working to move to the next level”

➥ BertrandMeis,CEO OneAccess


FlexibilityTheotherreasonis thechallengesthatarehappeninginthemarket.Wethere-forehave to look tonewandemergingmarketsforextrarevenuesandweneedtoadaptandplanaheadmoreinordertobesuccessful incountries thatareverydifferentfromusculturally.ThisiswhywearelookingtoexpandintoNorthAmericaandotherregionssuchasAsiaover thecomingyears,whilestillretainingourfocusonEMEAmarketswithpotentialgrowth,suchasGermany.

CustomerfocusBiggerorganisationsrequireincreasedcus-tomerfocustoretainvisibilityonaglobalscale.Theyalsorequiregreaterefficiency.Ibelieveourrecentchangesandarenewedfocusoncustomerswillhelpusachievethelevelofscalabilityandoperatorcarerequiredtoobtaingreatermarketshare,whilestillretainingourcorevalues.Weneedtoprepareourselvesforthisfu-ture,sothatwhenthetimecomes,wearereadyandcangrabtheopportunitiesopentousaroundtheworldwithbothhands.

NewOrganisationBackin2010itbecameclearthat,despiteallourhardworkanddedication,thecom-panywasbecomingjusttoofarremovedfromthecustomer.Thiswaspartlydowntothegreatgrowthwehadseen,whichbrou-ghtwithitanunderstandableincreaseinthenumberofcustomerqueries.Iknow,Ihavebeeninvolvedwithmanyofthem!However,wecouldnotcontinueaddingmorepeopletotheorganisationtosolvethisproblem.Wedecidedweneededtobecomeanor-ganisationthatwasdifferent

That’swhywemadethedecisiontorea-ligntheorganisationaroundtheneedsofoperators.Ourgoalwastomakeourcompanymoreresponsivetocustomersdemandswithdecisionsbasedonbusi-nessopportunitieswhichgrewfromourhistorical intimacywithourcustomers.Thismeantmovingthedivisionsofthecompany closer to all of our telcos toenableustosolvetheirproblemsmoreeffectively.Attheendoftheday,weareacustomer-focusedandsalesorientatedorganisationthatneedstoorganiseitselfentirelyaroundtheneedsofoperatorsforourcontinuedsuccess.Thesechanges,ontopofan investment innew technolo-giesandinternalstructureswillgiveus

abetterplatform tocompete.Thiswillmeanbecomingmorevisibletoourope-ratorcustomers,andprovidinggreaterindividualaccountability.Itwillalsogiveusmoretimeandenergytogoafternewmarketsandwinbusinessinnewregions,aswellasconcentrateonwinningmorecontractswithourlargestcustomers,bygivingthembetterservicethroughouttheproductlifecycleandinspiringconfidencethatwecanachieveyetmorefor them.Our goal is to be the vendor of choiceforbranchofficeservicesbeingplannednowbytelcos,andinthefuture.Withournewcustomerfocusandemphasisonacommitmenttodelivery,wecanachievethis.


➥ AlanBrazier,Chief Sales Officer

sales talk

Create a scalable, results-driven organisation that will enable us to compete”

S ixmonthsago,wereceivedtheoutlineofanewthree-yearplan,whichisessentiallytodoublethesizeofthecompanyby2013–an

extremelychallengingtargetinthepre-sentclimate.Itwasclearthatsomethingswouldhavetochange,andthatthesalesteamsrequiredfurthersupporttomeettheirtargets.We created a formal account structureforthesalesdivision,wherebysalesma-nagerswereresponsibletodeliveringtocustomers,withtechnicalexpertsinturnresponsiblefordeliveringtosalesmana-gers,tocreategreaterefficiencyandbetteraccountabilityatalocallevel.Thechangeshaveresultedinabetterser-vice,moreownershipandempowerment

foroursalesteamsinthefield.Italsoen-couragesemployeestocommit tosalesstaffinthesamewayastheywouldthecustomer,andcommunicatewiththeminthesameclearanddecisivemanner.

