Posted by Charles Chance on Mon, Jul 26, 2010 @ 05:06 AM
Walsall, 26th July 2010. Cloud Net, the business phone systems company, today announces that it has been awarded the Accredit UK certification and has become the first business/telecoms/VoIP company to achieve the recognition.
The Accredit UK quality standard has been developed to prove a supplier’s level of proficiency in their specialist field – giving confidence to purchasers and opening new doors to suppliers.
To gain the certification, Cloud Net has undergone a rigorous assessment that covers everything from how the company manages its employees through to the processes that are in place to ensure consistent high quality performance.
Cloud Net plans to use the newly gained Accredit UK standard to continue to grow its business; which is currently at a rate of around 40 new customers per week. The company is proud of its reputation for quality and customer service, with much of its business generated by referrals.
In the last year, Cloud Net has successfully launched its Cloud Net Connect Hosted VoIP service for SMEs. Cloud Net is the UK’s only VoIP provider that guarantees call quality by owning and managing its own network and also providing its own Internet Protocol telephone handsets (for free).
David Hill, Chairman of Cloud Net, commented on the company’s decision to participate in the Accredit UK quality certification: “The telecoms market is dominated by big players, but they don’t always understand the needs of the smaller business. We understand that above all VoIP-users want simplicity and clear pricing, matched with a high level of customer support.”
Hill continues: “We believe that having an independent assessment of our company and gaining the prestigious Accredit UK quality mark will further demonstrate that we provide a high quality service.”
The Accredit UK Assessor who managed the certification process said of Cloud Net: “Cloud Net demonstrated they have the business processes and organisational capabilities to deliver their simple and flexible telephony services to large numbers of customers in line with their growth plans.”
Vaughan Shayler, Managing Director for Accredit UK said "By using the Accredit UK standard, Cloud Net is helping to make it easier for purchasers to feel confident to buy services from technology companies. 94% of people that we surveyed think that the Accredit UK standard is a good idea. That is because it solves their burning need - they can now get what they want without fear.”
The Cloud Net service has been piloted in the West Midlands since October 2009, and is already being successfully used by small businesses as diverse as start ups, private detectives, charities, sole traders and small consultancies. See what users are saying here: http://www.cloudnetuk.com/case-studies
For pricing, please see http://www.cloudnetuk.com/standard-pricing/
For handset information, please see http://www.cloudnetuk.com/ip-telephone-handsets/
Cloud Net offers a 30 day trial. For further information, please visit, www.cloudnetuk.com, call 01922 21 33 33 or email solutions@cloudnetuk.com.
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About Cloud Net
Cloud Net supplies business phone systems to SMEs and start ups with the advantage of no capital expenditure necessary to run a professional PBX and dramatically lower running costs. Cloud Net has developed a dedicated small business VoIP network providing free calls within the network. The company has a happy and growing customer base. Cloud Net is privately financed and started trading in March 2009.
Contact for media information
For more information, to review Cloud Net services or for case studies, please contact Ranbir Sahota or Sara Pennant of Vitis Tech PR agency, on 0121 242 8048, ranbir@vitispr.com or sara@vitispr.com
About Accredit UK
Accredit UK helps businesses use and trust IT solutions. It is a quality mark that promotes trust in IT and helps suppliers prove their excellence. It proves to potential IT purchasers that companies holding the mark operate with appropriately skilled people and clearly defined processes, and that they have a track record of meeting customers’ expectations.
CONTACT DETAILS: For more information please consult the Accredit UK website at: www.accredituk.com or contact: Gavin Gardner, Accredit UK T: 02476 496 217 E: gavin.gardner@accredituk.com
Posted by Cloud Net on Mon, Jul 19, 2010 @ 02:56 AM
Breathing Space teams up with Cloud Net to get businesses connected
16 July 2010 - Walsall charity Breathing Space, which helps local people into self-employment, has teamed up with Walsall business phone systems company Cloud Net, to provide a service which will allow local start up and small businesses to make telephone calls within Walsall for free.
