Posted by Telecoms on Apr 27, 2009 in
Cheaper Calls,
Telephony So, everyone has heard of Skype, but is it really a business tool or just a way to call our overseas contacts on the cheap ?
Well, in times like these, all companies are looking to save money, so free calls to all other skype users could help save a couple of quid… but do other businesses really use Skype ? Sure they do and you will be surprised at the amount of business that utilise it every day !
Most people aren’t even aware of the features Skype offers to business, so let’s start by looking at a couple of its less obvious features;
- Working from Home - The simplest of all of the scenarios, just divert your office phone to your skype number and answer all calls from anywhere you have an internet connection. You don’t even need a laptop, just purchase one of the many internet-ready phones direct from the Skype website.
- Desktop Integration – Many people think of Skype simply as a cheap phone call solution, but it can do more, much more, for example you can share you desktop with your colleagues, so instead of trying to explain how to do something, show them.. at the click of a button.
- PBX Integration – Skype plugs into your existing phone system, allowing you to take advantage of reduced call costs seamlessly.
- Scalability – As your business expands, so do your requirements, Skype is now fully integrated with OnState allowing you to implement complete call centre solution into your business without having to purchase any hardware.
- Media Capability – Skype supports full web conferencing with all of your contacts straight out of the box
Whilst there are dozens of other competitors appearing every other day, Skype has remained at the forefront of its game for many years now and its well worth subscribing to a free Skype account to check out its true power.
Tags: skype
Posted by Telecoms on Mar 9, 2009 in
Telephony BT Exchanges is the new directory service from BT, allowing you to lookup business and personal contact details.
There are many other things you can do with BT Exchanges including creating a ‘Plan’ which is a new feature, much like a personal organiser where you can organise all of your contacts into plans. For example, if you are going on holiday, you could create a plan called ‘holiday’ and add into it the travel agent, hotel, airline etc etc.
Another great feature of BT Exchanges is the ability to rate and review business contacts, your review and rating will then be shown under that contact for everyone else to see, which in turn builds up an average overall rating for each and every business.
All contacts you view via BT Exchanges can be saved and added to your ‘Contacts List’ for future reference and you can even click on multiple contacts and build up a short list of contacts for you to call through.
Tags: BT Exchanges, Directory Services
Posted by Telecoms on Feb 5, 2009 in
NGN,
Telephony Over the last month or so, the rollout of a new batch of numbers has appeared indicating that the availability for 0844 and 0871 numbers is now becoming low.
You should be aware that 0843 Numbers are charged at the same rate as 0844, not the much cheaper 0845 numbers. Being an extension of the existing 0844 number range, they are also revenue bearing, meaning that if you own the number your provider may provide you with a revenue stream for every call your customers make to them.
Calls to these numbers are charged at a maximum of 5 Pence per minute from a BT landline, other operators will vary.
Currently these numbers fall under 17 different possible pricing codes from BT (ff29, g10, g11, g12, g16, g17, g18, g19, g20, g22, g24, g26, g27, g28, g6, g6, g8 and g9)
0872 and 0873 numbers are extensions of the 0871 numbers and are charged at the same 0871 rate. Again these are revenue bearing numbers which earn you a commission for every call made to them, assuming of course that you own the number.
Calls to these numbers are charged at a maximum of 10 Pence per minute from a BT landline, other operators will vary.
Currently these numbers fall under 11 different possible pricing codes from BT (ff15, ff28, g12, g13, g14, g15, g23, g24, g25, g6 and g7)
For further information on the costs of these calls, specific to your provider, you should consult your specific vendors price guide.
Tags: 0843, 0872, 0873
Posted by Telecoms on Dec 24, 2008 in
NGN,
Telephony Do I own the number ?
Most telecoms providers will answer No to this question and this is wrong and unfair, but still so many people will be fooled into purchasing something they never own.
It is essential that you make sure that you own the number you have purchased ! Imagine your provider going bust and you losing all of your business telephone and fax numbers.
Owning your own number will also allow you to port it to different providers to make good use of new offers, promotional rates or just better service.
Am I paying a Rental Charge ?
There is absolutely no reason why should be paying a rental charge to own a non-geographic number, do not be tricked into paying any kind of monthly service fee, gold number charge or monthly rental. All non-geographic numbers should have a one off charge for their purchase, then potentially some recurring call costs (in the case of 0800 or 0808 numbers only !)
Am I receiving a Rebate for calls made to my number ?
If you are using an 0870, 0871 or 0844 number, you should be receiving a regular rebate for all calls made to your number, prices will vary from provider to provider, but you should be looking to receive a minimum of a penny for every minute you receive calls.
Remember, 0800 and 0808 numbers will not issue a revenue share and you are likely to be charged for every call received.
Do I have to pay a charge for calls made to my number ?
Both 0800 and 0808 numbers will cost the receiving party money to receive the call. With both of these numbers, the caller doesn’t pay a penny to make calls (with the exception of calls made from some mobile networks)
You should not be paying any money for calls received on 0844, 0845, 0870 and 0871 numbers.
Can I view call statistics for calls made to and from my number ?
Most Non-Geographic Number providers will supply you with web-based statistics that will allow you to view call volumes, call times and the lengths of calls as a minimum.
Many will go one step further, offering advanced analytics, call trends and dozens of other reports that can help to analyse your businesses calls.
Tags: 0800x, 0844, 0845, 0870, 0871, non-geographic numbers