Wearealsoworkingtoestablishclearpro-cessessothatwedeliverthesamestan-dardofresponsetocustomersaroundtheworld,whilehelpingthosebackatheadofficebetterunderstandwhatitisthatweneedtodotorespondinthemostproduc-tiveandefficientway.

Allofthesechangeswillhelpcreateasca-lable,results-drivenorganisationthatwillenableuscompete to themaximumofourability.

Whatareyourob-jectives?Toincreaserevenuesby50%bytheendof thisyear,averychallengingtargetindeed!

Howareyougoingtoachievethese?TheplanistoincreaseournumberofTier2customersand lucrativeprojects thathaveadefinedtimelimit.Itisimportanttofocusonclearobjectiveswithspecificdeadlinesifwewanttosucceed.Whoareyourcustomersatthemoment?Themainfocusisontheincumbent;theymakeupthebulkofourcustomerbase.

Yourregionisavastareathatcoversanumberoftimezones.Howdoyouorga-niseitall?I have sales people in six regions – soBenelux,theNordicsandBaltics,theCzechandSlovakRepublics,Hungary,RussiaandtheMiddleEast/Africa. Iaminconstantcontactwiththeteameveryday, tryingto understand what their challengesandopportunitiesare,andhelpingthemachievetheirgoals. Ialsospenda lotofmytimeforecastingoursalesbasedontheirfeedbackbacktocentralmanagers,andbusinessplanning–uptotwohoursaday-aswellashelpingthemgoafterspecificopportunities.Ialsohavemyowncustomerstolookafteraswell.

Itrytogetouttoseeasmanypeopleaspossible,soIwillbetravellinguptofourtimesamonthassistingmyteamincusto-mermeetingswithseniormanagersinsideanoperator,aswellas travelling to thecentralofficeonceamonth,andvisitingmyowncustomersonceaweek.

Howhavethesalesdivisionchangesim-provedyourdaytodayrole?Theadditionalsalessupporthasenabledus towork inanaccountmanagementstructure.Thishasmadeusmuchmore

effectivebecausewearebetterable tounderstandtheneedsofourcustomersandgetthemtheinformationtheyrequire.Wearealsoabletodeploymoreeffectivelyofsalesstrategyandoptimizeourperfor-mancethroughgreaterteamwork.

Howdoyoumanagetocommunicateef-fectivelywithyourteamonadaytodaybasis?Itcanbedifficultwithtimezones,butIuseamixtureofphonecalls,personalvisitsandemail.Ialsomakesurethatweallmeetuponceamonthatthecentralofficestoshareinformation,whichhelpstrainandinformpeople–andhelpskeepthemintouchwiththemainorganisation.Ialwaystrytoinviteanotherdepartmentalongtothesemeetingsinsomeform,tohelpusidentifykeyaccountopportunities.

Apartfromtimezones,whatareyourotherkeychallenges?Oneofthemostchallengingthingsistounderstand,andadaptto, themanydif-ferencesincultureacrosssuchadiversesetofregions.Thentherearetheworkinghours:theMiddleEastdoesnotdobusi-nessonaFridayorSaturday,andsoweasteamsneedtobeawareofthatandorga-niseinformationtocomefromthecentralorganisationtofitinwiththosedays.

Also,mostcustomersworkwithinastan-dardtenderprocess,however,anumberdonot,andoursuccesswilldependonourrelationshipwithpartners. Insomeinstanceswewillhavetoworkwiththosepartnerstounderstandthetimescalesandrequirementsofthecustomer.

Oneaccess territoryFocus on Northern, Eastern,Central Europe and Emea


➥ BenoitSouffree, Regional Sales Manager


PeoPle first

➥ JosephNoone, HR Director Joseph joined OneAccess in April. Origi-

nally from Ireland, he has worked for the past 20 years in HR roles inside international or-ganisations. He has lived and worked in France for more than 20 years.