As part of the initiative, Walsall-based start-up companies and small businesses will get a free handset, free installation, free calls to other Cloud Net users and free calls to Walsall numbers. From the second month of use, a monthly charge of £8.50 covers a full internet switchboard, which includes voicemail to email, call divert and call recording. Cloud Net users just pay for calls outside the Walsall area.
Breathing Space, established in 1989 aims to help people into business and work, particularly those who are disadvantaged, by encouraging them to succeed. The charity’s provision includes training and one-to-one support in business skills, job search skills, reading and writing skills for business, coaching and mentoring for business and personal development. Most of its services are free to people who register with them.
Glennys Davis, General Manager of Breathing Space, commented, “Small business set up costs can be quite daunting and we hope that our clients and indeed other Walsall small businesses will take up Cloud Net’s offer. We believe that the provision of free calls in Walsall will help to ensure that more businesses use their local suppliers.”
Any calls outside the Walsall area cost 0.9p per minute to landlines and 9.0p per minute* to mobiles and also benefit from low cost international calls. All Cloud Net calls are rounded to the nearest second rather than the nearest minute making the call as low cost as possible.
“We’re pleased to partner with Breathing Space to offer its clients invaluable access to low cost communications and free calls to other Walsall numbers. We believe that it will be a welcome boost to local businesses networking and regeneration plans for the area,” concluded Cloud Net’s Chairman David Hill.
To find out more about how Cloud Net is making calls within Walsall free, please visit http://www.cloudnetuk.com/walsall-offer/
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*Cloud Net's VoIP packages can be run over the public internet through a customer's existing broadband provider, however, Cloud Net can only guarantee call quality, if users purchase Cloud Net's broadband, which is competitively priced at Small Office ADSL2+ - £19 per month or Enterprise ADSL2+ - £30 per month.
About Cloud Net
Cloud Net supplies telephone systems to SMEs and start ups with the advantage of no capital expenditure necessary to run a professional PBX and dramatically lower running costs. Cloud Net has developed a dedicated voice over IP (VoIP) network providing free calls within the network. The company has a happy and growing customer base. Cloud Net is privately financed and started trading in March 2009.
Contact for media information
For more information, to review Cloud Net services or for case studies, please contact Ranbir Sahota, Vitis PR, on 0121 242 8048, ranbir@vitispr.com
Posted by Cloud Net on Mon, Jul 12, 2010 @ 07:00 AM
You never get a second chance to make a first impression – so Cloud Net’s mystery shopper service checks first impressions when a caller rings your business
Walsall, 12 July 2010. Cloud Net, the business phone systems company, today launched www.phonegrader.co.uk, a free service that helps small businesses evaluate the way their phones are answered by their employees.
In a recent survey of small businesses, Cloud Net discovered that while more than half[1] of the businesses surveyed did answer test calls professionally, giving their company name and a greeting, nearly a third[2] failed to do so.
Following the survey, Cloud Net launched www.phonegrader.co.ukhttp://www.phonegrader.co.uk to help managers and business owners understand whether their company phones are answered rapidly, pleasantly, informatively and professionally.
Phonegrader.co.uk ranks companies with a grade from 1 to 14 depending on how well the mystery shopper calls are handled. To score 1 companies need to answer rapidly and professionally. Whereas other grades include: a voicemail set up without the ability to leave a message, permanently engaged lines without being diverted to another employee or a voicemail, or phones being picked up with a simple hello and no indication of company name.
Now is the time when responsiveness to enquiries becomes a key differentiator to increasing sales or customers and to customer retention. Handling calls professionally is something every business should be doing: www.phonegrader.co.uk is a simple, free and objective way of assessing that,says David Hill Chairman of Cloud Net.
Phonegrader.co.uk does not record the calls, nor is any named or identifiable information shared with anyone else. It is genuinely free.
