In 2019, Datagroup increased revenues by 8% to 1,474 mln UAH. EBITDA growth was 21%, while EBITDA margin reached 31%. 309 mln UAH were paid to budgets of all levels.
“Datagroup's financial indicators in 2019 showed positive dynamics due to the successful transformation and automation of most processes within the company. All this served as a powerful push forward the further improvement of customer service, digitalization of our company's services and strengthening its position in the Ukrainian market”, - comments Mykhailo Shelemba, Datagroup CEO.
There were two important milestones in Datagroup development during this time: the completion of the project on business process automation at Creatio platform and the launch of a new line of cyber security services. At the same time, the company has implemented a large-scale network modernization project and invested in new services.
“This year, Ukrainian business, as well as the whole country, faced a new challenge – the pandemic of the coronavirus. In such circumstances, companies, as never before, should be flexible and responsive to any external changes. During the first two days of the nationwide quarantine, we transferred 43% of employees to remote work and continued to work efficiently, as we are the part of the country's critical infrastructure.
Also we decided to support SME in this difficult time and introduced the all-Ukrainian project RAZOM. Quality communication and impeccable service have always been the key priorities of our work, but now business must do even more to support the economy and the country. Within RAZOM project, our specialists created an online platform with a catalog of companies and offers from the local entrepreneurs who keep on working. The objective of the project is to support small and medium-sized businesses and to increase the number of orders for businesses operating in Ukrainian cities. We want to help SME to find the new customers in their city, and our retail customers to support their local entrepreneur, while getting a good discount. We plan to invest about 2 mln UAH to support this initiative. Part of these funds will be spent on targeted advertising to attract customers for business exactly where companies operate," – says Mykhailo Shelemba, Datagroup CEO.
Revenue growth by segments
Revenue growth by major segments was: B2C - 10%, SMB - 21%, B2B - 17%.
Datagroup continues to lead confidently in B2B segment.
The main growth factors in this segment were: attraction of the new large customers, sales of VAS-services (Value-Added Services), including cybersecurity services to existing customers, as well as the continuous expansion of B2B-services. At the same time, the growth trend continues due to the sales of main services (data transmission channels and access to the Internet, via satellite channels included).
"We understand the needs of business and the state regarding the connection of the new institutions, including critical infrastructure, we maintain high standards of customer service. Our customers are served 24/7/365 by 700 qualified technicians, as well as technical assistance staff for particularly demanding clients. Besides, we offer different levels of SLA in accordance with the tasks of the customer ", - points out Mykhailo Shelemba, Datagroup CEO.
The company's revenues in SMB segment also show good growth (21%). Both sales of basic services (Internet, telephony) and sales of additional services (protection against DDoS attacks, cloud services, virtual PBX) increased.
Regarding Internet access service in B2C segment, there is a steady increase in the number of users switching to more expensive and high-speed tariff plans. At the end of the year, the share of such users in the company's base was 40%. The average revenue per user (ARPU) is 104 UAH. The number of users who buy Internet + TV service package is also growing due to interesting entertainment content and attractive prices.
Focus on cybersecurity and improving customer service
In 2019, Datagroup once again confirmed its compliance with international certification standards ISO/IEC 27001 and the status of one of the most informationally protected companies in Ukraine. The company has started offering to the customers DataProtect service package, in which customers can receive various services in the field of cybersecurity:
• secure Internet service host;
• SOC (Security Operations Center);
• protection against DDoS attacks;
• Web application security;
• Email protection;
• protection of data transmission channels;
• telephony protection;
• infrastructure audit;
• outsourcing of information security systems;
• vulnerability scanning;
• penetration testing.
In June 2019, Datagroup completed the project on bpm'online platform implementation based on Creatio products. Thanks to this project, we managed to automate all stages of work with corporate clients on the basis of a unified IT platform – customer relationship management (CRM), improvement of technical support of sales (NTS) and customer service (Service Desk). As a result, the company significantly reduced the time needed to process customer requests, services turn on and emergency calls.
International business standards
Datagroup consistently implements the best international business practices. Earlier this year, the company joined All-Ukrainian Network of Integrity and Compliance (UNIC).
"There is nothing more important for a company's success than ethical values and the principle of business integrity. The shaping of corporate culture that meets the principles of openness, transparency and integrity involves each employee, partner and customer of the company, their joint work with the sole purpose "to do the right thing," – comments Mykhailo Shelemba, Datagroup CEO.
Also Datagroup has joined the International Compliance Association (ICA) with the headquarter in the United Kingdom. responsible operator of telecommunication services. Membership in the association demonstrates the company's commitment to high standards of practice and ethical conduct, as well as confirms the international reputation of Datagroup as a responsible operator of telecommunications services.
Employer of the Year and socially responsible company
In 2019 Datagroup made it to the top 20 best employers in Ukraine according to “Business” magazine. Datagroup's strengths as an employer are stability, openness, honesty, social protection of employees and opportunities for development and training. The company launched the sports and charity project DataHeart, which inspired employees to make sports an intergral part of their lives and united them around charity. For each registered training of the employee, the company transfers funds to charity. This money is used to finance heart surgeries for children from families who can not pay for them. Within this project, 7 heart surgeries for children have already been successfully completed in 2019 and 714 thousand UAH of aid have been transferred. Sport has become an integral part of life for more than 400 employees.
Company information:
Datagroup is an all-Ukrainian communication operator for business and home, a leader in the segments of data transmission, international traffic transit and satellite communication. The company also holds a leading position in the telecommunications market for big business - 93% of Ukrainian banks are customers of Datagroup. The company provides Internet connection, telephony, TV and video surveillance services, as well as cloud service from Microsoft and a range of services in the field of cybersecurity DataProtect. The company's information security management meets the highest international standards, which is confirmed by the ISO 27001: 2013 certificate.