Myjobistobalanceandbuildthebusinessbyprovidingtheskillsandhumanresour-cesthatenableustoexecuteourstrategyandmeetour long-termgoals.Withthehelpandsupportofmanagement,Ihavetomakesurethatweattract,retain,rewardanddevelopthehumanresourcesrequiredtomeetourobjectives.Toachievethis,oneofmykeytasksin2011istoimplementanambitiousrecruitmentplanwhichwillpro-videtheseadditionalresources.Byyearend2011,wewillhavepassedwellbeyondthemilestoneof400employeesworldwide,asignificantachievementindeed.

Findingnewtalentisimportantbutinte-gratingthosenewrecruitsisalsocritical.Employeeinductionwillalsobekeyaswemoveinto2012andwemustensurethatallnewemployeesintegratewellintotheorganisationandreceivetherighttraininganddevelopmenttodotheirjobwell,par-ticularlyinrelationtocompanyprocessesandprocedures.Abusiness-focusedannualtrainingplanwillberolledoutonallsitesas2012progresses.Athirdkeytaskwillbetodevelopfurther theannualappraisalandobjectivesettingprocessinlinewithour company’s needs and a OneAccessEvaluationandobjectivesettingmanage-menttoolboxwillbedeployedacrossthecompanyasofendofNovember2011.

Ofcourse,Iamnotgoingtoachieveallofthisonmyownandthecommitmentofmanagersatalllevelswillbecriticalsinceourmanagersarethepeoplewhorecruit,develop,train,setobjectives,appraiseand

reward performance and manage em-ployeesonaday-to-daybasis.

ManagersareindeedkeytothesuccessofOneAccess’abilitytodeliveronitscommit-ments.Ifourpeopleareourgreatestasset,employeeswillperformeffectivelyiftheyhavecleargoals,clearrolesandresponsi-bilities,understandhowtoexecuteinlinewithcompanyprocedures,therightskillstodothejobrequiredandareempoweredtoactinaccordancewithcompanyprioritiesandstrategy.Ourmanagersarecentralinensuring thatallouremployees throu-ghouttheorganizationmeetthesefun-damentaldriversofperformanceandweintendtodeployamanagementtrainingplanin2012tosupportourmanagersandensuretheyplaytheirroletothefull.Finally,onapersonalnote,IamverypleasedtohavejoinedOneAccess.Wehavetalentedpeople,goodproducts,ambitiousprojectsto implementforourcustomers, lotsofopportunitiestodevelopourbusinessandacustomer-focusedculturewhichdrivessuccess.IlookforwardtosupportingourteamsthroughoutOneAccess intheco-mingmonthstoensuresuccess.

➥ PatrickCnoops,aka ‘Mr Process’, Quality Director at OneAccess. Patrick has been working at OneAccess since 2006. He is well aware that nobody really understands his job title.

My job is to bringoutthebest inma-nagers by givingthem the tools toenablethemtoma-nagetheirteamsef-fectively accordingtostandard,shared

processesandprocedures. Ifwewanttobetteridentifyandmeettheneedsofourcustomersglobally,weneedasanorgani-zationtoworktogetherinthesameway.Commonprocessesandproceduresarekey

todeliveringontime,attherightcostandtotheexpectedlevelofquality,inarepea-tableandconsistentway.Sharedprocessesandproceduresalsoallowemployeestoworkmoreeffectively togetherbecauseyoucanonlyworkmoreeffectivelyifyouunderstandwhatyouhavetodo,whenyouneedtodoit,whoelseneedstocontribute,whenandtowhatlevelofresult.

