
1. Do some research, ask questions, take note of other organisations' telecommunications. You use it every day. Can you book, amend and cancel an appointment at your Doctor using just your key-pad? How did they record a conversation, then email it to their boss? Why did the company next door manage the winter-freeze better than we did? The questions are endless – this'll start the ideas flowing, can I do this, can I do that? The next step is to find a company whose imagination and creativity is in tune with yours.
2. You'll find hundreds of companies claiming they'll rock your world given half a chance, but be careful, there's rocking and there's rocking. Remember, this new relationship will span the lifetime of your system – you need a partnership, your business will change dramatically in the next 5-7-10 years, what appears state of the art today, could be obsolete tomorrow. Choose to speak with no more than three or four companies; one might be your incumbent maintainer, if you're still happy with them and of course a recommendation is always good. Beyond that, look for organisations who have associations with big names, BT, Cable & Wireless, O2 etc., companies who can demonstrate awards for innovation and customer satisfaction. Ok, be prepared, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, but no knowledge (in this instance) could be extremely painful.
3. Know what you have – how many lines, how many extensions, diverts, night service, fax machines, modems, door-entry, public address, and so-on and so-forth. If you're not the 'keeper' of the system, ask the person who is to join you in the meetings. The salesperson will make a much better job of the proposal if they have the correct information – only you can give them that. But that's the past, you want to move on, move forward, start a revolution…well not quite, but this investment could revolutionise the way you work. Ask more questions.
4. Ask where's the pain? What's holding the business back, why can't I… Do you want to replace people with technology? (if only). Do you need another member of staff but can't afford one? Do you want to keep better control of people on the road? Do you loose new business because the phone doesn't get answered quickly enough? Are you open to litigation, fraud, uncontrollable costs, people taking the proverbial…. The 'b' word comes next – what's the budget. No point in getting a price for a Lamborghini when you can only afford a Ford.
5. Be honest, explain clearly what you're trying to achieve. If you're looking for a figure to put to the FD for budget, come clean. Any company looking for a 'quick sale' will loose interest & clearly wasn't interested in designing and implementing a solution for you anyway – no 'box-shifters' welcome here. If you need a lease arrangement, are you really eligible? More homework. You should now be ready to receive your visitors. Quick check - done the research, identified the business issues, got an idea about money. The telecoms industry is a very mature market and there are very few unique features to be found anymore. The question is, who can make best use of what they have?
6. Can the company [this person in front of me is representing] forge a successful business relationship with my organisation? Do they truly understand what I'm trying to achieve? Will they work with me to design a solution? Are they innovative enough to revolutionise the way we work? Can they truly deliver on time, in budget? Will they support us for the next however manyyears? So you've got three quotations on your desk. Three companies, proposing three different products, not dissimilar in price and more or less in budget. But, poles apart with their submissions. Digital, IP, hosted…. Have any of these telecoms companies captured your imagination, did they 'wax lyrical' about their product, do they know their stuff, were they genuinely sincere about solving your business issues – be candid, can you work with them?
7. Ask to visit them, see a working demonstration, go armed with numerous questions, take colleagues. Assess the organisation, do they look stable, will they be trading in 12-months, ask for reference sites. Arrange a techy-to-techy conversation, 'my people talking to your people' 'what plugs in where', 'what talks to what', 'who writes the middle-wear' blah blah..
8. Ask your favourite proposer to send a qualified engineer to perform a full & detailed site survey. Insist they inspect every nook & cranny, leave no stone unturned. Show and tell - highlight cabling compromises, working practices, health & safety issues; discuss layout changes, personnel. Be precise, it'll come back to bite you if you're not. You're company of choice should now be in a position to offer a final proposal. Arrange a meeting to discuss their solution. Invite decision makers,technical colleagues, key users etc., and ask them to prepare their questions too. If possible do this at their site, let everyone see who you're proposing to choose.
9. Get everyone's buy in. Change is difficult to manage; the receptionist will probably use this new technology more than the MD & FD will. Not easy to give the seal of approval then renege on it. Happy with your choice? Confident? Ready to go? Hold on a minute….
10. Go back, have you achieved what you set out to achieve? Remember that research, rocking your world, ROI's. Business pain, solutions, benefits, stability, trust, buy-in. The future! Happy, confident = then go sign on the dotted line.
Elite Telecom proudly works alongside Siemens, one of the markets leading phone systems manufacturers, to provide businesses with the latest technology to give their company the best possible communications solution. We excel in customer service and have a wide range of phone systems to choose from. When you contact us we will review your company to get a better feel for your business and use this to create a bespoke solution for your telecoms needs. There are never two systems the same, every business is different and therefore we believe that you should have a specifically tailored solution that suits you and only you.