[1] 54% of companies surveyed
[2] 29% of companies surveyed
For further information, please visit www.phonegrader.co.uk.For further information on Cloud Net, please visit www.cloudnetuk.com, call
01922 21 33 33 or email solutions@cloudnetuk.com
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About Cloud Net
Cloud Net supplies business phone systems to SMEs and start ups with the advantage of no capital expenditure necessary to run a professional PBX and dramatically lower running costs. Cloud Net has developed a dedicated voice over IP (VoIP) network providing free calls within the network The company has a happy and growing customer base. Cloud Net is privately financed and started trading in March 2009.
Contact for media information
For more information, to review Cloud Net services or for case studies, please contact Ranbir Sahota of Vitis PR, on 0121 242 8048, ranbir@vitispr.com
Posted by Cloud Net on Wed, Jul 07, 2010 @ 12:46 PM
Cloud Net recently announced the launch of its backup phone system in a box and despite the recent cancellation of the strike ballot has seen sales and website activity rise consistently ever since.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced that it had stopped balloting workers for industrial action amid fears that the vote could be declared void due to legal technicalities. The CWU has, however, announced that it will start preparing for another industrial action ballot, without delay.
Charles Chance, Managing Director of Cloud Net commented, “Communications play a vital role in any business and even though strike action has been avoided this time, companies have woken up and realized the threats identified over the past few weeks are very real and could easily resurface. It is for this reason that conscientious business owners are seeking to put measures in place now, to minimize the impact on their bottom line should we see a repeat action.”
Cloud Net is offering BT subscribers a special package at £47.50 per handset + VAT set up cost, including a free phone, set up to any telephone number, a powerful internet based switchboard, and the ability to cancel the contract immediately with no termination fees. Cloud Net will only bill rental charges (£8.50 per month) and call costs from the date a user starts to use the system.
This means if negotiations between BT and the CWU are unsuccessful and another strike goes ahead, small companies will have a complete back up plan in a box waiting to go, preconfigured, for a low cost with no commitment.
“Unlike companies that resell BT services, Cloud Net’s network is not reliant on BT engineers to fix it. Their network is based on Voice over IP which utilizes the internet to carry phone calls.
As long as there is a broadband connection, Cloud Net phones will continue to work, wherever they are. If one connection goes down, users can take their phones and plug them into an alternative broadband line and work there for the day. This means that users will still have use of their usual office phone numbers and all the switchboard features they are used to, including the ability to transfer calls within the business," explains David Hill, Chairman of Cloud Net.
For more information please visit
www.cloudnetuk.com or telephone 01922 21 33 33.
Posted by Cloud Net on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 @ 09:53 AM
Now every tradesperson can have a landline number wherever they are28 June 2010 - Business phone systems company Cloud Net, today has launched its Virtual Number Service to ensure that important business calls are always picked up and answered by an appropriate person. The service diverts calls from a UK geographic number, selected by the end-user to a mobile or a landline of choice.
Cloud Net's Virtual Number Service is aimed at businesses on the go, such as plumbers, electricians and engineers, who are not office-based and often advertise either a mobile or a landline number. The tradesperson's customers can ring a lower rate landline but the call can be received on a mobile or on a landline depending on where the tradesperson is.
A tradesperson can also set up geographic multiple numbers which all divert to one number, so that they can get enquiries from potential customers outside their immediate area.
The new service is also an ideal intermediate step for those that are not yet suited to the Cloud Net's Connect Service, such as those setting up a new business but have not yet secured premised and want to reserve a phone number, include it on stationery and receive calls on it. Reserved numbers do not even have to be in a particular area code - this is ideal for when a consumer campaign is targeted to an area other than yours.
"We wanted a virtual number as we work in the United States the majority of the time, so having a UK number was fundamental as it allows my customers to reach me at any time without having to pay overseas rates. Cloud Net Virtual number was ideal for us as it is cost effective at £2 per month, it was set up instantly and most of all, we never miss a call. Customers can contact us any time whether we are in the UK or overseas. The client care Cloud Net provides is excellent, there is always someone available to help with my enquiries and the virtual switchboard allows me to make changes easily if I need to divert it to another number," said Jon Willis, Managing Director, SPS International.
