Posted by Cloud Net on Fri, May 28, 2010 @ 05:27 AM
The reality of the traditional PBX is that it suffers from severe
shortcomings. Even the most feature-rich PBX will always fail to anticipate the needs and desires of all customers. A small group of users will need or want a feature or protocol that the design team either did not think of or could not justify the cost of building. The time has come when end users are simply getting fed up of incompatible and limited functionality.
However, these limitations simply do not exist in a hosted system such as the one implemented by Cloud Net. It provides flexibility while delivering and creating possibilities that even the best proprietary systems can scarcely even dream of.
We have taken the best ideas from old fashioned PBXs and combined them with the latest IP technology to deliver Cloud Net Connect. The great thing about this is that if a group of users want to create or change a feature then it is relatively easy to do - and once it's been done, the improvement is available, at no extra cost, to everyone.
At the core of the Cloud Net system is the largest most successful telephony product on the web "Asterisk". This is like having a car, with the most powerful engine in the world, where the controls and systems have been designed purely for UK business by a team of UK engineers. The engine is used by millions of people world- wide but is engineered with a UK interface and systems. It's like getting a Rolls Royce for the price of a Mini.
Telecommunications companies who have chosen to leverage existing systems to meet the challenge that hosted VoIP brings are simply not succeeding. Nortel went bust last year, and have now been taken over by Avaya, but they are still saying:
"Business Communications Manager (BCM) portfolio delivers small to medium-sized businesses and branch offices an award winning converged voice and data solution, providing a choice of IP-enabled or pure-IP strategy. Leveraging existing Meridian, Norstar, and Communication Server 1000 investments."
Cloud Net rather hopes they carry on saying things like that.
Posted by Cloud Net on Wed, May 26, 2010 @ 04:21 AM
Further evidence of the death of the traditional PBX comes in the form of Microsoft’s recent announcement over the official cancellation of Response Point, its small-business phone system.
In a post on its Web site, Microsoft said it will end sales, development, and support for the phone as of August 31, 2010.
The system was launched in 2007 amongst a blaze of publicity.
According to Microsoft at the time, only about one-third of small businesses used PBXs (or switchboards) because they were expensive and difficult to install and manage. You need a lot of technical expertise, they said. Microsoft saw this as an opportunity to make phone systems as accessible to small businesses as PCs.
In 2007 they said “The Microsoft Response Point System will be available this year. Microsoft is not yet disclosing the pricing, but it would be "competitive" with typical small-business PBXs that cost from about $5,000 to more than $10,000”.
Microsoft's Response Point software was used by several phone makers, including Quanta, whose system was sold for a time at Costco.com.
With cloud-based PBX systems, such as Cloud Net Connect, being essentially free it is not difficult to see why even the mighty Microsoft couldn’t sell a system that required maintenance and configuration.
Cloud Net is not aware of any UK-based customers but if there are any we would be delighted to offer our system as the ideal replacement. There is no capital outlay required and, with a 30-day money back period, no risk involved either. Customers will benefit from the most powerful system on the planet with a low-cost, inclusive subscription model. And because it’s internet-based and updated automatically, the system is always state-of-the –art.
Microsoft’s decision to pull out of the market follows a similar decision by Tesco, in April of this year, who left their VoIP customers without a product offering.
Posted by Cloud Net on Fri, May 21, 2010 @ 03:14 AM
The phone is often the first contact most people have with a
business, so making a good impression is vital. Indeed, answering the phone professionally could be the start of a long term relationship, while answering the phone badly can end a relationship before it's even begun.
Here are our top tips to help you project a professional and friendly company.
1) Create a company policy on how to pick up incoming calls
Our recent survey showed that many small companies simply answer with "Hello", so having a simple companywide phone script ensures that a caller knows what company they got through to and who they are speaking to immediately.
I favour "Good morning/afternoon. This is Company Name. John (or whoever) speaking and leave it at that. If you must add something then "How may I help you?"
Personally I hate "What can we do for you today?" because it makes a reply difficult - my most usual reply is "You can put me through to Fred (or whoever I'm trying to speak to)".
2) Smile when you pick up the phone
It's nice to hear someone cheery on the other end!
3) If a caller is waiting, keep checking in on them and ask whether they are okay to wait
4) Treat your key contacts well
Your company may work with 10 clients or 200. If you have regular callers from key clients, make sure that anyone who picks up the phone is aware of your client list and important people. If you recognise someone's voice or name, make them feel special and that you want to speak to them by asking how they are. Everyone likes the personal treatment and being regarded as special. There are companies who are a pleasure to call and some I hate. When I have a choice I will always call the nice guys.
5) Deal with difficult callers courteously
There are some strange callers out there. This is just a fact of life. If people use offensive or intimidating language then it is appropriate to warn them that you will disconnect the line if they carry on (and to do so).
There is nothing personal in the way that these people behave - they are simply trying to get a reaction. They will ask questions which are impossible to answer "Do you always treat customers this badly or am I special?" may be an example. The best you can do is to try and empathise with the problem - if possible. Take the complaint seriously - write it down and ask for help in forming the words.
Intelligent companies will have a policy allowing you to resolve the complaint if you can even if there is some small cost to the company. If you cannot resolve the complaint then you can at least offer to get someone to call the complainer back - but make sure they return the call.
Unfortunately there are times when there is a problem and the situation cannot be resolved and under these circumstances the only thing to be done is to admit the fault and remain determinedly polite.
6) Spread the load - purchase a phone system that allows everyone to answer
A first point is that everyone should have their own phone number (otherwise known as a DDI) so that if a client knows who to call then they can. If this call isn't answered then your system should be able to respond effectively as described below.
If you simply put one person on the end of the main phone - then there are a lot of times when they can't answer the phone - for instance when they are talking to your most important customer or giving directions to some one. So when your main person (often a receptionist) is engaged you need a system that allows you to respond most effectively.
7) Learn how to use your phone system's features smoothly
A failed transfer or being hung up on can be quite frustrating. Ensure that your staff know how to:
• Set up the phone, so that if they can't take the call, then the system should allow a colleague to answer - you can use call cascading or have multiple phones ring at once.
o put people in queue until answered (though most people hate this)
o work with a live answering service so that another company answers the call on your behalf in your name. Cloud Net provides an excellent service with no subscription
o set up a voicemail service which allows people to leave a message - say you will get back to people (people don't like this either)
Finally, if you have the Cloud Net system in place, then you can allow a person to answer on a mobile which is not ideal but better than missing the call.
Please note that not all phone systems can provide all of these features, or if they can then extra costs can be incurred. Cloud Net has a simple and transparent pricing structure here:Standard Pricing
Posted by Cloud Net on Wed, May 19, 2010 @ 03:36 AM
Latest news reports coming from BT mention that they are selling
off their stake in Tech Mahindra, an IT provider in India. This will help raise them around £500m which will probably go towards paying off their large debt of apparently around £10billion. Tony Chanmugam BT's new head of finance is responsible for the sale and has already managed to cut £1.6billion of debts from BT in the last 9 months.
However BT's sales have declined for six straight quarters and we firmly believe that one of the causes is the growth in hosted VoIP services. Hosted telecoms companies are growing at fast pace since the benefits of adopting a hosted VoIP solution are clear for everyone to see. With great cost benefits and a wide range of features, they offer customers a complete phone system at the fraction of the price of traditional phone systems.
When hosted telecoms first appeared, there were early quality of service issues but as technology has developed the quality of VoIP has become near perfect.
BT is just the tip of the iceberg, other telecom companies also continue to trade with large debts: Virgin Media has debts of around £6billion, Cable and Wireless Worldwide have approximately £830million debt and Talk Talk around £860 million. The impact of hosted telecoms is clearly affecting traditional telecom companies. would you take the risk with a new phone system from a company with large debts?
Written by Kevin Box, Cloud Net
Reference
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article7113928.ece
Posted by Cloud Net on Fri, May 14, 2010 @ 04:22 AM
Isn't it crazy that you can use your mobile phone in your car park or driveway but, because of poor signal strength, not inside your home or office?
There are three different ways to address this problem: divert solutions such as Cloud Net's offering; femtocell solutions like Vodafone's Sure Signal; and repeaters.
Repeaters
Building repeaters, also known as cell boosters, enhance weak mobile phone signals thereby reducing the number of dropped calls and allowing mobile phones to be used in places they couldn't before. What's more, they don't use up your precious broadband data allowance.
At the heart of the system is an amplifier which is designed to improve coverage for wireless products within a facility. The amplifier, working in combination with indoor, ceiling-mounted, low-profile antennas and an external mounted antenna, boosts the signal level within indoor areas. This reduces the problem of lost calls and signal fades.