The main systems that Elite and Siemens offer are; Siemens HiPath 3000, Siemens HiPath 3000 series IP communication systems, Siemens HiPath 5000 and all versions cover a diverse range of features:
The different Siemens ranges listed above each have their own benefits which will apply to some companies and not to others.
A new study has revealed that businesses in the UK could be wasting money on telephone systems – as they are not checking regularly to see if they are getting the best deals.
Research carried out by YouGov on behalf of NewVoiceMedia stated that over a third of SME decision makers admitted to not having reviewed their system in the last 12 months.
Less than a third had reviewed their landline telephone system in the previous six months – this means that businesses are potentially missing the best value for money, as the economic market continues to fluctuate.
Furthermore 26 per cent of respondents admitted to not reviewing their business telephony services for over two years. Shame on you.
Jonathan Gale, chief commercial officer at NewVoiceMedia.said:
“With businesses trying to drive efficiencies and save money left, right and centre, it is surprising that they are overlooking the potential savings that could be made in this area – preferring to let the system plod along without any real idea of what they could be saving.”
Of the SMEs that did have a telephone system in place, the perceived disruption caused by the installation of a new system and the time involved were the two biggest turn-offs.

Gale commented: “Rewind ten years ago and to install a new phone system you would have had to shut the office for a day – costing the business time and money.
This is no longer the case. With the advances in cloud-based applications a new office landline can be set up in 30 minutes, without having to change the number.”
Elitetele.com can provide you with a business phone system solution that doesn’t necessarily mean a day less of business takings, call us today and let us find a bespoke solution for you – we can promise you the best deal, minimise disruption and keep your business flourishing.
Mobile phone operator Nokia and phone system manufacturer Siemens have announced that they may be interested in private equity investment for the Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture.
Nokia Siemens Networks provides networking equipment however, since its inception three years ago, it has been a massive financial burden on both Nokia and Siemens.
This is the first ever time that both companies have considered selling a stake of the business to a private equity company. However, Siemens and Nokia will be waiting until the economic downturn truly lifts before considering any companies.
Siemens AG, industrial conglomerate and maker of business phone systems, has said that it will be cutting around 4200 jobs. The jobs will be cut from its information technology unit SIS and will affect worldwide Siemens information technology units. Siemens has said that the job cuts will be made by 2011.
Around half of those job losses will be in Germany and the company has said that where possible, it will try to make mutual arrangements with employees or simply not renew existing contracted employees. Siemens also added that it will invest around €500 million in the information technology division.
Siemens, manufacturer of the Siemens phone system, is rumoured to be thinking about selling its information technology operations. However, a report from a Siemens spokeswoman has said that Siemens is simply thinking about taking the information technology operations division in a new direction. Reports that a possible IPO (Initial Public Offering) or sale (following staff restructuring) could be on the cards, were not commented on.
The Chief Executive of Siemens Peter Löscher has released a statement detailing his thoughts on the recession and recovery. In the statement he emphasises the fact that European economic recovery is exceedingly fragile and he also states that there is a decoupling of expectations and the reality.
Löscher believes that it will take years for the market to return to a stable state – this year saw a 9% drop in industrial production which indicates the heights the industry will have to scale to re-reach the production levels of 2007.
Siemens have suffered hefty losses in the recession and are currently bracing themselves for what is sure to be a difficult year in 2010.
Siemens have reached a settlement with former CEO Heinrich von Pierer after a long battle over Pierer’s alleged bribery scandal. The €5 million (around £4.5 million) damages was lowered by €1 million (around £909,562) and will be paid by Pierer to avoid legal action. The CEO after Pierer, Klaus Kleinfeld, will also have to pay damages of €2 million (around £1.8 million).
Siemens had to face the largest scandal in the history of the company, with accusations of Siemens top employees paying bribes to win contracts from different countries officials. Both Kleinfeld and Pierer deny any wrong doing.
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has decided to diverge from the telecoms market a little in order to enter the energy sector. Although telecoms are to be the main focus of NSN, the phone system equipment maker is currently looking for partners in order to cater for the spike in demand for renewable energy, smart metering and intelligent power grids.
NSN has recently announced its scheme to merge its five separate businesses into three – Business Solutions, Global Services and Network Systems. Under this new scheme, the energy sector of NSN will fall under the Business Solutions category.
NSN has already made a start niggling its way into the energy sector; it has recently won a contract to provide its Open Element Management System (EMS) to ServusNet, a software company based in Ireland that enables wind farms to optimise power generation.
Zain, an African and Middle Eastern carrier has announced a new deal with Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN). The deal comprises of three outsourced networks in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya and involves modernising, optimising and managing 3,000 mobile sites. In light of the deal, 350 Zain workers will transfer to NSN and NSN will also be charged with implementing new energy efficient technologies.