"Research shows that consumers opt for services that are local to them in the first instance. For companies based in one area targeting another, the Virtual Number Service is ideal. You can select as many numbers as you like for £2/number and they will all be diverted to a location of your choice. You can also change your number whenever you like and set up different locations for call diverting at different time intervals. For instance, within office hours calls can be routed to a mobile and after hours, to a landline," commented Charles Chance, Cloud Net's MD.
Cloud Net's Virtual Number Service be used as a standalone feature or can be coupled with its CLASS service, a live telephone answering service which will allow incoming calls to be diverted, free of charge, to CLASS.
For further information, please visit, www.cloudnetuk.com, call 01922 21 33 33 or email solutions@cloudnetuk.com
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About Cloud Net
Cloud Net supplies business phone systems to SMEs and start ups with the advantage of no capital expenditure necessary to run a professional PBX and dramatically lower running costs. Cloud Net has developed a dedicated small business VoIP network providing free calls within the network. The company has a happy and growing customer base. Cloud Net is privately financed and started trading in March 2009.
Posted by Cloud Net on Thu, Jun 24, 2010 @ 03:59 AM
www.phonegrader.co.uk launched to help companies check how their staff pick up the phone
24 June 2010. A telephone survey conducted in May 2010, by business phone systems company, Cloud Net found that almost a third of small businesses are not picking up the phone.
The survey has prompted Cloud Net to launch www.phonegrader.co.uk, a free website which helps companies to understand how their phones are answered. Once a company has entered their phone number, it is called during office hours and given a grading.
Cloud Net's survey consisted of calling 200 randomly selected businesses (with fewer than 250 employees).
Commenting, David Hill, Chairman, Cloud Net said, "The 2009 recession proved to be a devastating year for many small businesses with many it seems left without sufficient resources to man telephone lines to potential customers and business opportunities.
While 2010 is showing signs of economic promise, it is hard to believe that our telephone survey of 200 small businesses showed that 29% of businesses had no professional way of answering a business phone call. Now is the time when responsiveness to enquiries becomes a key differentiator to increasing sales or customers and to customer retention."
"In some cases, phones kept ringing without being forwarded to a voicemail system, in other cases, 5% of calls were greeted by a simple hello, without any indication of the company name. Companies cannot afford to let this business area slip", he continued.
Other results from the survey showed that 54% of companies did pick up the phone with a professional person, company name and greeting. The average number of rings was 2.39 seconds. 15% of SMEs also used a professional voicemail.
Presteen, a private investigation and legal support firm, is a company that wants to capture every call. Mark Gill, MD of Presteen, commented, "With such a competitive telecoms market currently, business should have no problems finding a professional business phone system. We use Cloud Net's business VoIP service and are considering its CLASS live telephone answering service as a back up when we are really busy and want someone to answer the phone on our behalf.
Cloud Net's tips on smarter ways of answering the phone, include:
• Agree on company policy on picking up the phone - such as a simple, "Good morning, company name, how can I help?"
• Ensure that there is a professional voicemail
• Set up a call divert system
• Have an answering service, with a professional message
• Answer within three rings
For further information, please visit, www.cloudnetuk.com, www.phonegrader.co.uk, call 01922 21 33 33 or email solutions@cloudnetuk.com
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About Cloud Net
Cloud Net supplies business phone systems to SMEs and start ups with the advantage of no capital expenditure necessary to run a professional PBX and dramatically lower running costs. Cloud Net has developed a dedicated small business VoIP network providing free calls within the network. The company has a happy and growing customer base. Cloud Net is privately financed and started trading in March 2009.
Posted by Cloud Net on Mon, Jun 21, 2010 @ 03:11 AM
Cloud Net offering back up VoIP package for businesses using BT21 June 2010. Cloud Net has today announced a business phone package aimed to ensure that small businesses have working phone systems if a BT strike goes ahead. In the case of a strike, business owners whose lines develop a fault could be left with no telephone lines or broadband.
