Telstra has announced it has been selected as the exclusive partner for Medibank’s telecommunications services in a three-year multi-million dollar contract.
Incorporating mobile, voice and data carriage, managed WAN and LAN services, and service management, the new agreement will see Australia’s largest private health insurer achieve savings of around 37 per cent as it consolidates from eight suppliers down to just one - Telstra.
Medibank’s Chief Operating Officer, David Koczkar, said the partnership with Telstra is significant and will bring obvious business efficiencies and member benefits.
“We provide health insurance to 3.9 million members and support and service to our customers via our call centre in Melbourne and broader retail store network”, said Mr Koczkar.
“We also provide complementary services including health management and telehealth services for government and the private sector that sees Medibank delivering a broad range of nurse triage, GP, counselling and mental health services nationally, 24/7 with volumes exceeding 2 million calls per annum.
“As a diverse and far reaching business, we depend on our telecommunications to support our members and to provide critical health advice to Australians when they need it most. Our new, enhanced partnership with Telstra means we can streamline and consolidate our network into one provider, enhance our service levels through improved innovation and new technologies and continue to help our members along their health journey both in and out of hospital”.
Martijn Blanken, Chief Customer Officer, Telstra, said the strategic partnership has enabled Medibank to significantly improve productivity and network performance, as it consolidates from multiple service providers.
“We’re delighted Medibank is realising the benefits of a broad range of solutions from Telstra, including the collaborative environment through the use of Skype for Business across its corporate office and retail locations. As a managed cloud solution, this will transform employee interactions, increase information sharing and enhance convenience; all crucial factors in any flexible working environment,” he said.
“With new ways of working, Medibank places itself at the top of the curve when it comes to meeting the expectations of today’s employees with the added reliability, security and performance of the Telstra network.”
As part of the deal, Telstra will refresh LAN and WAN equipment to mitigate network risks and improve capability, while delivering the latest in enterprise mobility services.
“Medibank is also Telstra’s first customer to implement our new Mobile Business Fleet Plus plans designed specifically for business customers. This new plan provides Medibank with greater value and returns from its use of data across all devices and platforms,” said Mr. Blanken.
Medibank’s Service Management experience will also be automated and delivered as a simple, end-to-end service, thanks to the integration of Medibank and Telstra’s service management systems. The new Service Management system will give Medibank’s staff more efficient and effective support of all its’ telecommunications services.