Not so long ago buying a phone system didn’t take much time or thought. You simply told your supplier how many incoming lines and extensions you needed, then bought the appropriate switchboard system together with the required number of handsets. Not a hugely challenging business decision.
Set out to a buy a phone system today and it’s a different story. Yes, you can still choose a straightforward analogue system to make and receive calls if that’s all you need. But would digital cordless phones that allow you to roam around the office be useful? And do you want to accommodate people working remotely? Or how about a fully integrated voice and data system that combines your phone and computer network?
Changes in technology over the past few years mean there are now many more options – and, of course, more jargon. As with most purchasing decisions the first question is where do you start?
One worthwhile information source is FOCAS, or Free Online Communications Advisory Service. This is an independent service providing information for non-technical types at small and medium-sized businesses.
“Automation of business processes and the rise of the internet and email means that data traffic now exceeds voice traffic,” says FOCAS managing director Neil Morecraft. “More recently the convergence of voice and data on IP – or Internet Protocol – networks means this technology is available to businesses of all sizes.”
IP is the most common bit of jargon you’re likely to hear at the moment when talking to phone suppliers (see the Phone Jargon Deciphered boxout). This technology effectively brings phones and IT systems together, harnessing the digital capabilities and cost advantages of ISDN.
WHEN TO BUY
For many of you, simple factors drive the decision to invest in a new communications system. Business expansion or a move to a new HQ will often automatically lead to a review of current systems. This provides an opportunity to start with a clean sheet and perhaps install infrastructure that can handle newer technologies. Alternatively, a leased system may be up for renewal. Or maybe the old phone system purchased years ago doesn’t deliver the goods and is no longer cost-effective.
For Mark Dunkley, network systems manager at Bristol-based excavator rental company Hydrex, an office move together with an overloaded and costly system were the reasons for change.
BT Convergent Solutions and Nortel set up a BT NetEquip and Nortel Succession 1000 system for the Hydrex headquarters and its Portishead depot.
Although the company has a turnover of £40m and employs around 1,000 people, only around 15% of these are IT users. They are largely those involved in appliance sales and rentals. Consequently, one of the biggest costs the company faced was mobile calls.
Hydrex spent around £100,000 on its phone system and data networks. Dunkley feels it’s already set to save up to £50,000 a year on phone costs.
“One of the biggest bills to kill was mobile costs. I think we’ve achieved 50%-60% savings here,” says Dunkley. “Because we’ve the full IP solution we can route remote depots’ calls to mobiles through our system, which is far cheaper.”
Deciding on what you need to buy depends on what you want from your system. For a business with a handful of users this might mean no more than replacing an existing system with a similar one. In many cases that will be an analogue system. These are still a popular functional choice – Panasonic says it still sells around 500-600 analogue systems a month.
However, it’s also worth indulging in a bit of blue sky thinking about what you would really like to do that you can’t at the moment. IP technology, for example, potentially makes a far wider range of functions available to businesses of all sizes and with it brings cost savings and flexibility, as Hydrex discovered.
You should also think strategically. For example, how will the changing needs of the business affect requirements over the coming years?
And, just as the internet was not widely used 10 years ago, even if IP telephony isn’t your bag today it’s the future. Those in the know believe digital telephone systems will replace analogue completely in the not too distant future.
According to figures from Panasonic around 40% of phones sold this year are, what they call, IP-enabled. That’s to say, they have the capability to upgrade to IP technology even if the user doesn’t require it immediately. So even if you are not ready for the cost of an IP system you can still get a system that will handle the technology whether or not you’re planning to use its full potential in the short-term.
One example of a business taking this route is Acorn Recruitment, a £23m turnover operation with headquarters in Newport, Wales and eight branch offices around the UK.
When the company, which has 160 employees, moved to a new greenfield site all the reasons for not having an IP system disappeared, according to its IT director Andy Tugwell.
He believes the cost of swapping to IP technology was marginally cheaper than transferring an existing system. Its new Mitel 3300 ICP set-up cost £85,000 although quotes from other suppliers went as high as £300,000.
“We decided to buy an IP system because of the blue sky aspects of converging data and telephony,” says Tugwell. “We’re using it very much as a phone system at the moment, but it was bought to allow the business to grow five or six times bigger.”
Tugwell’s advice to any businesses investing in IP as a means of futureproofing is to allocate money to improve infrastructure. This is most likely to be the case if you’re planning to put a new system into an existing building, he warns.
“The most important thing at an existing site is to do a very robust audit of your existing LAN before you go ahead. Be prepared to spend outside your original budget.”
Acorn’s future plans include the possibility of installing broadband for around 40 homeworkers in a newlyacquired business to allow them to dial into the company’s computer network. “It would mean people can be at home or around the country and be part of the network, even if they’re not sitting in one of our offices.”
WHAT’S OUT THERE?
The key digital telephone features that businesses tend to consider are voicemail, cordless capability, Direct Dial Inwards (DDI) and auto attendant. This inevitably affects the final decision over which system to use.
Fiddly old answer phones have disappeared from desks as voicemail – where the user’s outgoing message is easier to update and personalise – is becoming the norm.
DDI offers greater customer access to your staff, takes the heat off the switchboard and could save you the cost of a receptionist.