Uniform and well-understood proces-sesdrivecompaniesforward, increasingemployees’knowledgeofwhat’sneeded,when,how,whereandwhy.Italsoimprovesaccountability and team work becauseeveryoneunderstandstherolehe/shehastoplayinthevaluechain.Iamcurrentlyworkingonaseriesofproces-sestobeimplementedacrossOneAccess’geographicregionsanddivisions,whichalsowillbeplacedonlineforeverybodytoreferto,whencompleted.Inafirstphase,thefollowingprocedureshavebeenreleasedandareavailableandtheintranetlinkDepartments>Manage-ment>Processes:

RFI/RFP Procedure• Feature Request Procedure• R&D Planning & Priorit ization • ProcedureRecruitment Procedure•

Wearealsoplanningtoprovidetrainingtothoseresponsibleforputtingtheprocessesintopractisemosteffectively.

AnimportantpartofmyworkisalsotomaintainourQualityManagementSys-temsand togetnewones inplace.Wearecurrentlyworkingveryhardon2newinitiatives:gettingISO9001certificationinplaceinOneAccessIndiathisyearandsettingupaswellstrongsoftwareproces-seswithaverystrategicinitiativebasedonCMMImaturitylevel3whichwillbeusedgloballybyallOneAccessR&Dcentres.

Inside OneAccess is inviting managers to talk about a particular human-interest aspect of management in the next issue, to share best practice in this area and to bring the subject to life.

Inside OneAccess speaks to new Chief Marketing Officer Pravin Mirchandani

welcome on board

PP r a v i n has spent m o s t o f his wor-

king life in the E u r o p e a n T e l e -coms and IT in-dustry, both in t h e e q u i p m e n t a n d s o f t w a r e

arenas, for global companies, specia-lising in helping companies deliver accelerated growth. Originally from London, he has degrees in Economics and Computer Systems Engineering. After his first degree he worked as an ‘English as a Foreign Language’ teacher, across Europe. He speaks French and German, and he and his wife have a son, aged 10, who is a keen rugby player and excited about moving to Paris in the New Year ! Pravin describes his initial thoughts and plans below.

FirstImpressionsIntheshortamountoftimeIhavebeenwiththecompanyandlearningall Icanabouthowitworks,Ihavefoundanumberofaspects,bothshortandlong-term,whe-reIbelievemorefocusedeffortcanmakearealdifference.OneofthefirstthingsIplantodoisplacearenewedemphasisonin-territorymarketingprogrammes;thosethatengagecustomersinregionswherewearealreadyknown,andalso innewterritories,suchasNorthAmericasoastodrivenewsourcesofrevenue.Anotherareaoffocusistointroducea‘campaignstyle’ofmarketingintoOneAccess.Otherwise

knownas‘multi-touch’marketing,thisisanapproachthattargetstelcodecision-makersthrougharangeofcommunicationdeviceswithappealingmessagescoveringourvaluepropositionsandothertechnicalandcorporatemessages.

Most importantly, and a personal areaof focus for me, is to develop a set ofdifferentiatedvaluepropositions-onesthatnotonlystatewhatwedoisadvan-tageousforourcustomersbutalsoarebetterwhenmeasuredagainstourrivals.

SpeedingUptheSalesCycleOneofthekeymessagesIhaveheardfromthesalesteamistheneedforabroaderandmore targetedrangeofsales toolswithwhichtoapproachexistingandnewcustomers.Notonlyarethesenecessarytomaintaininterestoveralongsalescycle,buttheyshouldassistinsecuringordersmoreefficiently.Sometimeswecanloseanopportunitybecausetheproductwehaveofferedisnotquitesuitable,orsomefunctionalityhasnotbeenpresentandwehavelittletosaytokeepthecustomerinterestedandmotivatedaswedevelopourresponses.Ihavetakenthistoheartandaimtoprovideoursalesteamswiththerightmaterials,suchaswhitepapersandothertypesofbriefingdocuments(aswellasgettingourmessagesoverateventsandviaothermessaginginitiatives)–inshortall the informationandnecessarymessagestosecureengagementwithourproducts,enablequickerdecisions,andconfirmthatall-importantsale.Iseethedeliveryofabroaderandmorepertinent

rangeofcollateralasakeyelementinap-proachingexistingandnewcustomers,andacriticalcomponentinspeedingupsalescyclesforacceleratedrevenues.

