ITWales.com
Small Planet: Taking bold strides in telecom innovation
Small Planet Technology designs, develops and distributes innovative telecommunications products. Established in 1999, Small
Planet was one of the first companies to be
accepted for tenancy at the Technium I building - the WDA's flagship business environment and program to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in Wales. itwales.com speaks to company director
Brian Docherty.
"The company was started by myself and Jim Churchman - we have worked together in the telecommunications industry for about twenty years. In 1988 we started another Welsh telecommunications
company, Tetrel Ltd., in Llantrisant. From a four person start up with a zero revenue base we grew Tetrel to an SME employing 105 staff, exporting to eleven countries with a multi-million pound,
profitable turnover," says Docherty.
Brian Docherty, pictured on the recent and exciting Small Planet trip to the Red Planet
Tetrel was Europe's market leading supplier of private payphones commonly seen in pubs and restaurants. Tetrel created the market for this commodity style of payphone, which can be installed by
the owner on any phone line, is styled and reliable and importantly where the owner is at liberty to vary the call charges to cover costs, or make a profit.
Docherty adds: "Prior to the development of this market, indoor payphones in the UK were a BT monopoly product, tariff regulated, needed special payphone lines, were engineer installed and
maintained and were invariably expensive, ugly, large, steel monoliths."
"To create an exit for our venture capital backers, we sold the company to a FTSE 100 listed technology company in 1999. Following a handover period working with the new owners, and having
decided that the process of growing a business had not been too painful, a couple of years later Jim and I started Small Planet."
"We moved in to Technium in Spring 2001, began development of our first product and in 2002 we agreed terms with BT for the supply and distribution of our first product to market - BT
TwinTalk. We spent most of 2002 going through BT's thorough but lengthy technical and market acceptance process for one of their core portfolio products."
"Our ambition is to offer the end customer better value and functionality than is currently available to them in the marketplace. I think this approach is typified by BT
TwinTalk, which is exclusively distributed by BT in the UK."
TwinTalk makes an existing BT phone line work more like two lines, allowing customers a combination of uses, such as a phone and fax or a business phone and home phone, each with its own
telephone number, sharing the cost of one BT line.
Before TwinTalk a customer working from home would need to rent a real second line from BT to provide a connection for a fax, or a business phone. Compared with installing and renting a dedicated
line, TwinTalk can reportedly save a business customer up to £224 in the first year alone.
"BT is now developing a wide UK market for TwinTalk through a range of distributors and dealers, plus their own internal sales routes. We are developing export versions and markets for TwinTalk,"
says Docherty.
ITW: What's unique/outstanding about the products you provide?
BD: We try to identify new markets, or new approaches to existing markets, where we can use our skills to develop innovative products and technology, which customers will want to buy.
We have our designs manufactured by manufacturing partners, who we have worked with on a long term basis, who may be local, or as far away as China, depending on the requirements of the
product and the market.
We try to identify distribution partners with synergistic skills in sales and marketing who can use their reach to establish wide markets for our products and services
ITW: What one piece of technology has benefited your company the most?
Jim's brain.
ITW: What's been the key to your success?
BD: The commitment and capability of the staff and their shared focus on achieving the goals that the business has set for itself.
ITW: What one piece of advice would you give to start up companies in your field?
BD: I wouldn't. Advice is rarely invited and usually ignored.
ITW: Where do you see your company going in the future?
BD: The company is identifying new markets and developing the products and systems to satisfy these. Our intention is to build a portfolio of innovative products and services, with protection of the
core intellectual property associated with these, which will form a diverse revenue stream to grow the business.
Contacts
Small Planet Technology
Tel: 01792 513 225
E-mail: sales@smallplanettechnology.com
Web: http://www.smallplanettechnology.com
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