Building repeaters can also be used in mobile applications; improving voice quality and range in areas of poor mobile coverage. The manufacturers claim to improve any mobile provider's service including: Vodafone, Orange, O2, T-Mobile, Virgin and Three.
The downsides are the limit on the number of simultaneous calls that can be handled and the cost, which generally starts at around £200.00.
Examples can be seen and bought at http://www.cellantenna.co.uk or http://mobilerepeater.co.uk
Vodafone's Sure Signal
Vodafone is promoting a femtocell box, called Sure Signal, which connects to a customer's broadband and then transmits a signal to up to four mobile phones in the vicinity. Once the phone is authenticated to the box, the call is carried across the customer's broadband.
Sure Signal costs £50 for price plans of £25 or above, and £120 for all other customers. A box can also be rented for £5.00 per month. Users must have a broadband line of 1mbps or more.
However, when you take the combined costs into consideration it's not a cheap option as the Vodafone subscriber needs to pay for the Sure Signal, the connectivity via broadband, the electricity to run it as well as paying Vodafone for the box!
Cloud Net has an elegant answer to the no-signal problem based on our hosted VoIP solution. Simply put your mobile on to "divert on no answer". This means that all unanswered incoming mobile calls are automatically diverted to your Cloud Net phone where they can be handled directly or managed by a voicemail system.
If you already have a Cloud Net system this is a no-cost solution with the benefit of a crystal clear line. If you don't already have the system then perhaps you should look at this site to see all of the other benefits including free phones and a free PBX.
Posted by Cloud Net on Wed, May 12, 2010 @ 02:59 AM
My friendly office supplier in Birmingham explained why he had so
many desks for sale. He said "The council is not renewing leases on premises - instead they are moving people into smaller offices and accommodating them by giving them smaller desks, which is made all the easier as computer monitors shrink in size. So I have lots of desks - and all at the right price."
The government report in 2007 identified the maximum space for each required for each employee. The conclusion was that 12 square meters would be enough. This has been reduced from the usual consensus size of 30 square meters in 1997. HMG have been moving staff around ever since as they aim to achieve the savings associated with the shrinking space.
This trend is going to be with us for a long time to come as tenants push for higher and higher occupancy rates with lower and lower associated costs. The current reduction that we are seeing is still based largely around the "one person one desk" paradigm.
However, breaking the "one person one desk" paradigm can dramatically reduce occupancy space requirements as numerous studies around the world have shown. Allowing more than one employee to use one desk space can raise desk occupancy rates from as little as 35% to well into the 80%+ range.
Sometimes this arrangement is called hoteling or hot-desking, whereby companies reserve office space on a "check-in, check-out" basis for employees who are typically on the road. These fully equipped, shared offices are effective in certain situations, but they may not work when employees are involved with team projects or need daily face-to-face supervision.
Another trend is the use of collaborative space outside and inside the office. Conference rooms are getting more use, and there's also greater use of collaborative technology such as teleconferencing, which brings people together at the workplace.
These trends all lead to the need to deploy hosted VoIP business phone systems. Old fashioned phone systems require you to predict what your requirements will be in five years time. There is no one who can do that in today's world. Staff moving, purchase of smaller desks, a move to a new building - these are all impossible to predict. Hosted VoIP business phone systems from Cloud Net allow you to move your phones around to follow people by simply plugging and unplugging the phone. Or if even that is too much why not use a virtual phone which can simply divert the incoming call to whatever device you wish, anywhere in the world. So whatever you choose to do to improve your efficiency there is no cost associated with remodelling your telephone systems - which is more than can be said about moving office walls and coffee machines.
Written By David Hill, Chairman, Cloud Net.
Posted by Cloud Net on Thu, May 06, 2010 @ 09:17 AM
As the 2010 election takes place today many VoIP providers are
keeping an eye on which government party will come to power and their future plans for super-fast broadband.
The British Chamber of Commerce has made plans for a business growth agenda which they will present to the incoming government. The plan must be responded to by the elected party during the first 90 days after the election.
Super-fast broadband will help VoIP providers deliver more reliable and better quality business phone systems. This will helps give users greater bandwidth and calls will be less likely to be affected by other internet usages.
However some VoIP providers such as Cloud Net already deliver a high quality hosted VoIP service. To achieve high quality and strong reliability calls Cloud Net offers Quality of Service (QoS) broadband which helps to prioritise voice over data. This simply means that when an outgoing or incoming call is taking place, the call is number one priority. This stops downloading, uploading or streaming affecting the quality of the call.
Written by Kevin Box, Cloud Net