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Is your broadband line suitable for your business?

Is your broadband line suitable for your business?

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

 

Slow Broadband? What are the alternatives?

Slow Broadband? What are the alternatives?

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

 

Hosted Telecoms

Hosted Telecoms

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

Did you know there’s an extra sales person in your business that you never knew you had?

Did you know there’s an extra sales person in your business that you never knew you had?

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?

 

 

 

 

Time is running out for ISDN

Time is running out for ISDN

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!

SIP Trunking as a replacement to ISDN

SIP Trunking as a replacement to ISDN

Jun 7, 2018 | News

With BT announcing the switch off date for ISDN networks (2025), we explore the benefits of SIP Trunking (Session Initiation Protocol) as a cost saving, resilient and flexible alternative. 2025 may seem a long time away, but the migration period has already begun and small businesses must join the ride as soon as possible to ensure they don’t get left behind.

Since the late 1980s; the year ISDN was first introduced to the Nation, there have been huge connectivity developments. From super-fast Fibre Broadband that brings the UK extremely fast upload and download speeds, to Ethernet products that offer a reliable and fast solution for short distance networks. It’s even been reported that since 2014, BT has not installed any ISDN lines! With the new fibre infrastructure so widely available – and as such a cost effective solution for SME businesses, SIP is proving a popular alternative.

So what is SIP Trunking and how would it benefit your business?

SIP Trunking is a type of voice over IP technology, delivered over an internet connection. SIP Trunking is not only a highly-flexible alternative to ISDN 30 and ISDN2, but it also achieves a significant reduction in telephony overheads, saving businesses on line rental and call costs. All you need for SIP Trunking is an internet connection and a phone system!

Benefits your business can enjoy from switching to SIP Trunking are far reaching:

  • High Savings Potential
    SIP delivers less costly, more reliable connectivity than ISDN, with savings of up to 75% on line rentals and call costs. For larger organisations with multiple locations, there is also an opportunity to achieve free internal calls.
  • Fast Access & Prioritisation
    SIP is not restricted to any single site, so there is no risk of having to set up new lines in the event of an office move or being forced to change numbers. All you need is an internet connection and you can move anywhere and keep your same numbers.
  • No Limits & Highly Scalable
    SIP operates in a similar way to an ISDN30 line, but without the limit to the number of simultaneous calls per line. What is more, you can quickly raise or reduce the number of simultaneous calls you can make in line with business requirements.
  • Resilient & Secure
    Using our robust data servers, we provide a fully-managed trunk with as many channels as you require with built-in business continuity in case your IP telephone system goes offline. Handle any onsite disruption with ease by rerouting calls to an alternative location quickly and effortlessly.

Click here for further information about switching from ISDN to SIP.

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