Raw 03 - November 2008 - (Page 59)

PROCOM INSTALLATIONS RAW services are likely to be required. Either way make sure that you use a company that can be contacted. Avoid those with a large general call centre designed to look after the public. A business service is vital if you don’t want to spend ages on the phone when it goes wrong. Phones In recent years there have been some important changes to phone systems. The old systems were all about dial tone. In other words simply picking up a phone, pressing 9 for an outside line and then dialling out. Simple systems that just do this are still available and whilst they may have voicemail built in and be described as “digital” the designs are now very old. More importantly, they cannot be easily adapted to use the new technology which is essential for a company to survive the demands of the future. If you need a new phone system the important point is that it must be IP ready i.e. it must have the ability to use the same method of communication that computers do. IP means Internet Protocol. Hosted - Off site option Instead of purchasing a phone system it is possible to rent part of a system owned by a service provider. These are called hosted systems and connect via the Internet to local handsets. Each handset is usually purchased and a rental per handset connection is paid. These are frequently sold as a much cheaper option, but in reality the contracted rental periods are long and the call charges are not the best. Where individuals are spread over a number of locations this quite often is a great solution but as with all IP connections it is vital that a quality Internet service is available. When compared to a phone system on a lease rental they may not be so attractive and not have so many features. PBX - On site sytem The flexibility of a hybrid system which can use all available technology seems the best approach at present so that connection to all type of links, both internally and externally, can be achieved. Why hybrid? Mobile call charges can be reduced if a GSM Tim Huckle MD, Procom Installations Ltd gateway connection is available, and if the lines go down calls can still be made. There are other potential business benefits such as being able to use a mobile as an extension to the phone system. A call from the company to a mobile can be transferred back instead of the usual “can you please phone again” response we sometime get. Existing analogue and or digital lines can be used hence reducing line install or upgrade charges. IP line rental may or may not be cheaper, but one of the key points is the Disaster Recovery benefits. A service can be reactivated anywhere in the UK so long as a suitable Internet connection is available. This also means that a range of numbers from anywhere throughout the UK can be bought and directed into a single location with no additional cost. i.e. you can have a London number but be based anywhere in the UK. Technically it is possible for international numbers to be available but there are currently political barriers to this. Other reasons for IP? The technology represents a range of newer phone systems that not only are able to connect using the latest methods, but also are able to link to computer applications. Subject to the business involved, these applications can provide significant business benefits such as helping to increase turnover significantly. More about these applications in the next issue, For further details about Procom take a look at the video on MI Tube or at http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZIKZS9ZBHM info@procom-uk.com www.procom-uk.com millionimpossible.com 59 0800 001 5510 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZIKZS9ZBHM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZIKZS9ZBHM http://www.procom-uk.com http://www.procom-uk.com http://www.millionimpossible.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Raw 03 - November 2008

Raw 03 - November 2008 Contents Bradley Chapman Rachael Elnaugh Linda Klassen-Brown Heidi Weir Mark Asquith Emma Thompson Chris Wright

Raw 03 - November 2008

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