Cloud Net is offering a back up phone system which can be activated in case of a fault developing on a BT line.
Cloud Net is offering BT subscribers a special package at £47.50 per handset + VAT set up cost, including a free phone, and set up to any telephone number, a powerful internet based switchboard, and the ability to cancel the contract immediately with no termination fees. Cloud Net will only bill rental charges (£8.50 per month) and call costs from the date a BT user starts to use the system.
This means if BT strikes small companies will have a complete back up plan in a box waiting to go, preconfigured, for a low cost with no commitment.
Cloud Net can either transfer existing BT numbers to Cloud Net or the user can set up a divert from BT and when the strike is over, switch back to BT should they wish to.
David Hill, Chairman of Cloud Net explains, "Industry accepted estimates demonstrate that on average a customer experiences a serious fault every 18 months which means that the network will degrade at the rate of about 8% a month. That is after month one 92% will still function and 84% after two if no fixes are implemented. We believe that small businesses should be thinking of contingency plans to ensure that they have a back up phone system if the strike does take place. If they leave it too late, they made end up scrambling around for a phone system which is not reliant on BT."
BT employees have until 5 July to decide whether they will go on strike for the first time in 23 years. The strike which can start as early as 12 July may have catastrophic results for BT users, whether consumers or businesses.
Unless a consumer or small business uses companies like Cloud Net, Virgin or Cable and Wireless, they could face being without phone or broadband during a strike.
Small businesses
BT provides phone services to many small businesses and most other providers use their lines for the final connections. Hardly any small businesses use Virgin and Cable and Wireless will only supply large companies so the total network for consumers and small businesses not using Virgin or Cable and Wireless could be affected.
No engineers will come out to fix broadband or phone lines in the case of a strike, so BT customers could be left without a service as long as the strike continues. The thought of no phone or internet is unthinkable for many households and could be the ruin of many businesses.
Can the internet break BT's monopoly?
Unlike companies that resell BT services, the Cloud Net network is not reliant on BT engineers to fix it. Their network is based on Voice over IP which uses the internet to make phone calls.
As long as there is a broadband connection, Cloud Net phones still work. If one connection goes down, then users can take their phones and plug them into an alternative broadband line, for example an additional line in their office. Alternatively users can take the phones home and plug it into their home broadband service and work there for the day. This means that users will still have use of their usual office phone numbers and all the switchboard features they are used to, including the ability to transfer calls within the business."
BT pensions in the balance could further anger unions
July 12 is a critical day for BT. BT will have its day in court over the government's position with regard to BT's pension fund. Which ever way the judgement goes it will inflame the union's attitude
In addition, BT's discussions with contractors such as Carillion to take over engineering work and BT's intended use of middle management to carry out repairs will hardly pacify the union.
Cloud Net
David Hill, Chairman of Cloud Net says that his company can offer a robust alternative to BT so that companies can avoid being reliant on the telecoms giant and its thousands of unhappy workers.
Cloud Net can provide a greater degree of resilience than telecoms giants as its telephone systems are based on the internet.
If users want to benefit from Cloud Net, then there is no guarantee that BT will allow the porting of numbers away during the strike - so now is the time to act.
Cloud Net will still be able to configure systems in the period of a strike but may not be able to transfer numbers - so new users would have to use new telephone numbers which would not be ideal.
There are other options from Cloud Net as well to help small businesses survive the BT strike. Cloud Net will divert any call to any phone, anywhere with no divert fee and also provides a live answering service to field any incoming calls.
"The great thing is that you can keep all of this flexibility and resilience comes at very little cost. If you want a standby power supply in case the mains cuts out, it costs a fortune. If you want a standby phone system in case of strikes, there is no capital cost from Cloud Net and a very low monthly subscription," says Charles Chance, MD of Cloud Net.
