XLN Business Community » Business Phone

Need for effective phone system highlighted to small businesses

Daniel — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:22:08 +0000

Small firms should ensure that they have an effective business phone system in place to boost their professional image when they are contacted by potential clients, it has been suggested.

An article on News Provider suggests that the breadth of choices open to businesses can make a decision challenging, but the aim should be to ensure a professional appearance is gained.

The website said: "An effective phone system not only provides an efficient way of routing calls, but conveys a professional image to callers.

"The multitude of phone system options available, with differing specifications and costs can make a choice difficult."

Among the features that a business may want to ensure in a phone system is the ability to record conversations at the touch of a button, a missed call log, music when a client is placed on hold and voice mail that is built in.

David Wighton praised business phone providers in the Times earlier this year for keeping prices competitive during the recession and focusing on putting good deals to customers ahead of profits.

Mobile phones could be worse for health than landlines

Daniel — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:11:23 +0000

Employers may want to ensure that more staff speak to contacts on a business landline phone rather than a mobile to boost their chances of remaining in good health, it has been stated.

Campaigners have suggested that previous studies looking into the safety of mobile phones may have underestimated the impact they could have on a person’s health.

A recent study by Interphone suggested that individuals who take part in phone calls lasting more than 30 minutes at a time could be at a 40 per cent increased risk of suffering with brain cancer.

However, campaigners from the US group, the Environmental Health Trust, believe that those using mobiles are up to five times more likely to develop brain tumours than their colleagues using landlines.

Lead researcher at the campaign group Lloyd Morgan said: "What we have discovered indicates there is going to be one hell of a brain tumour pandemic unless people are warned and encouraged to change current cell phone use behaviours.

"People should hear the message clearly that cell phones should be kept away from one’s head and body at all times."

Meanwhile, comparison website Right Mobile Phone recently noted that a quarter of respondents to a survey stuck with the same mobile phone network when their contract expired.

Businesses phones are still important, says expert

Daniel — Wed, 19 May 2010 11:16:50 +0000

Getting rid of a business phone connection may not necessarily be the right choice, according to an expert, despite the availability of mobile services.

In an article for InformationWeek, Paul Korzeniowski points out that, while mobile phones and unified communications systems may have their benefits, the cost savings are not always as great as expected.

Furthermore, relying on the battery life of a mobile phone when in the office may not always make sense, while communicating within businesses through five-digit numbers is not necessarily possible.

He adds: "Ripping out landlines is a clear trend in the consumer market. However, small and medium businesses need to weigh the pros and cons carefully.

"In some instances, the move will make sense but in others, it will not."

Writing in the Times earlier this year, David Wighton praised smaller, independent business phone providers for the way in which they had made the market competitive, offering customers good deals.

Businesses deciding to stick with same mobile phone network

Daniel — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:34:01 +0000

Many companies are opting to stay with the same provider when it comes to upgrading the business mobile phones of employees, research has determined.

Over 1,780 individuals were questioned by comparison website Right Mobile Phone, with a quarter of respondents sticking with the same network when a new contract is sought.

Meanwhile, 32 per cent decide to have a newer handset from the same manufacturer when they desire an upgrade.

Reasons for sticking with the same network included avoiding the hassle of having to change phone number and being happy with the network coverage they were used to receiving.

Of those to change, getting a better signal was the main reason, while others were keen to strike a better financial deal.

Neil McHugh, co-founder of rightmobilephone.co.uk, said: "Once you get used to how a certain brand of phone works, such as the layout of the menu or the different functions the handset offers, it’s quite common not to want to get a new handset and learn how it works all over again.

"With the network, good signal is obviously a strong selling point that keeps customers loyal."

Ernest Doku recently suggested in an article on the BBC that businesses can take their phone numbers with them when changing network provider by simply asking for a porting authorisation code.

Businesses able to record mobile phone calls and texts

Daniel — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:14:52 +0000

Businesses can now record calls made by staff on company-owned mobile phone handsets thanks to a new service that has been launched.

Vodafone Mobile Recording will also enable businesses to log text messages that have been sent and received from the handset, which will help to protect against losses.

Calls on fixed lines have commonly been recorded as part of a company’s regulatory requirements, but the new service represents the first time that this will be extended to mobile calls and texts.

Nick Jeffery, chief executive of Vodafone Global Enterprise, said: "Employees are increasingly using mobile rather than fixed line handsets due to a significant rise in the adoption of flexible working practices.