CustomerFocusThesalesteamsdoagreat job.Anotherthingtheyhavetoldmehowever,isthattheyneedtherightcommunicationssup-portfromstaffwhoareabletoanticipateproblemsandcomplications.Weneedtoavoidsituationswhereacommunicationsgapresultsinthesalesteamhavingnogui-danceoradditionalinformationtomain-tainthedialoguewiththecustomer.In this way, I believe it is not only themarketingdepartmentthatwillhavetorespondtothesalesdepartment,butra-therallofuswillneed toenhanceourcustomer focus tobeable tobestsup-port the sales teams out in the field.

PlanningfortheFutureUnderstandingthe‘biggerpicture’isveryimportanttomyroleandthecompany’sfuture,whichiswhy,afteralotofcarefulthought,Iamworkingwiththerestofthemanagementteamtocreateastrategicthree-yearplanforusall. Itspurpose istoensurethatweallknowthedirectionforthefuture,andwhatwewillneedtoachievealongthewaytoremainsucces-sful. OneAccess has both significantlygrownits turnoverandbeenextremelyprofitableoverthepast10years.Wewillneedtobothmaintainthatsuccess,butalsogrowourpresenceandbusinesslinesgoingforward, tocontinuetoremainsointhefuture.


all for one and one for all


G eoffroy Hallard, IT manager for OneAccess, explains how the new IT ticketing system will contribute to making

life easier for all OneAccess employees (and IT users !).

Our job is toprovide ITsupport toeve-rybodyworkingforOneAccessGroup.Atcentrallevel,weareasmallteamoftwopeopleandweworkhandinhandwithourITsitemanagerstoensuretogetherthatour ITsystems, toolsandsecurityfunc-tioneffectively.Together,wearebasicallyresponsibleforensuringthattheITuserexperienceispositiveforallouremployeeswherevertheyareintheworld.This iswhyweareopeningtoeveryonetheaccesstoourglobalITticketingsystemfromSeptember thatallouremployeeswillbeabletousetoalertusregardinganysupportedITtoolissuetheyencounterduringtheirworkingday.Thissharedtoolwillgiveusaviewofallproblemsencoun-tered,allowustocategorizeandprioritizeaccordingtogravityandinterveneappro-priatelyinatimelymanner.

ThissystemwillsupportourlocalITma-nagersandensurethatemployeeseve-rywherecanbehelpedby their local ITmanagerinthefirstinstanceand/orbyourcentralITteamwhennecessary.AsmotherITexperiencewillencouragegreaterteamworkingbutalsogreaterefficiencyacrosstheorganisation.

AcommonsharedprocedureonhowtousethenewsystemwillbecommunicatedtoallemployeesduringthemonthofSep-temberaswellasaspecificprocedureforremote/smalland/orhomeofficeusers.

ITsitesmanagersareLucMordacqforOAF,PhilippeCoqueletforOASofia,ArvindMedaforOAI.ImyselfammanagerforOABandalsoCentralITManagerforOAGroup.

Weofcourseareatyourdisposal ifyouhaveanyquestions.Hopingyour ITex-periencewillcontinuetobepositiveandremember“AllforOneandOneforAll!”

If you have any further questions,[email protected]

➥ GeoffroyHallard,IT manager for OneAccess

Hoping your IT experience will continue to be positive and remember : “All for One and One for All !”

OneAccess inside | 1111 | OneAccess inside

PeoPle passion

"Pa t r i c k i s happy t o a dv i s e th o s e wh o wan t t o g e t i n t o th e sp o r t "

➥ PatrickCosperec,Regional Sales Manager

P atrick Cosperec, sales manager for France, is an avid runner; running two marathons a year, plus a number of other races. He

runs around 50km a week on average, but 90 km a week when training for a race. Patrick is currently training for the Reims marathon and has run in some of the major marathon events around the world.

