Aug 20, 2018 | Blog, News
Last month, the UK slipped from 31st to 35th place in the global broadband league tables, behind 25 other European countries.
Unfortunately this has been a growing trend – in 2014 the Citizen’s advice bureau conducted a survey of small businesses and found that 30% experienced problems with their broadband which resulted in loss of service and incurring significant costs to the business, and it seems to be getting worse each year!
If you are using broadband at the moment, you need to ask yourself – how would your business cope if you lost internet access for a day, a week or more? Many business owners think this will never happen to them, but we have seen it time and time again where a broadband connection has been faulty and the company hasn’t been able to access the internet for several days.
If you are like the majority of companies, where many of your business is done via email or online, having no internet access can cost you thousands of pounds. Yet many businesses put their trust in a broadband connection costing less than £360 per year, and if it goes offline it can cause them a huge loss in revenue.
It seems crazy, but this is what many business owners do – you might be turning over £300,000 per year, yet they are relying on an internet connection costing less than £250 per year. If that connection goes down, then they could easily lose £1000, £2000, or more each day in lost sales!
So what can you do to prevent your business from grinding to a halt when you have no internet?
The most reliable way your business can connect to the internet is using a dedicated leased line connection. This type of connection comes with a guaranteed uptime, and usually has a service level agreement guaranteeing a same-day fix time if the line is faulty.
A dedicated leased line might cost significantly more than a broadband connection, however you should ask yourself what would be the cost to your business if you didn’t have a guaranteed internet connection? In most cases the potential loss in revenue in a business far outweighs any additional costs that this service might incur. For example, would you think investing 1% of your annual revenue in a guaranteed internet connection would be a good choice? If it meant your business was never disrupted, of course you would!
Unfortunately, most business owners are still risking their £20,000+ revenue per month, on a £20 per month broadband which may fail at any time. It seems like a false economy, especially if it goes wrong!
At nxcoms, we not only help businesses who struggle with poor unreliable broadband connections, but we help them get good quality internet access which is suitable for their business needs. There’s lots of alternative ways to connect to the internet and if you want to ensure your business doesn’t risk loosing revenue from faults and downtime, then why not contact us or call 0161 711 1100
Aug 6, 2018 | Blog, Data, News
There are several reasons why you may have slow broadband – first and foremost its usually down to the physical distance from the telephone exchange. Broadband is provided over a copper cable and the longer the cable, the slower the speed. If the copper cable is poor quality or is damaged then this will also affect your broadband speed.
The super-fast alternative to standard broadband is Fibre Optic Broadband. This is also known as FTTC or BT infinity. Unlike standard broadband, this type of service has a fibre optic cable from the local exchange to the green street cabinet. However. the last mile from the cabinet to your premises still remains copper cables though and so the distance restrictions may still affect your speed.
Unfortunately, Fibre Optic broadband isn’t available in all areas, and many businesses in rural areas or on industrial estates will struggle to get it at all!
If slow broadband is affecting your business, and you cant get Fibre Optic Broadband……….how else can you get faster internet access?
Well the first alternative is quite simple – by using the mobile phone network. Mobile data connections provide internet speeds similar to fibre optic broadband but over the mobile phone network. In order to get a mobile data connection you need to be in an area covered by 4G which fortunately is becoming more widespread. 4G routers are available which use a mobile phone sim card and can connect your computer network to the internet.
If 4G isn’t available then you may need to consider a dedicated leased line. This type of internet connection requires a dedicated fibre optic cable to be installed in your premises. This can often mean a new cable has to be laid and routed into your premises, and may mean a long lead time of 3 months or more to get the service. Once installed, the fibre optic cable can deliver ultra-fast speeds that no other service can beat, however this comes at a higher price and can often cost several hundred pounds a month. The good news is, however, that you get a dedicated line which is 100% used by yourself, and it comes with guaranteed up-times an a service level agreement to ensure you are connected at all times. This can be a great option for those businesses which rely on the internet to operate.
So, in order to get faster broadband you may need to choose between one of the alternatives which suits your business needs the best. If your business only has occasional use then mobile data may be better, but if you are a heavy internet user, or need a guaranteed 24/7 connection, then getting a dedicated leased line will be the best option in the longer term.
If you would like to find out more on how nxcoms can help your business become faster and more efficient through new technology, why not call us on 0161 711 1100 or email info@nxcoms.co.uk
Jul 23, 2018 | Blog, News
A hosted telecoms solution is fantastic for small businesses that need flexibility
If you’re a small business, particularly if you’re a new startup, it would seem to be a very large investment to purchase a new telephone system for your company, however, with a hosted telecoms solution you can have a fully professional system without the large capital outlay.
Hosted, or cloud-based, phone systems usually consist of a telephone handset located in your office which connects via an internet connection to a PBX or main processing unit based in a large remote data centre somewhere. These kind of services are usually subscription based, so you pay on a per-user per month basis.
For a small business a hosted system can be ideal, because it gives you big telephone system features but without a big upfront cost. As your business grows you can simply add more users, and likewise if you need to downsize you can reduce users to save costs. Changes are normally done via a web control panel and are instantaneous, so you can quickly change settings whenever you need to.
There are a number of things you need to consider when running a hosted telephone system, the first and foremost is the speed of your internet connection. If your internet connection isn’t fast enough then you will get poor quality and broken-up calls. For most businesses this would involve using Fibre Optic Broadband, or a Dedicated Leased Line connection. If you are in an area where the internet speeds aren’t very fast, then its best to use a completely separate internet connection from your computers, so you would have one purely for your phones and one for your computers. This helps because it means anything your computers are doing, such as downloading files or streaming data, should not affect your phone calls at all. Unfortunately this is the area where many providers and business owners don’t consider when first setting up, and then they often get a bad experience of VoIP technology because network congestion causes them to experience poor quality phone calls.
