WeDo unveils major diversification with RAID launch

Portuguese business assurance outfit WeDo explained its new RAID Enterprise Business Assurance software suite is the cornerstone of a major diversification in its business. Not only will the new products target business functions beyond its traditional areas, it is designed to help other verticals beyond telecoms too.

Speaking to Telecoms.com at Mobile World Congress 2015 Sergio Silvestre, WeDo’s VP of Marketing, Alliances and Inside Sales, said: “We are really proud of this software – it’s our best ever. What the R&D team was able to do is really incredible. We are bringing much more business knowledge into the product. For the first time we are able to help almost every department in a telecom operator.”

Silvestre revealed he expects the new software to also help with things like sales incentives, roaming, energy costs and fleet management – all functions that that are easily accessed via WeDo’s traditional finance department sales channel.

“Obviously we continue to be focused on assuring the business, but now by helping different departments,” said Silvestre. “Most operators these days believe they have control over what they can do to maximise revenue, but there are still a lot of things on the cost side they are not feeling as comfortable with.

“The second reason this launch is so significant is that not only are we doing this within telecoms, but we are bringing it to different verticals. The amount of knowledge preconfigured in this product provides a huge differentiator; it will really increase the speed of implementation and also allow us to get additional partners to work with.”

The thinking here is that a lot of the tools WeDo has developed to help operators can also be used by other sectors. “We are talking about RAID Telecom because we’re at Mobile World Congress, but in May we will be launching the platform for a lot of other industries, such as retail, energy and healthcare,” WeDo CEO, Rui Paiva, told Telecoms.com. “This will be offered entirely through the indirect channel, so we’re currently training partners to sell and implement, sort of like SAP does with its partners.”

This seems like a bold move by WeDo – extending its reach in two directions. But if the logic is sound – that tools developed for operator revenue assurance are useful in other areas – then the company could be at the start of an exciting period of diversification and growth.

Telecoms.com’s news coverage of Mobile World Congress 2015 is sponsored by NEC.

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