It's hard to underestimate the value of mobility at the enterprise level. Being able to work from a variety of locations not only provides added productivity for the business itself, but also morale improvements for its employees. Today, Comet, a major retailer of electrical goods in the UK, announced that it is turning to Azzurri Communications (News - Alert) for its enterprise mobility needs.

Under the terms of the agreement, Azzurri will be putting new life into the entire mobility suite for Comet, bringing in iPads, smartphones and standard voice devices, all geared toward working with the current infrastructure that Comet has in place. Azzurri will also be bringing in billing and reporting tools, along with Azzurri's own ITEM—Intelligent Telecoms Expense Management—system to handle the fully 1,500 devices that comprise Comet's mobile systems. Comet had been in contact with Azzurri for the last year, when Azzurri first showed off its Insight service and how Comet could rationalize its systems and bring about both more efficient and lower cost systems. Comet took a number of Azzurri's suggestions to heart, including Azzurri's Mobile Extensions system, which provides a variety of extra functions commonly found on fixed phones, like automatic call routing based on employee skills.

Comet's CIO, Neil Verma, said of the newly-minted arrangement, "Our objective is to ensure our staff have the right technology to do their jobs to the best of their ability. We also understand some staff may want to use their own device for corporate as well as personal use. We've aspirations of taking advantage of what mobile technologies can bring to our industry, using Azzurri's expertise to help us select what's right for Comet. In the meantime there are a number of steps we can take to improve our telecoms estate. That's why we're taking a mixed approach to mobility, which we believe will enhance our ability to offer market-leading customer service."

Comet's selection of Azzurri for their mobile systems gives it increased function in the market as well as improved ability to respond to unusual situations that suddenly arise. For instance, should products delivered be discovered to be damaged or faulty, delivery drivers can photograph the product in question at the site, and begin the process of getting a refund or a replacement product out to the customer. The process is much more streamlined as a result, and that means happier customers and more efficient employees and work processes alike.

More efficient processes, and more satisfied customers, do a great job of coming together to make a better bottom line for most any company. That's an investment well worth embarking on, especially in a down economy where there are fewer chances of customers moving to buy things in the first place. But making those customers happy improves the likelihood that other customers will follow, so Comet's work with Azzurri should pay positive dividends indeed.

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