Olive wins two-year mobility contract with British Cycling

B2B dealer will provide national governing body of cycling with 300 connections and smartphones

Olive Communications has won a two-year contract with British Cycling in a move it claims will “transform its mobile communications”.

The leading B2B dealer will provide the national governing body of cycling and the nation’s largest cycling association with 300 smartphones running off the Vodafone network.

Olive claimed “significant” cost savings have been achieved by consolidating from its previous network providers into one, eradicating the cost of cross network charging and delivering consistent functionality to all users.

The service wrap incorporates a dedicated project management team to oversee the transition and ensure continuity of service and ease of use for British Cycling’s members.

In addition, the solution includes a 24/7 helpdesk and cost centre, as well as budget management solutions to provide full visibility of cost and usage, allowing users to be able to use their devices without the fear of bill shock.

Olive said it was selected following a “rigorous tender process”, and were chosen as a result of their “huge pedigree in providing fully-managed solutions, with an end-to-end service wrap”.

The Vodafone Total Communications Mitel Platinum Cloud Partner added that the British Cycling team travels extensively, so the need to flexible and remote working and enabling improved communications through social media and collaboration with colleagues was a key requirement.

It joins other customers managed by Olive, including insurance provider Vitality, public service union Unison, NHS North East, charity RBLI and National Geographic.

Stiff competition

Olive chief executive Martin Flick said: “It’s a testament to the team at Olive that we were chosen in the face of stiff competition, but we won’t be resting on our laurels.

“The next stage in providing continuing value is to assess ways to improve efficiency further and find additional cost efficiencies by reviewing other elements of the British Cycling IT and communications spend and integrating those elements into a fully integrated Unified Communications solution.”

British Cycling has over 135,000 members, and roles that include supporting elite cyclists throughout the world, including Olympic events, as well as lobbying the government and campaigning for legislation and community support and funding for cycling.

Experienced partner

“What attracted us to Olive was that they really listened and understood our requirements,” said British Cycling business services manager Evonne Carr.

“We wanted a high-quality network backed up with the support of an experienced partner that would work in close proximity with us, to understand our ongoing needs and provide tailored support to our organisational challenges.”