O2 floods channel with £7m to spur SMB success

Mobile network operator more than triples partner funding for the coming year

O2 has set aside a £7m war chest to invest in its partner channel next year in a bid to boost its standing in the SMB market.

The plans build on a similar announcement this time last year, when the mobile operator revealed plans to plough £2m into its channel. Next year's £7m pot, which was unveiled at O2's recent Partner Conference event, will be spent on helping partners improve customer service.

Head of partners Maggie Kennedy said: "Our channel partners have had a fantastic year and are critical to the success of O2. This additional investment we are announcing will enable them to continue to bring high-value, low-churn business to O2. We have always invested a lot in supporting the partner channel and have seen such great results in 2010."

At the partner get-together, partners were also given an insight into O2's plans to invest in improving its network this year. Business sales director Ben Dowd claimed a hands-on approach with partners would be key to ensuring further success.

"At O2 we are obsessive about delivering the best customer experience of any industry and our partners are a key element in helping us achieve that," he said. "We recognise that we need to enable and support our partners in doing this and this is why we are investing so heavily in them.

"Key to our success has been a constant dialogue with partners where we have listened to their feedback. This has enabled us to have a joined-up approach to this and we continue to learn from the best practice across all partners."