Cox Touts VPN 'Hy-Life'
July 7, 2003
Multichannel News
By Karen Brown
Cox Business is taking a high road in its first real
push to market its virtual private network technology.
Hy-Life - short for Hybrid Lifestyle - is Cox's new pitch to
businesses, a campaign touting the benefits of telecommuting using
the MSO's VPN products.
Centered on a Web site loaded with information and case studies
about VPN usage, the Hy-Life telecommuting promotion is set to
launch in 14 markets, including Las Vegas, New Orleans, San Diego,
Orange County and Phoenix.
Telecommuters come in two basic categories - those who do supplemental
work at home in the evenings or weekends, and the true teleworkers,
who have a formal arrangement and use employer-supplied equipment.
The latter group only constitutes 20% of the total telecommuter
population, and that is something Cox Business would like to change,
according Cox Business vice president of operations Bob Hattori.
Businesses and government offices are increasingly attracted
to telecommuting because of its disaster-recovery advantages.
By distributing employees outside of a central office, there is
a better chance that the company will not lose as much time and
money in disrupted operations if a power failure or natural disaster
strikes.
"The teleworker is one that there is such a groundswell
and momentum going toward it - protecting the environment and
being flexible for your employees," Hattari added. "I
think there is a big interest in having teleworkers."
Cox Business's managed VPN product provides a secure, dedicated
link between a remote user and a company's computer system. It
has been on the service menu for some time, but Cox Business recently
upgraded the technology behind it and wants to give it a targeted
marketing push, according to Cox director of media relations Bobby
Amirshahi, who coordinated the promotion.
The idea is to dispel some of the myths about telecommuting
and encourage companies to look at it as a viable work option.
"Ultimately, whether it is the Web site or whether it is
going to be the direct mail, we're trying to get folks to look
at case studies of businesses having telework programs and of
course, broadband connectivity in the form of VPNs to do it,"
Amirshahi said. "Because when our salespeople go out in the
market and try to upsell an existing Internet customer, there
are still some barriers around the idea that teleworking is not
really a need-to-have as a business, or it is more expensive than
it really is."
For example, Cox's managed VPN service in most markets typically
offers connections at less than $100 a month per connection. In
some cases, it can be as low as $60 to $70 per month, Amirshahi
said.
One case study featured is Oklahoma City University, which has
about 400 off-campus students linked by Cox's VPN connection.
The students can take courses from home or access the campus intranet.
"That's a different type of VPN customer that we would
like to have in many of our other markets, so we are trying to
educate universities on the advantages of having students with
a VPN connection," Amirshahi said.
The promotion includes information tailored to the individual
markets. For instance, customers in Phoenix will see lists of
the local tax incentives offered to businesses that promote telecommuting.
"We lead people to those sources," Amirshahi said.
"We are trying to be a clearing house. I think ultimately
we are trying to associate Cox's brand with VPN and Internet networking
knowhow."
Cox's sales force will use the Web site to direct clients for
more information about VPN. As such, the site is designed not
so much to bash visitors on the head with the Cox brand but to
offer basic information'
"That's why the site is purposely not hard-core Cox branded,"
Amirshahi said. "It's meant to be somewhat of a third-party
destination, [so] that folks are not getting hit on the head with
a sales message - that really it is an opportunity for them to
link out to other resources.
"But again, the end goal is to associate Cox with this
space," he added.