"Factors such as the travel disruption caused by the volcanic ash have given this trend added momentum as workers stranded in remote locations seek to work to the same high standards of compliance and governance."

The technical complexity of recording mobile calls has led to this process not being carried out in the past.

Sarah Barrow, customer services manager at Wokingham Borough Council, previously highlighted the importance of business phones during times of disruption.

Competitive business phone providers praised

Daniel — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:00:50 +0000

A leading business journalist has claimed that the range of business phone providers available to customers can only be beneficial.

While in the past there may have been only a few providers, there are now many companies offering services, including XLN Telecom.

Writing in the Times, business editor David Wighton says that the telecoms industry has remained competitive through the recession, with the offer of good deals coming before profits.

He said: "Although some companies have been very successful in the British telecoms market, the big winner is probably the customer.

"One of the most competitive areas of the industry is the market serving small to medium-sized companies."

Referring to smaller, independent providers, he said it was possible for them to "not just to survive but to thrive" at the moment.

Research by Teleperformance UK last year found that 80 per cent of people expect good customer service when they contact businesses, with most adding that they would go elsewhere if their expectations were not met.

Conservatives promise 100Mbps broadband by 2017

Daniel — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:57:57 +0000

The Conservative party has revealed plans for telecommunications that may have an impact on business phone services and broadband.

Appearing on the Andrew Marr Show, shadow chancellor George Osborne said that, by 2017, broadband with speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) will be available around the country.

He said: “In the 19th Century we built the railways. In the 20th Century we built the motorways. In the 21st Century let’s build the super-fast broadband network that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs for Britain.”

George Osborne also declared that the Conservatives would open up the ducts and poles used by BT and allow third parties to use the infrastructure to install their own cables, effectively ending the company’s monopoly over local loops.

The government’s current target is to have 2Mbps broadband in every home by 2012.

Last year’s Digital Britain report also stated the governnment’s aim to supply 70 per cent of the country with ’superfast’ broadband by 2017.

Business phones ‘essential during travel disruption’

Daniel — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 11:27:16 +0000

The key role of call centres during the recent snowbound period has highlighted the importance of business phones, an expert has claimed.

Sarah Barrow, customer services manager at Wokingham Borough Council, claimed that it is the times where conditions are hard that contact centres of this type become increasingly important.

She said that the local authority decided to allow the workers to use their own business broadband to work remotely, minimising the disruption that would be felt.

"[This] allowed them to field calls while the rest of our staff made their way into the office," she asserted.

Ms Barrow highlighted the importance of business phones for companies that need to communicate with their customers and users, with business broadband having a key role in allowing web chat or email to be used for this function as well.

The value of business mobiles has also been highlighted, with travel industry resource centre Breaking Travel News reporting that these are being seen as essential by employees on the move.

Cheap business phones ‘major asset’

Daniel — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:39:07 +0000

One in three calls on business phones are for personal calls, new research suggests.

Outsourcing management solution provider ttMobiles suggests that this could amount to £1 billion per year, highlighting the importance of obtaining cheap business phones.

Peter Readman, director of the company, claims that mobile and alternative telecommunication setups are becoming increasingly relevant to organisations as it will enable more flexibility.

He suggests that using VoIP over business broadband is the cheapest way for firms to lower their spend on phones.

Mr Readman suggests that the key step firms should pursue is a combined deal from a single provider, as this will offer them the most consistency.

He says: "If you have a large number of [business] phones, consider hiring an independent consultant to get unbiased best practice."

Sureyya Cansoy, associate director at IT group Intellect, recently emphasised the capacity of technology such as business broadband to lower operational costs.

Business phones ‘becoming big market for personal computing’

Daniel — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:39:01 +0000

The fastest growing market in IT is the rise in users performing personal computing tasks using their business phone, it has been claimed.

Rosemary Hattersley, associate editor at PC Advisor, claims that this is a very dynamic area of the industry.

Despite this, she expresses doubts that companies will be replacing their desktop PCs with business phones.

She says: "The handheld gadget side of computing will see the biggest growth in coming months."

Ms Hattersley identifies other key developments in the market such as the rising popularity of netbooks as possible paradigm-shifters.

She says that, in addition to any other uses, there will always remain a market for these devices as secondary machines, which could create demand for business broadband.

Recent research by IDC found that the PC market is likely to return to double-digit growth by 2013.

It predicts that an acceleration in the industry’s expansion will take place in 2010.