One of YBuy’s first clients was AURA, a revolutionary platform that aggregates private armed response services and likens its offering to the “Uber of security.” Yaron Herr, operations manager of Aura, spent some time with the marketing team at YBuy to provide some insight into their organisation’s experience with renting mobile devices from YBuy.
Why access to reliable, up-to-date mobile hardware is crucial for AURA’s business
AURA focuses on ensuring consumers get the fastest response to an emergency, anywhere, anytime, whilst also ensuring our security partners are able to provide the most efficient and effective services possible.
Having built our system to provide mobile response for one of the largest mobile workforces in the world, AURA is in the prime position to revolutionise the armed response industry, giving South Africans the security they deserve.
Our solution is essentially device to device. When a client activates a panic button on their mobile phone, the Aura system finds the nearest armed response/security forces to respond to the client’s emergency. Ensuring that our vast network of security agents has access to robust, reliable and connected devices is absolutely crucial for our business; it’s the cog that keeps our business turning.
Comparing the routes of renting vs owning mobile devices for their business
When AURA was launched, we purchased a number of mobile devices, which was a significant investment. Beyond the tangible expense, the intangible cost was enormous – the physical nature of our security agents’ work means that phones often need to be repaired and the cost and downtime incurred as a result of having to manage this ourself was a nightmare. We didn’t have surplus stock so needed to purchase interim devices as well as take on the additional insurance expense; the entire process was highly expensive and inconvenient.
Our partnership with YBuy has been a breath of fresh air compared to this previous experience. Not only have is our cash outlay far less on a monthly basis, the additional value received is significant. They really are a one-stop-shop for everything device related. Included in our monthly premium are accessories such as screen protectors, brackets for security vehicles, charging cables and adaptors as well as insurance and the cost of repairs. That alone saves us a significant amount of money. Beyond that, the surplus stock and ability to instantly set up new phones to prevent downtime is absolutely crucial for AURA and enables us to deliver on our brand promise of ensuring customers are “always safe.”
On the value of the YBuy model
Our rental agreement with YBuy has allowed us to equip our entire network of security response agents with durable, quality devices that ensure constant connectivity. As a start-up, we’re constantly busy and under a lot of pressure. The overarching cost saving allows us to allocate more funds into scaling our business and the fact that we deal with a single contact point, who manages all facets of our device needs for us, is a huge value-add.