For further information, please visit, www.cloudnetuk.com, call 01922 21 33 33 or email solutions@cloudnetuk.com
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About Cloud Net
Cloud Net supplies business phone systems to SMEs and start ups with the advantage of no capital expenditure necessary to run a professional PBX and dramatically lower running costs. Cloud Net has developed a dedicated small business VoIP network providing free calls within the network. The company has a happy and growing customer base. Cloud Net is privately financed and started trading in March 2009.
Cloud Net call charges
Landline UK
Tariff (up to 4 phones) 1.2p per minute
Standard Tariff (Between 5-20 phones) 1.0p per minute
Standard Tariff (Over 21+ phones) 0.9p per minute
Mobile UK
Tariff (up to 4 phones) 9.5p per minute
Standard Tariff (Between 5-20 phones) 9.2p per minute
Standard Tariff (Over 21+ phones) 9.0p per minute
Contact for media information
For more information, to review Cloud Net services or for case studies, please contact Ranbir Sahota of Vitis PR, on 0121 242 8048, ranbir@vitispr.com
Posted by Cloud Net on Wed, Jun 16, 2010 @ 03:24 AM
With Ian Livingstone BT chief executive of awarding himself a massive bonus whilst asking BT engineers to take a lower than inflation pay deal it is looking even more likely that the result of the strike ballot called by the Communications Workers Union will be in favour of downing tools in August. BT has a monopoly in the "last mile" of telephone lines and so a strike will leave all "normal" users of the telephone network including the internet at risk whether they subscribe via BT or not.
Any industrial action would mean that reported faults on phone lines and broadband services would take a lot longer to fix, and could leave small businesses and households without phone and internet services for a long period.
Customers of BT get a serious fault on average every 18 months. This means that there is an 8% chance in the first month of the strike that customers will have a fault which may not be fixed. BT is planning to deploy middle management to help solve any problems. It is unlikely that middle management will take on the commitment of the engineer featured in the latest edition of the BT magazine pictured below.
David Hill, Chairman of Cloud Net says that his company can offer small businesses a robust alternative to BT so that companies can avoid being reliant on the telecoms giant and its thousands of unhappy workers.
"We all know how important telephone systems are to a business. When there is a fault or a problem then you need a solution and fast. Now that engineers are preparing to strike you may not get a repair service as fast as you'd like (if at all)!"
"Add to the equation, that mobile networks are maintained by a single company - Ericsson - whose engineers are distinctly disgruntled at the proposed redundancies and suddenly "traditional" communications companies don't seem the most reliable."
So what are the small business owners' choices? Cloud Net can provide a greater degree of resilience than telecoms giants as its telephone systems are based on the internet.
The essence of the internet is its robustness. Initially it was designed to withstand a nuclear blast by having multiple routing options so if one part goes down, others pick up the load.
Consider what could happen if there is a fault on a BT ISDN line, which many small businesses use, all company phones die and there are few options to reconnect quickly if no engineers are available.
Cloud Net's phone system uses the internet and allows users to make and take calls anywhere there is a broadband connection. If one connection goes down, then users can take their phones and plug them into an alternative broadband line, for example an additional line in their office. Alternatively users can take the phones home and plug it into their home broadband service and work there for the day. This means that users will still have use their usual office phone numbers and all the switchboard features they are used to, including the ability to transfer calls within the business.
If users want to benefit from Cloud Net, then there is no guarantee that BT will allow the porting of numbers away during the strike - so now is the time to act.
Cloud Net will still be able to configure systems in the period of a strike but may not be able to transfer numbers - so new users would have to use new telephone numbers which would not be ideal.
There are other options from Cloud Net as well to help small businesses survive the BT strike. Cloud Net will divert any call to any phone anywhere with no divert fee and also provides a live answering service to field any incoming calls.
"The great thing is that you can keep all of this flexibility and resilience comes at very little cost. If you want a standby power supply in case the mains cuts out, it costs a fortune. If you want a standby phone system in case of strikes, there is no capital cost from Cloud Net and a very low monthly subscription," says Charles Chance, MD of Cloud Net.
