Phone Systems

According to some industry experts, the new VoIP (voice over internet protocol) product from Skype which allows businesses to connect to Skype via their phone system or unified communications phone system, may have a negative impact on larger telcos.

Providing free VoIP and video conferencing through a phone system means that large, complex phone systems are no longer really needed. Extras such as call recording and call queuing will become obsolete as free applications become available online. So although Skype is good for the majority, for telcos, it’s bad news.

In the post-recession world of business, watching what you spend and what you buy becomes a top priority. This is expressly true when you’re considering a business phone system. Business phone systems, whether for a large office or small office, can be quite costly – so it helps to save money where you can and make sure that what you’re buying is quality.

Among the things to consider are these: Determine what size phone system you need and whether all of the additional bells and whistles are strictly necessary. Consider how your employees use the phone – calls to landlines or mobiles or overseas? You need to choose a price plan that suits the needs of your company, not just the cheapest one!

For a proper consultation about what you need and what you don’t, it’s always best to contact a professional company! So give us a call on 0844 875 8880

There is a world-wide movement towards a low-carbon economy and energy-efficient technologies at the moment, with governments around the world investing millions and most of the time, billions, in green technology.

New ways of data storage and new ways of communication such as phone system voice conferencing and video conferencing are leading the way in technologies that don’t leave much of a carbon footprint. However, to truly make our mark – or rather, to truly not make our mark on the world – we need a lot more investment in green technology, from both the private and the public sector. Until we get that investment, green technology will remain a fringe technology.

Solar scientists believe that the sun is about to enter a period of increased solar activity. Every 11 years, the sun goes through a cycle whereby the poles change their magnetic polarity. This cycle is running a little late at the minute and due to the extremely quite period the sun has had – minimal sunspots etc – scientists are indicating that this active period for the sun will be quite violent.

In the past, the more violent solar storms have resulted in damage to electrical and communication equipment here on earth. And as the storms can actually even penetrate the Earth’s crust, there is nowhere to hide. The largest electromagnetic storm recorded – out of the hundreds in the last two centuries – was The Perfect Storm of 1859.

During this storm, telegraph systems (the early versions of phone systems) set on fire and shot people across the room. This happened all across the UK, Europe and America. The damage to electrical systems was also accompanied by the splendour of the Aurora Borealis. Records say that the sky across the world was lit up in dancing red, green and blue lights. So at least if our phone systems go down, we’ve got something to look forward to.

A new communication system from Alcatel Lucent is helping the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) to reach more young people. Rather than just the usual phone system, this new system offers a range of ways for young people to get in touch with the charity.

The Genesys contact information management platform is helping young people contact the NSPCC via the internet, social networks, email, texts, IM and even whiteboards. Since the NSPCC has begun to reach children in these popular ways, it has increased the number of cases it handles by 24%. Since the new system was installed just under a year ago, the NSPCC has reported handling 50,000 internet interactions with children.

Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator, has announced today that customers who leave their landline phone contracts early will face charges that have been cut up to 85%.

For the past year and a half, Ofcom has been in talks with three of the biggest landline providers – TalkTalk, BT and Virgin Media. Ofcom wanted to ensure that the early termination rates (ETRs) that customers paid reflected the money that the companies would save by no longer providing that service. Despite BT, TalkTalk and Virgin Media believing that their prices were fair, they have agreed to cut their prices drastically as a gesture of goodwill. This will apply to landline and landline and broadband early termination rates. Good news for phone system owners!

It looks like everything is back on track now after GPs in Glasgow suffered some problems a couple of weeks ago after installing a new phone system.

The Glasgow Local Medical Committee announced that due to a couple of hiccoughs while the business phone system was being installed, GPs had experienced delays in contacting the hospitals of Glasgow. More a nuisance than a major event, it could have easily turned into a crisis should the phone systems have remained down for any length of time.

The Glasgow health board has been merging switchboards for some time now, centring all operations into a facility in Hillington. Let’s just hope that this is the last problem with the phone systems!

If you have ever had silent phone calls, then you’ll know just how annoying they can get when they take time out of your day or distract you from your tasks – which is why, Ofcom has set out new proposals today in order to stop consumers being bothered by silent calls.

Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator, has revealed that 70% of the consumers complaining about silent calls receive more than two per day from the same company more often than not. This is due to automated phone systems calling phone numbers up and mistaking live people for answering machines, thereby cutting off the call. In Ofcom’s proposal, it suggests that companies should only be allowed to ring answer phones once per day. To read the full proposal, visit: