A new chapter for Snom: From leading manufacturer in IP telephony to specialist for integrated corporate communications

Moving into the future with strong partnerships, optimised processes and a strong marketing focus: Fabio Albanini unveils Snom's new strategy for brand evolution and long-term growth.

Building on its historic leadership in IP telephony, Snom is embarking on a new and ambitious phase of growth. The manufacturer is realigning its strategic positioning to establish itself as a premium brand for integrated enterprise communications. This evolution, led by the vision of Fabio Albanini in his role as Senior Vice President Sales & Operations, is based on the solid foundation of innovation and reliability that has characterised Snom for 27 years, opening new development and expansion opportunities for the company.

The primary goal of the realignment is to strengthen Snom's position as a trusted partner for companies seeking comprehensive, reliable and forward-looking communication solutions to support their digital transformation and increase their operational efficiency. To this end, Albanini will pursue a multidimensional approach. This includes optimising operational processes, developing Snom’s product range and expanding its commercial and territorial presence. The company's expertise in the field of voice transmission, combined with hardware and software development, will be utilised effectively. According to Albanini, these changes are necessary: whereas in the past, office workstations with landline telephones for every employee were the norm, today the corporate communications universe is much more complex.

Four product lines: continuity as the basis for evolution

Snom will continue to invest in the development of its IP telephony product portfolio while maintaining the focus on quality, security and innovation that has made the company a market leader. The manufacturer intends to expand and update its current product lines, with a particular focus on the D8xx series of desktop phones and endpoints for the hospitality sector. For Snom, the D8xx series represents the future of professional IP telephony and is the result of years of work. Products developed for the hospitality industry, including analogue phones, have brought the manufacturer great success in the past year and will undergo important diversifications. The same applies to Snom’s portfolio in the accessories segment, i.e. headsets, conference solutions (C300) and specialised solutions such as the terminal for remote desktop environments (Snom SP800) or for paging (Snom PA1+).

As far as single, dual and multicell solutions and the corresponding cordless IP DECT handsets are concerned, the manufacturer intends to continue with its existing portfolio. ‘As these are real telephony infrastructures that require proper coverage and feasibility studies and are essential in critical sectors such as healthcare, industry and logistics, we must continue to ensure maximum continuity of a product category that today accounts for around 50% of our turnover,’ confirms Albanini.

Another key element of the product strategy pursued by Albanini together with the VP Products and the Interop team is the maintenance and expansion of technology partners. Snom has more than 70 technology partners worldwide, from large to small local providers. Before the manufacturer launches a product on the market, it undergoes a strict certification programme with its partners: a high level of interoperability ensures greater market success for both sides.

Integrated sales strategies for growth

The sales strategy promoted by Fabio Albanini is closely linked to this product development and focuses on three core areas.

Firstly, maintaining Snom’s partner network, which currently includes over 10,000 value-added resellers in EMEA and APAC who actively benefit from the Snom Partner Program. In addition, Albanini intends to devote more resources to exploring new collaborations and acquiring more customers with a much more proactive approach in the geographical areas where Snom already has a strong market presence, i.e. Italy, DACH, France, Iberia, Benelux and the UK. The project will be supported by marketing, whose activities are essential for positive business development in all regions in which Snom operates.

Secondly, Snom intends to pursue a targeted geographic expansion to consolidate and develop new markets with solutions tailored to local requirements. Albanini expects strong growth in the areas in which the company has already invested in recent years. These include all Eastern European countries, the CIS countries, the Middle East and finally the APAC market, where the manufacturer recently signed its first distribution contracts and achieved significant results in India and Australia, for example.

Last but not least, particular attention should be paid to the opportunities arising from the product line for the hospitality sector. Although this is a niche vertical market, it is not saturated in terms of channel. This is an excellent prerequisite for companies like Snom that operate an indirect sales model. With this product line, Snom has already attracted the interest of many new distributors and resellers.

Corporate vision: culture of excellence and long-term development potential

Fabio Albanini’s leadership aim is to maintain and strengthen reliability and continuous innovation with a constant focus on customer orientation, promoting a collaborative and success-driven working environment. Achieving this goal requires the optimisation of some key processes to offer customers not only products but also high-quality services. "Although Snom is very well-organised and perfectly capable of managing its dual role as an engineering and manufacturing company, there are still opportunities for optimisation. And it would be a shame not to utilise them," concludes Albanini.

Through the synergy of new sales strategies, combined with the continuous development of its product range and process optimisation, Snom is preparing to evolve from a leading IP telephony provider to a premium brand for integrated corporate communications. Its goal is to offer comprehensive and innovative solutions for organisations of all sizes and in all industries worldwide.