Ilovetoeatgreatfood,butthathasverybadconsequencesformywaistline!That’sinitiallyhowIcametorunning.Also, it’snoteasytofindateamsportwhenyouaretravellingaroundvisitingcustomers.Runningmeansthatyoucanjustputonyourtrainingshoesandjustgo,whereveryouare.

Iamnotasprinter; the100misnotmysport.Rather,mychosenraceisthema-rathon.Itrequiresyoutobuilduptoeachmilestonesuccessstepbystep,andsore-quirestenacityandlong-termplanning–a

bitlikemyjobinfact!AlthoughIrunonmyowninraces,Idoliketrainingwithotherpeopleinmyrunningclubaswell.It’sverysocialbecausewetalkalotwhilerunningandthereisarealsenseofbelongingtoagroup,whichIlike.

OneoftheperksofthislifestyleisthatIgettoreallyseeacitywhenIamrunninginarace. Ihavehadsomereallyfantas-ticholidaysandseensomegreatplaces.Plus, Iget toeatwhatever Iwantaftertheraceisover.Thatiswhenmyholidayreallystarts!

Patrick is one of a number of committed runners at OneAccess that include Fabrice Boise and Francis Leonard. He also leads - and tries to improve the performance of - a lunchtime running group at the Paris office, which comprises Jerome Cordier, Touria El Yatimi and Thierry Royer. Patrick is happy to provide advice on those interested in running at Meudon Forest.

" I l o v e t o e a t g r e a t f o o d "

"Pa t r i c ki s an av i d r u nn e r "


On the Line…

WehaverecentlymodernisedourBelgiummanufacturingproductionline.Thenewequipment,trulyoneofthemostpowerfulonthemarkettoday,increasesthespeedatwhichcomponentsareplacedontheline,vastlyreducingset-uptime,andprovidingfasterandeasiercalibration.Overallthenewlineismucheasiertomaintain–whichwillmakeourengineersthereveryhappy!Itwillenableustoimprovecustomersatisfactionbymakingusevenmoreflexibleandcompetitive tomeetoperators’needs.Welldoneto theplant’steamforcompletingsuchahugeprojectinsuchashorttime!

Office with a View

Afteryearsoflookingoutoveraconcreteindustrialestate,theFontenay-auxRosesemployeeshavemovedtoa15-storeybuildingwithviewofthewholeofParis,atPentagonePlaza,Clamart.TheyhavebeenjoinedbyworkersfromPlessisRobinson,toenjoyaservicedbuildingthatincludesafitnessroom,acoffeeandsnackservice,restaurantandconciergeservices.The aim of the move was to bring all staff together toencourageincreasedteamworkingbetweendepartments,plusprovidemorespace forall staff -especially for theR&Ddepartment’sequipment-aswellasawelcomingandprofessionalatmosphereforbothcustomersandpartners.

Interestingly, thebuilding’sentrancewasalteredrecentlytolooklikethefrontofapolicestationforafilm…wedon’tknowwhichone,butifyouspotit,doletusknow!

major milestones

Spot the router

Happy Birthday OneAccess ! This year, we will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of OneAccess as a company. To celebrate this happy occasion, we are planning to organize a party on Thursday 15st December for our employees and invitations will be sent shortly with all the details. The day will involve lunch, photos and special events for around 300 participants. Please save the date in your diaries. A special event will be held in OAI for our employees in Bangalore to mark the occasion and the date has yet to be set.

Try and find the OneAccess router in an extreme location.Ifyoufinditemailyourresponsetointernal-communication@oneaccess-net.com.Andyouwillenteratdrawtowinabottleofchampagne. To suggest a topic, contact

[email protected]

10OneAccessisyearsold

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