Telkom Business steps up digital workplace strategy for SMEs
South Africa has around 3 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which collectively employ 13.4 million people.
Many still lack affordable, secure and easy-to-manage digital tools.
They need the same core capabilities as larger companies, without complex licensing, large IT teams or enterprise-level budgets.
To give SMEs access to these capabilities, Telkom Business has partnered with OneOffice as a reseller, making the platform available to smaller businesses.
OneOffice brings productivity, communication and collaboration tools together in one secure environment, helping businesses manage costs and simplify the systems that support daily operations.
The platform combines documents, spreadsheets, presentations, email, calendars, storage, chat, calling and real-time collaboration.
Desktop and mobile applications give teams access to the same tools from different work locations.
The Enterprise version includes OneSeek AI, which can search by meaning rather than exact keywords, tag content, summarise documents and emails, and help automate routine tasks such as drafting documents and responding to email.
The capability is built into OneOffice and does not rely on external APIs, helping businesses keep sensitive information within their own environment.
For Telkom Business, the partnership forms part of a wider shift.
The company is using partnerships and its distribution reach to bring more digital services to SMEs, extending the customer relationship beyond connectivity into the tools businesses use to operate, collaborate and grow.
“Our strategy is to bring the right digital solutions closer to our business customers,” says Keshal Sookha, Managing Executive for Commercial Strategy at Telkom Business. “Through partnerships, we can make tools that may not have had enough focus in the local market more accessible to SMEs. It’s also about giving customers a more complete relationship with Telkom Business, beyond connectivity alone, by providing services that help them run and grow their businesses.”
Security is part of the same challenge. Many smaller businesses still rely on fragmented tools, free software or trial products, which can create operational risk.
“That is why simpler, more secure workplace tools are becoming a business necessity,” says Sookha. “OneOffice gives SMEs access to professional workplace tools without forcing them to manage separate applications, licences and modules. The tools still have to be affordable, practical and suited to the way smaller businesses actually work.”
OneOffice supports data sovereignty through local hosting, giving businesses greater control over their data and how it is managed. This is increasingly important for companies focused on security, governance and regulatory compliance.
It is also compatible with widely used document, spreadsheet and presentation formats, allowing businesses to exchange and edit files across different productivity environments when working with customers, suppliers and partners.
Centralised automatic updates keep applications current and reduce the management burden on businesses without large internal IT teams or the need to manage separate upgrade cycles.
Together, these capabilities reflect the way SME teams now work across locations and digital channels, says Sookha.
“OneOffice gives customers one platform and one entry point for productivity, email, calendars, storage, communication and collaboration,” he says. “It gives teams consistent access to shared tools and information, helping them work together in real time across the business. The partnership also strengthens Telkom Business’s digital offering for SMEs.”
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