Nearing the End Of the Year.

Since my last post there has been quite a bit going on in the world of Evosat. IsatPhone Pro has continued to be a winning product, with sales continuing to grow. Stock levels have also risen considerably meaning that supply lines are now functioning at a much higher rate. MWC has also started to become an asked for service by many customers, and new scenarios for its use are being explored every week. MWC is also becoming a stronger product for customers as new upgrades and development are done by the Operations team.

Recently in the GSPS fold, Beam Communications have launched the IsatDock range. These are docking units for the IsatPhone Pro that enable users to get different functionality out of their phones, and use them in different environments. In the Dock range are the IsatDock Lite, The IsatDock Pro, The IsatDock Drive, and the IsatDock Marine. For Evosat, the more exciting products are the Marine and Drive Docks as they will not only be a great service for existing clients, but also bring new clients into the Evosat fold.

The IsatDock Drive is the car kit for the IsatPhone Pro, and comes with an antenna and hands free kit to allow for calls whilst on the move. The IsatDock Marine is the Maritime unit, which is obviously for use at sea. This also comes with a marine antenna and has an IP rating for use at sea. Both units have track and trace capabilities which allow for more functionality than the usual voice and text. These units are manufactured and supplied by Beam Communications, who are based in Australia.

Next month Evosat and our partner Sat4Rent are co-sponsoring the Governors Cup yacht race (1 December till 10 December 2010). The Governor’s Cup is a 1700 mile – usually downwind, yacht race from Cape Town in South Africa, to James Bay on St. Helena Island. No doubt the Evosat Team will be out in force to see the yachts depart from False Bay Yacht club in Simonstown, and to cheer on the competitors.

Moving to great heights!

Firstly a quick update on the 7 Summits 7 Flights team. I am very happy to say that their first ascent and flight were successful. Although Mt. Elbrus was not expected to be the most difficult climb, no one has ever managed the flight off the summit. Evosat was very proud to assist with communications for the team, as they needed to use the BGAN whilst on the mountain. There will be a bit of a gap until the next summit due to climbing seasons, but I will keep you updated when the time comes for the next ascent. Evosat will once again be there to provide satellite communications for the 7 Summits team.

The IsatPhone Pro is proving to be extremely popular with customers around the world. Evosat has exceeded all targets for the first month since commercial launch, and with incoming orders are set to continue in that fashion for the foreseeable future. Long may it continue!

At the end of this month, Evosat will start testing the Beta Docking units for the IsatPhone Pro. These products are being manufactured by Beam Communications out of Australia. Evosat is already signed up as a Tier One Reseller, so we hope to be at the forefront for what promises to be a welcome addition to the IsatPhone Pro product bouquet. There will be four docks available: the IsatDock Lite; IsatDock Pro; IsatDock Drive; and IsatDock Marine. All of these docks have been custom designed for use with the IsatPhone Pro. I am sure I will have some positive feedback after testing, as they look set to be a class product.

MWC (Morale and Welfare Communications) is also coming into its own now, with the customer base spreading. The system itself has been continuously upgraded and refined, using feedback from clients to make MWC one of the most user friendly, efficient, and beneficial services within the BGAN and FleetBroadband array.

The people of Evosat

This month I thought I would talk more about some of the staff here at Evosat. The team has been growing over the last couple of months, in response to the rapid growth that Evosat as a business has experienced,  so I will start with some of the staff who have been with us for almost the duration of the Evosat lifespan.

Gary Jaftha is a lead Account Manager in the Sales Department. Gary is what’s known as the Salesmen’s Salesman. If he hasn’t called you yet, don’t feel unloved, he is getting to you. Gary was the first recruit at Evosat, and has grown not only his own business portfolio but has been a massive influence on the growth of Evosat. On pretty much every continent there are at least a handful of people who not only know Gary, but have bought satellite services from him.