Most hosted telephone systems are flexible, so you can choose the best solution which fits your business needs – because hosted systems are subscription based, you can change to another system completely if your current one doesn’t suit your requirements, and financially you have kept your costs down as there are no up-front capital expenditures!
For more information on hosted telephone systems, please get in touch on 0161 711 1100
Jul 10, 2018 | Blog, News
You probably don’t know it, but right now you have an extra salesperson in your business, costing you absolutely nothing and their probably sitting there at this moment, not doing anything and a completely wasted resource…..
Many business owners don’t actually realise that they have a sales person in their business RIGHT NOW……Even better, they don’t want paying, they never get tired and they never go on holiday!
No I haven’t gone mad! I’m actually taking about using your telephone system as a sales and marketing tool, with on-hold marketing.
You’ve probably heard it many times before – you call a business and they put you on hold to tinny music, “greensleeves”, or even worse, complete silence…….Wouldn’t it be great if you could utilise that time to tell your customers and prospects about all the great products and services you can provide to them?
Its a known fact that most of your customers aren’t aware of everything you do, so by using on-hold marketing messages you can cross-sell to them without any extra effort. Around 20% of callers enquire about a product or service that they hear about whilst on hold, so it makes sense that you should be using your telephone system as a marketing tool.
We’ve teamed up with the fantastic people at iNarrator to help you get more business through your phone system. Why not take a look at this video and call us on 0161 711 1100 find out more?
Jun 25, 2018 | Blog, News
BT are to stop providing ISDN connections
But, theres no need to panic, just yet… BT has said that ISDN won’t end until 2025!
For many years now, BT has always invested heavily in ISDN digital lines for business telephone systems. However, all that is about to change, because they have come to realise that ISDN is old technology and Voice over IP is the future.
ISDN usually comes in two varieties – ISDN2 where you have 2 voice channels, or ISDN30 where you have 30 channels. Multiple lines can be combined to give you the number of channels, or simultaneous calls that you need. The lines have to be physically installed at the premises and usually come with minimum terms of 1, 3 or 5 years.
Voice over IP is much more flexible as its delivered over an internet connection. You can have as many channels as your internet connection can handle, and you can increase or decrease as your business requirements change. For example, in November you might only need 10 channels, but as business picks up for Christmas you may need to increase to 30, then in January as things quieten down again you may wish to decrease down to 8. Voice over IP quickly lets you do this time and time again.
Costs are greatly reduced with Voice over IP too, if you are using SIP Trunking instead of ISDN lines, then not only do you save around 75% on line rental, but also on call charges too!
2025 seems like a long way off at the moment, but whilst in theory you may have 10 years before you need to change your ISDN lines, I think you will start to see some major changes in the next few years. BT have already been contacting their wholesale partners and have started to promote Voice Over IP services and this will start to filter down to resellers and consultants soon, and we expect them to stop providing new installations of ISDN by 2020.
So, when you are thinking about a new telephone system for your business, it’s a good idea to ask your provider whether or not the proposed system supports Voice over IP. The technology is here to stay and it will become the primary means of making telephone calls as BT begins to change its focus away from ISDN and standard landlines.
Why not get in touch and find out how we can future proof your phone system by using SIP Trunking as a replacement for ISDN. Call us on 0161 711 1100 or Click here!
May 21, 2018 | Blog, News
Upgrading your business phone system? Moved to new premises?
Before you buy another expensive big grey box to put on your wall, here are my top 7 things that every business owner should consider when buying a business phone system……
1. Will it reduce your call costs?
By embracing new technologies such as Voice over IP (VoIP), a new phone system should enable you to dramatically cut line rental and call costs, making your business more profitable. Additional lines can be added for little or no cost to you and overall call charges can be significantly reduced.
2. Will it give you extra features?
A new phone system should always have a good range of features to help your business be more efficient. Ideally you should get more features that your old phone system had, so that return on investment is as high as possible. Many old types of telephone system dont have call queing, voicemail, or call recording, so its important to check that you will get all the features your business needs to operate effectively.
3. Will it give you flexible working?
Ever had that call from a member of staff saying they cant get into the office because of the bad weather/traffic/accident etc? With flexible working, your phone system should allow staff to make and receive calls from home or a remote location, so they can still continue to operate – even if they are not physically in your office.
4. Is it expandable?
Does the system allow you to add more users and lines without purchasing extra add-ons? So if your business grows, your phone system should also grow to accomodate the extra staff?
5. Is it upgradable?
Can the phone system be upgraded during it’s lifespan? Perhaps adding additional features or hardware which makes your business more efficient?
6. Can it be integrated with your computer systems?
Integrating your phone system and computer system allows your business to become more efficient. For example, if you run a CRM system, it could pop up with the caller’s details before you answer the phone, so that you have all the information to hand. Click to dial facilities allow you to dial a number by clicking it on your screen, and paperless faxing can enable you to send a fax directly from your desktop application without printing it first.
7. Will it help you generate more business for your company?
Probably the most important aspect of purchasing any new phone system is whether it will make your company more profitable! There are several ways to do this: Firstly by utilising marketing on hold messages, you can tell customers about your products and services when they are on hold, potentially creating cross-sell opportunities. Secondly, by using call reporting and analytics you can make sure that calls are never lost, or if someone hangs up a call before getting answered you can call them back. Finally, by spreading the cost of your phone system by paying a subscription (opex) model, you can free up cashflow within your company too!
Want to know more?
We specialise in providing phone systems which provide benefits to your business in cost savings, features and revenue generation. Why not call us on 0161 711 1100 about your business and we can advise you on how a modern telephone system can make you more efficient and more profitable!