The big attraction is also its great flexibility. For example, if the last four figures of your main ISDN-based phone number are 4000, you could select 4001 through to 4030 as DDI extensions for individual staff members. It also gives businesses the opportunity to set up dedicated DDIs for specific purposes such as sales campaigns.
Meanwhile cordless Digital Enhanced Cordless Technologies (DECT) phones mean that staff can be on call anywhere within a site, explains Tim Wells, product manager at communications company, Aastra. “DECT capability means that you can have cordless phones receiving calls from a series of base stations around your business site. It’s a bit like a mini cell phone network within your premises,” he says.
“The moment I take my cordless phone with me, the system automatically routes all my calls through to it as if I was still at my desk.”
The theory is that this should result in fewer missed calls. This is also the justification for installing auto attendant. Callers choose from a series of options and are automatically routed to the department they require, or even answer pre-recorded questions.
A major question most buyers should be asking is how easy is it to upgrade or customise the system and handsets once you’ve bought them?
If a system is ‘browser-enabled’ you can make administrative changes to it from a PC desktop. For example, to allocate a phone number to a new member of staff or transfer an extension number to a different phone, all you do is click on some user-friendly software.
Once upon a time this would have involved calling in the phone maintenance people to come and carry out the necessary programming or rewiring.
FUNKY FEATURES
Then there are the other applications that don’t come as standard. These include speed dial, voice recording and screen popping. Speed dial is pretty self-explanatory. The user presses a button into which pre-set phone numbers have been programmed.
Voice recording lets you press a button on the handset to immediately record an important call, which is very useful for monitoring sales calls or saving important details. Finally screen popping. You’ll be glad to hear this isn’t the latest US dance craze, but it uses the integrated phone and data system to automatically call up details about the caller from your contact management system as you speak to them.
HOW AND WHERE TO BUY
You can buy direct from communications system suppliers, but this tends to be the preserve of larger organisations.
For smaller businesses any reputable reseller should offer all the knowledge and installation expertise you need. Most offer products from at least two or three different suppliers, so look out for the relevant manufacturer accreditation.
Go to two or three resellers, each with different accreditations, and you’ll get a broad selection of the main suppliers’ wares. Names are available by searching the internet, going to a website like focas.info, or trying the Yellow Pages.
It’s best to decide on what features you want first rather than allowing yourself to be attracted by the glossy brochures and sleek hardware.
Cambridge-based law firm Taylor Vinters, which has a turnover of £10m, recently went through the process of choosing a reseller and installing a system. IT director Steve Sumner had to replace a 14-year-old analogue BT system designed to meet the needs of the firm’s 186 employees on a budget of £80,000.
Using a detailed and well thoughtout selection process he eventually settled for an Alcatel Enterprise 4400 system supplied via Croydon reseller Switch Communications.
“We drew up a list of requirements by questioning staff and some of our clients,” he explains. “We also wanted to have the capacity to expand in the future.”
Must-have features for Taylor Vinters included voicemail, DDI and Call Line Identification (CLI) – the ability to see what number is calling in via a display on your handset). But clients didn’t want auto attendant. “It was felt that DDI offered a better service,” says Sumner. “It was good to ask clients as well as staff to get everyone’s buy-in.”
Sumner got proposals and customer references from a variety of resellers. He shortlisted three, examining terms and conditions, warranties and their financial standing.
“Part of the criteria is also how much do they want your business,” says Sumner. “How willing are they to loan equipment, arrange demonstrations and offer references?”
He’s aware that not all businesses have the luxury of a dedicated IT manager to get involved in the buying process.
“Small firms are likely to be more reliant on resellers. It’s likely that many smaller businesses are BT users to start with, so call them in and draw up your requirements before deciding on a supplier. The most worthwhile element is taking up references, going on visits and really seeing how a system works in practice,” says Sumner.
INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE
“Buying a phone system outright is almost like paying for your electricity, water or heating five years in advance,” points out Neil Morecraft, managing director of FOCAS. “You just wouldn’t do it,” he adds.
So, as with many bits of equipment, the decision is between two options. Either buy outright and depreciate it for tax purposes over a number of years. Or you can take on some form of lease with its accompanying tax advantages in order to avoid tying up a large sum of your own money.
Installation should be project managed by the reseller. That’s why it’s vital to find someone you feel comfortable with and whom you think will give you good service. Customer recommendation plays a key role. Find out what others in similar businesses have to say.
When it comes to maintenance, the best advice, as always, is to take out some form of contract.
“It’s like being in the AA,” says Mitel’s product manager, Campbell Williams. “It’s costly if you have a problem and you don’t have any cover.”
He suggests any business budgeting for the maintenance contract should allow the equivalent of about 5-10% of the price of the system.
It’s still possible to buy second-hand, of course. Once again it depends on what you need it to do. Beware of the risk of obsolescence. Get a good maintenance contract and ensure that there will still be someone around who can supply the necessary bits of kit if it needs mending.
So what’s the likelihood of IP telephony being replaced by some new whizzier technology in a decade or two?
“I don’t think there’ll be anything to outdate this technology in my lifetime,” says Ian Boreham at Cisco Systems reseller ONI PLC.
“If you think about it the first traditional phone was introduced in around 1845 and this is the first major change to phones in more than 100 years. It could be another 100 years before this technology is replaced.” Best make a note in your diary for 2103.