Adiel Abader is the part of the technical and support team at Evosat. Very much like Gary, there are people around the world who know his name, but for the reason that no matter what time of day or night, he will take care of your problem. Adiel is another essential cog in the Evosat machine, as he epitomises the Evosat ethos and work ethic- any customer big or small, gets his attention when needed, and the words “ no I can’t” do not appear in his vocabulary.

Now for a quick update on the products and services of Evosat. GSPS is still on schedule for launch in June, I will be attending a training course at the beginning of April, so should have some excellent feedback after that. MWC as expected has been a great success and is being added to the portfolio’s of many customers already. On the Vsat side of the business, which is something new for Evosat itself, the business is starting to grow. Carrier2Carrier (our sister company) has obviously been at the forefront of Vsat for quite a while, but it has only been recently that Evosat has decided to move into that field, largely due to customer demand. This is an integral string to our bow as it means we can offer everything that our customers need.

That’s all for this month- next month more news, and more introductions to the people that make Evosat one of the worlds best.

MWC is Here!

Evosat has launched the Morale and Welfare Communications service! MWC will be commercially available to Evosat’s customers as of the 1^st of February 2010. All the pre-launch tests were successful- so customers can now enjoy yet another world class service from Evosat. Please contact Evosat for more general or sales information regarding MWC.

On the GSPS front- the first call has been made over the new IsatPhone Pro, for which Evosat is one of the six launch partners. This means that the service is well on track to be available by the launch date in June 2010. Although it seems a long way to go, pretty soon IsatPhone Pro will be taking the world of satellite communications by storm- so if you want to know more, contact Evosat or take a look at our website, www.evosat.com. The first images have also been released, so take a look at what is sure to become the new standard in handheld satellite communications.

As MWC is launching on 1^st of February, I thought it would be a good time to introduce you to one of the integral members of the Evosat team: Louis Botes. Louis is the Technical Manager at Evosat, which basically means he is in charge of the billing engines, and the back office mechanisms that keep the company running smoothly. Louis has been instrumental in getting MWC to market, as it is very much built around his smart engineering skills. Despite being a very quirky IT guy (described by a colleague as “Third Rock from the Sun ”meets “Big Bang Theory”), it is great to have Louis as part of the team that makes Evosat one of the best.

Well, I can’t believe January is now over. Evosat has hit the ground running for 2010- with numerous projects, tenders, and new customers to take care of, not to mention all the normal day to day operations that go on. If January is anything to go by, Evosat should definitely be in for a good year. Here’s hoping I can share some more highlights with you in the months to come.  Until next time.

Happy New Year.

Well I hope you have all had been stuffed full of turkey and had an exceptional New Year party. Now it’s time to get stuck in for 2010! As we are all slowly getting back up to pace I thought I would start gently this year with some upcoming highlights for Evosat in 2010.

Evosat has numerous in house and customer projects on the go from last year. I have already spoken about Evosat’s MWC (Morale and Welfare Comms) project in detail. This should be up and running, commercially, by the end of February- well done to the technical team for all the efforts last year and over the Christmas period to get the valuable service afloat. It will not only make the lives of Evosat customers better, but will also be another step forward in the world of Satellite Communications.

I have also mentioned the GSPS service from Inmarsat, which is the new handheld satellite phone service being launched this year. As a launch DP, Evosat is very involved in getting these exciting new satellite phones into the market. The process has certainly gathered momentum, and I look forward to giving further updates this year.

I also want to give a quick update regarding Lee MacNamara who is rowing across the Atlantic Solo. He has begun his journey- however, he is experiencing difficulties with his water maker. Luckily he had his FleetBroadband terminal to keep in touch and keep his support teams updated. They have had to tow him back to land for some repairs- but no doubt he will head off soon. Good Luck Lee!

All in all, it looks like another promising year for Evosat . With numerous new projects, products and services available, the sky really is the limit for Evosat in 2010. Satellite Communications has become a constantly improving market, and Evosat aims to stay ahead of the pack all the way.