For further information, please visit, www.cloudnetuk.com, call 01922 21 33 33 or email solutions@cloudnetuk.com
-ENDS-
About Cloud Net
Cloud Net supplies business phone systems to SMEs and start ups with the advantage of no capital expenditure necessary to run a professional PBX and dramatically lower running costs. Cloud Net has developed a dedicated small business VoIP network providing free calls within the network. The company has a happy and growing customer base. Cloud Net is privately financed and started trading in March 2009.
Cloud Net call charges
Landline UK
Tariff (up to 4 phones) 1.2p per minute
Standard Tariff (Between 5-20 phones) 1.0p per minute
Standard Tariff (Over 21+ phones) 0.9p per minute
Mobile UK
Tariff (up to 4 phones) 9.5p per minute
Standard Tariff (Between 5-20 phones) 9.2p per minute
Standard Tariff (Over 21+ phones) 9.0p per minute
Contact for media information
For more information, to review Cloud Net services or for case studies, please contact Ranbir Sahota or Sara Pennant of Vitis Tech PR agency, on 0121 242 8048, ranbir@vitispr.com or sara@vitispr.com
Posted by Cloud Net on Wed, Jun 09, 2010 @ 03:07 AM
8 June 2010. With BT looking even more likely to have its first strike in over quarter of a century following a dispute over pay increases, thousands of businesses and homes could be left without phones or internet during the strike which could take place in August 2010.
Any industrial action would mean that reported faults on phone lines and broadband services would take a lot longer to fix, and could leave small businesses and households without phone and internet services for a longer period than would normally be expected.
Communications Worker members are "angry" after huge pay-outs to executives including £1.2million for group chief Ian Livingston.
David Hill, Chairman of Cloud Net believes that his company can offer small businesses a robust alternative to BT so that companies can avoid being reliant on the telecoms giant and its thousands of unhappy workers.
"We all know how important telephone systems are to a business. When there is a fault or a problem then you need a solution and fast. Now that engineers are preparing to strike you may not get a repair service as fast as you'd like (if at all)!"
"Add to the equation, that mobile networks are maintained by a single company - Ericsson - whose engineers are distinctly disgruntled at the proposed redundancies and suddenly "traditional" communications companies don't seem the most reliable."
So what are the small business owners' choices? Cloud Net believes that it can provide a greater degree of resilience than telecoms giants as its telephone systems are based on the internet.
The essence of the internet is its robustness. Initially it was designed to withstand a nuclear blast by having multiple routing options so if one part goes down, others pick up the load.
Consider what could happen if there is a fault on a BT ISDN line, which many small businesses use, all company phones die and there are few options to reconnect quickly if no engineers are available.
Cloud Net's phone system uses the internet and allows users to make and take calls anywhere there is a broadband connection. If one connection goes down, then users can take their phones and plug them into an alternative broadband line, for example an additional line in their office. Alternatively users can take the phones home and plug it into their home broadband service and work there for the day. This means that users will still have use their usual office phone numbers and all the switchboard features they are used to, including the ability to transfer calls within the business.
If users want to benefit from Cloud Net, then there is no guarantee that BT will allow the porting of numbers away during the strike - so now is the time to act.
Cloud Net will still be able to configure systems in the period of a strike but may not be able to transfer numbers - so new users would have to use new telephone numbers which would not be ideal.
There are other options from Cloud Net as well to help small businesses survive the BT strike. Cloud Net will divert any call to any phone anywhere with no divert fee and also provides a live answering service to field any incoming calls.
"The great thing is that you can keep all of this flexibility and resilience comes at very little cost. If you want a standby power supply in case the mains cuts out, it costs a fortune. If you want a standby phone system in case of strikes, there is no capital cost from Cloud Net and a very low monthly subscription," says Charles Chance, MD of Cloud Net.
