To say 2020 was an eventful year would be an understatement. To say “2020” is to use a metaphor and a meme for anything and everything that went wrong. The hardships were really hard, downright overwhelming. From a global pandemic that forced us to rethink how we work and connect remotely, to civil unrest and social justice that demanded change, to a bitterly divided nation and a controversial election cycle that will bring major shifts in government policies. To survive it all, businesses were scrambling for ways to reduce costs, drive greater efficiencies, appeal to shifting customer needs and to just plain get through. Throughout the events that shaped 2020, MetTel stood by our customers in the public and private sector, ensuring they were able to adjust to the “new normal” with the IT communications solutions they needed to continue driving business. And because we prioritized our clients, MetTel had a year filled with milestones, turning a year to forget into the year that MetTel became a brand name to remember.
Gartner Recognizes MetTel for Managed Network Services, Managed Mobility Services & Telecom Expense Management
Throughout 2020, technology analyst firm Gartner included MetTel in Magic Quadrant reports and Market Guides. In its first official appearance in a Gartner Magic Quadrant report, MetTel became the first and only U.S.-based company in the Leaders Quadrant for Managed Network Services. MetTel appears the furthest in “Completeness of Vision” and is highly rated for “Ability to Execute.” Read more in the MetTel press release and Channel Partners.
MetTel also appeared in Gartner’s 2020 Magic Quadrant for Managed Mobility Services (MMS) report as an honorable mention and leading MMS provider in North America. Gartner said “MetTel…delivers a complete set of MMS services, with a primary focus on North America. MetTel manages a significant volume of predominantly COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) devices across virtually any vertical.” MetTel represented the only US-based carrier to qualify for the report. Gartner also included Bruin, our intelligent platform for communications management and a member of the MetTel family of companies, as a Representative Vendor in the 2020 Gartner Market Guide for Telecom Expense Management Services (TEM). The designation confirms that Bruin is one of the premier TEM providers at a time when enterprises are increasingly looking for vendors that provide full life cycle management, particularly of mobile assets.
A Strong Year Providing IT Communications to Federal & State Agencies
The January announcement that MetTel was one of only a handful of companies qualified under the GSA 15-year $50B Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions Program began a full year of helping digitally transform federal agencies. From deploying and managing SD-WAN, providing access management and telecommunications services to Managed Security Services, MetTel’s Government Team provides solutions that are helping reduce costs, drive efficiencies and improve the customer experience across our nation’s federal agencies. In September, MetTel further strengthened its federal program with the appointment of AT&T and industry veteran Rob Dapkiewicz as General Manager and Senior Vice President.
Among the highlights from this year on how MetTel is serving Federal and State Customers:
- Department of Veterans Affairs Selects MetTel as Provider for its National Local Exchange Carrier Services for the Next Generation (NLEC-NG) Contract
- State Department Turns to MetTel for Managed WAN Services
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts Selects MetTel for Mobility Services
- Department of Homeland Security Selects MetTel for Managed Security Services & Primary Internet Access Provider
- Government Services Administration Taps MetTel for Nationwide Data & Voice Services
- Social Security Administration Turns to MetTel for Local, Long Distance and Access Management Telecommunications Services
MetTel Receives Industry Recognition
In 2020, MetTel’s remarkable customer service, channel partners program, products and services were recognized by several industry and partner organizations.
- Most recently, AT&T named MetTel a Top Partner Exchange Winner, the company’s top award for the carrier’s Partner Exchange Program. Since its inception, MetTel has continuously been awarded with this top recognition and complements MetTel’s 7th consecutive year for being named by AT&T for selling the most wireless connectivity services each year.
- MetTel won the Customer Service Team of the Year in 2020 American Business Awards for its rapid response to COVID-19. MetTel’s CX (Customer Experience) team, created in 2019, used its industry-leading team, tools and procedures to understand and anticipate customer needs by methodically capturing and analyzing customer insights and ensuring continuous improvement in how clients are serviced.
- MetTel was awarded a Gold Stevie Award in the Software-Defined Infrastructure category in the 18th Annual American Business Awards. The award recognized MetTel Intelligent Automation, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to identify, report, and address network incidents, events or trouble tickets, freeing up IT staff for higher skilled work.
- MetTel was named a winner in the Customer Service Department of Year category in the 14th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service in healthcare. MetTel was recognized for helping transform IT communication for a major long-term acute-care hospital and rehabilitation services provider.
- MetTel’s Tim Hanley, vice president of Strategic Sales, was named a Channel Partners “Top Gun 51” channel leader. A Top Gun 51 leader is defined as someone who possesses integrity, knowledge, confidence, the ability to inspire others, commitment and passion. In honoring Hanley, Channel Partners said that he’s one of the channel’s biggest advocates and has been “instrumental in making mobility and IoT a huge focus for partners – particularly during strenuous times such as the pandemic.”
MetTel Thought Leadership
In addition to peer and industry recognition throughout 2020, MetTel provides participated in and extended its own thought leadership on some of the biggest issues and trends facing the industry. For example, every year, MetTel convenes industry luminaries, as well as top customers and partners for the MetTel Innovation Summit. Early in the year—pre-pandemic—these leaders met in Scottsdale, Arizona for engaging presentations, panel discussions, guest speakers and networking opportunities. In addition to top-of-mind topics like digital transformation, 5G and intelligent automation, world-renowned physicist Michio Kaku discussed how 5G will ultimately lead to the digitization of all human activities.
At the beginning of the pandemic, as many of us began working from home, Max Silber, VP of Mobility at MetTel spoke with CNN Business about using technology to improve your work from home experience. MetTel CTO Ed Fox was featured in Channel Partners discussing the benefits of building more agile, efficient and adaptable operations that can thrive in a rapidly changing and unpredictable environment. Dave Mitchell, MetTel’s Channel Chief and Ed Fox spent “7 Minutes” with Channel Partners to discuss MetTel’s award winning SD-WAN services. Wray Varley, VP of MetTel Federal Sales discussed how “Transforming IT communications can lower your cost base and save your organization in 2020” in Federal News Network. In addition, MetTel CTO Ed Fox and VP of Mobility & IoT Max Silber contributed numerous articles to publications such as Forbes and Pipeline such as How To Adjust Your Business Development Plan During A Pandemic and 10 Predictions on How 5G, Digital Transformation and Cloud Will Impact How We Work.
With so much change and challenge, 2020 will long be remembered as a year to forget for most. For MetTel, however, it was a year we’ll never forget not only because of the incredible hardships but also for how we sacrificed, persevered and prioritized our clients’ needs over our own. And for those heroic efforts amid adversity, MetTel is now recognized as the industry “Leader” we always believed we were.