Verizon Restructures Small Business Segment, Launches Verizon Business Markets

Telecom giant Verizon has revealed a newly restructured business unit geared toward reaching more small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), Verizon Business Markets.

Verizon Business Markets (VBM) was formally known as Verizon Small Business, according to the business unit's new LinkedIn page. Janet Schijns, vice president of global channels for Verizon Enterprise Solutions, is now leading the new unit as chief channel executive and vice president for VBM.

VBM will serve small and midsized business, state and local governments, and educational institutions, all together under a single business unit, according to Basking Ridge, N.J-based Verizon.

[Related: Verizon CFO Highlights Fiber Flexibility And IoT Success During Q4 2016 Earnings Call]

Similar to Verizon Small Business, VBM will continue to offer the same services designed for regional markets to this customer segment, including internet, FiOS TV, traditional voice services and VoIP, security solutions, backup and sharing, website-building software, and tech support.

Verizon said that VBM would serve U.S.-based small businesses, state and local governments, and educational institutions in more than 300 cities. The enterprise-grade services will give smaller organizations access to a "digital-first approach that is simple to understand, deploy and use while tapping into the power of the Verizon network," according to a Verizon spokesperson.

Master agent Telecom Brokerage Inc. (TBI), a Verizon partner, is glad to see more emphasis on the SMB market, according to Doug Deetz, vice president of sales and marketing for TBI.

"[Verizon] is adding more resources to the market with the largest opportunity so they can win more [and] as Verizon continues to team with us, we’ll advance our successes because TBI predominately lives in this space," Deetz said.

Revenues from Verizon's small business segment during Q4 2016 declined 3.3 percent year-over-year to $410 million from $424 million during Q4 2015.