For further information, please visit, www.cloudnetuk.com, call 01922 21 33 33 or email solutions@cloudnetuk.com
-ENDS-
About Cloud Net
Cloud Net supplies business phone systems to SMEs and start ups with the advantage of no capital expenditure necessary to run a professional PBX and dramatically lower running costs. Cloud Net has developed a dedicated small business VoIP network providing free calls within the network. The company has a happy and growing customer base. Cloud Net is privately financed and started trading in March 2009.
Cloud Net call charges
Landline UK
Tariff (up to 4 phones) 1.2p per minute
Standard Tariff (Between 5-20 phones) 1.0p per minute
Standard Tariff (Over 21+ phones) 0.9p per minute
Mobile UK
Tariff (up to 4 phones) 9.5p per minute
Standard Tariff (Between 5-20 phones) 9.2p per minute
Standard Tariff (Over 21+ phones) 9.0p per minute
Contact for media information
For more information, to review Cloud Net services or for case studies, please contact Ranbir Sahota or Sara Pennant of Vitis Tech PR agency, on 0121 242 8048, ranbir@vitispr.com or sara@vitispr.com
Posted by Cloud Net on Mon, Jun 07, 2010 @ 03:28 AM
7 June, 2010.
Cloud Net, the small business phone systems provider, believes that Microsoft's cancelling of its Response Point
TM VoIP PBX is further evidence that small businesses are looking for simple all inclusive business VoIP packages with hardware included and the ability to buy directly from the service provider.
Microsoft® announced in a post on its website that it would end sales, development, and support for its small business phone system - Response Point - on August 31, 2010.
Microsoft's announcement comes just three years after its Response Point system was launched in a blaze of publicity. According to Microsoft at the time of launch, only about one-third of small businesses used PBXs (or switchboards) because they were expensive and difficult to install and manage. 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". Its Response Point software was used by several phone makers, including Quanta, whose system was sold for a time at Costco.com.
"We believe that while Microsoft's VoIP service was technically sound, small businesses want above all simplicity and clear pricing. At Cloud Net, we are simplifying the purchase and use of internet based PBX systems. Our Cloud Net Connect users are not bamboozled with a large number of hardware, software and reseller options. All the main call features and a phone are included for a one off monthly fee, starting from £8.50. It is not difficult to see why even a giant such as Microsoft could not sell a VoIP system that required customers to approach resellers and may have been difficult to configure for small business owners", commented David Hill, Chairman, Cloud Net.
"We are confident that our conscientious investment into our business and consumer VoIP service will lead our customers to agree that our internet phone service offers the best features and quality currently in the marketplace", added Charles Chance, Managing Director of Cloud Net.
Cloud Net is not aware of any UK-based Microsoft Response Point customers currently but the company believes that its business VoIP system is the most comprehensive on the market today. There is no capital outlay required and, with a 30-day money back period, no risk involved either. Customers will benefit from a powerful internet phone system 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 VoIP market follows a similar decision by Tesco, in April 2010, which left its VoIP customers without a product offering.
*Cloud Net call charges
Landline UK
Tariff (up to 4 phones) 1.2p per minute
Standard Tariff (Between 5-20 phones) 1.0p per minute
Standard Tariff (Over 21+ phones) 0.9p per minute
Mobile UK
Tariff (up to 4 phones) 9.5p per minute
Standard Tariff (Between 5-20 phones) 9.2p per minute
Standard Tariff (Over 21+ phones) 9.0p per minute
For further information, please visit, www.cloudnetuk.com, call 01922 21 33 33 or email solutions@cloudnetuk.com
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About Cloud Net
Cloud Net supplies business phone systems to SMEs and start ups with the advantage of no capital expenditure necessary to run a professional PBX and dramatically lower running costs. Cloud Net has developed a dedicated small business VoIP network providing free calls within the network. The company has a happy and growing customer base. Cloud Net is privately financed and started trading in March 2009.
Contact for media information
For more information, to review Cloud Net services or for case studies, please contact Ranbir Sahota or Sara Pennant of Vitis Tech PR agency, on 0121 242 8048, ranbir@vitispr.com or sara@vitispr.com