Customer Feedback!

… it’s a great feeling when, on calling up a recent customer to do a little post-installation survey, he tells you that we’ve done exactly what they were after:

The Engineer, Lisa was absolutely fantastic and extremely patient. She turned up when she said she was going to and went beyond what I’d expect in going out of her way to fix problems. I cannot rate her highly enough – top class. We had issues with BT which she managed to sort out there and then.

In terms of the system installation, all the way from Chris who initially handled the enquiry to Niki who project managed the install, we were kept fully informed of what was going to happen and when. In the end, the installation was completed ahead of schedule. The system itself was tailored to fully our needs and does exactly what I was asking for.

After using it only a week, we have already noticed that our Avaya IP 500 has made us more efficient and made us more productive. There is no need to hold the line and shout across the room anymore that we are holding someone on the line. Above all, it straightaway saves us time!

In truth, there isn’t too much that I can add to that, as this sort of customer testimonial speaks for itself.

… penned by Johan

7 Essential tips to choosing a Phone System Solution Provider

Single Manufacturer

Look for resellers that have specialised in single manufacturers such as Telefonix as it is just not possible to be able to sell and support multiple brands of phone systems. A company that has decided to only re-sell 1 manufacturer will often have more staff available in the case of a problem. It also means that the whole company is positioned to understand the product wholly which means you will get a better fitting solution. Also look at the Manufacturer, don’t buy into unknown brands, or brands that are relatively new to the market place. Let your competitors test these companies out whilst you stick to the tried and tested. There really are no gains to be had!

Accreditation Level

Most manufacturers want to get close to their resellers and to do this they will often reward them in the way of a medal program. So look for resellers that are promoting the level of accreditation that they have achieved with the manufacturer. These accreditations are down to hard work, staff training on both the sales and engineering sides often with manufacturer university qualifications. They will often have better access to high level technical support and may have better Customer Experience Centre facilities. Stay away from non-accredited companies, they may be cheaper but it will cost you more in the long run.

Demonstration Facilities

Customer Experience Centres are rare in the Small to Medium Business arena but essential for you “the customer” on making an informed decision on your new telephone solution. Ensure your supplier is able to demonstrate all the features that you want in a Experience Centre. Look to them to educate you on what you could do and not just what you have asked the system to do. You need to know what the system is capable of so that when in your business you are faced with a new challenge or need that you know that your investment will be able to meet it. When you are at the facility it is also a good time to look at how they are investing into the future of their business.

Lines and Calls

You should always try and leverage your purchasing power in tying your calls and lines with your phone system provider. Not only will you find you may get a better deal as you are buying a bigger package but it will pay dividends in having a sole supplier looking after your communications. This way you do not get yourself into a trap of multiple vendors blaming each other whilst your problem still doesn’t get resolved. Don’t be scared in wrapping your all your business together as it makes you a powerful customer.

Salesperson

Ensure that the person dealing with your enquiry is trustworthy and looking out for your business. Gone are the days when you are just replacing a phone system with hardware, you are more likely looking for a solution for your business issues, which may include looking at call/contact centres, voice over IP for remote workers, sip trunks for resilience, Computer Telephony Integration of your CRM database etc. So ensure that the salesperson has sufficient technical knowledge or calls on the experience of a pre-sales technical resource to make sure you get the solution that your business demands.

Custom Solution

Look for the supplier that can offer you the “bespoke” or “tailored” solution that has been designed to exactly match your business needs. There is no such thing as an “off the shelf” solution, you will need expertise to design, install and configure your solution to ensure that you maximise your investment and get a return on the investment. The return may be in cost savings of inter site calls that will be routed across the Internet now using VoIP, or it may be due to the centralisation of resources that could not happen before as you ran multiple isolated sites, it could be as basic as it improves your flexibility of where you can now work from as an extension of the office – The new Villa that your purchased in the Italian Lakes?

Product Roadmap

Does your supplier know the product roadmap for the solution that they are proposing? This is always a good test to see how well the supplier is “in bed” with the manufacturer, as a good supplier will be able to advise you of the current software release and what new features are due to be released. Often good business partners will have been consulted with by the manufacturers product development teams to find out what features they would like to see included in the roadmap. This ensures that the your proposed solution will last and keep up with your business needs. Don’t forget to ask if these are usually paid for software upgrades or not!

…penned by Mike Kirby, Telefonix

To Host or Not to Host – That is the Question

In this current economic environment where companies are looking to reduce costs it is no wonder that many firms are considering the possibility of purchasing a hosted telephony solution. On the surface it sounds very attractive, however is it really all it is cut out to be?

The simple answer is that for some clients it is the perfect solution and for others it is simply a false economy.  Although a hosted solution is cheaper to procure short term, over time it is very expensive and essential companies are throwing money away for a solution that the firm does not own and ultimately doesn’t have any control over.

Why Go Hosted

• Keep costs to a minimum (perfect for a new business start-up)
• Monthly rental
• Can add features at any time and on a per user basis
• Takes up no expensive office space as it’s hosted offsite
• Financial figures are shown against profit and loss accounts

Why Avoid Hosted

• The system is under the control and ownership of other parties – if any of the parties involved in the hosting go out of business the hosting will no longer be available
• With hosted the brain of the system is stored offsite.  Therefore if you lose connection to a host site you lose your communications
• Unlike traditional telephony, with hosted you need to consider bandwidth and internet connection.  If the service is slow it is highly likely the system will be too and the voice quality will be poor
• If the call quality is poor it is very difficult to correct the problem with a hosted system. At this point you may then need to bring the service in-house using localised lines and an on premise system. This will result in the company paying penalty fees for ending the hosting contract and the possibility of losing any telephone numbers plus the cost of a new on premise system
• Call charges are dictated by the Hosted provider so companies don’t have the ability to shop around to find the best price for calls
• The phone numbers belong to the hosting company so if the firm choose to change systems the host company may refuse to provide the telephone numbers or charge a premium release fee
• With hosted solutions the provider will charge line rental from their site, plus there will be an additional rental costs of at least one ADSL and analogue line service
• Contracts are often long with complicated terms
• Hosted is usually 2-5 times the expense of a monthly rental over a 7-year period (anticipated life of a phone system)

What Are The Other Options?

• If capital expense is an issue then leasing the solution maybe an option
• If lack of IT expertise is the issue then look at a managed service whereby the company supplying the telephony solution takes care of the system for you

… penned by Joe Noble, Telefonix