January 13, 2012 - Smart Info Systems

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Mawi designer jewellery uses Global comms solution

Author: Zak CooganOn: Jan 13Categories: Alcatel, Business, General, Mitel, Mobile Phones, Phone Systems, Samsung, Small Business No Comments

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Mawi has been a long term customer of Smartinfo, there retail operations are connected to HQ and Studio, as there operation has grown due to the phenominal success of their unique and funky jewellery design, the Smartinfo communications solution has helped enable their growth.

As the chief designers need to travel all around the world for fashion shows, to visit suppliers and travels for creative inspiration, softphones were also set up on laptops so calls back to the office, logistics and Shops are free.

Some people see retail as a low tech – foot fall only marketing operation, but a case study such a Mawi shows a modest but smart and sophisticated operation can integrate multiple fluid sites using technology such as a phone sytem to operate on the global scale expected by their piers.

Telephone Systems for Schools and Colleges

Author: Zak CooganOn: Jan 13Categories: Alcatel, Business, General, Mitel, Mobile Phones, News, Phone Systems, Samsung, Small Business, Support, Technical No Comments

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Smartinfo have installed many new phone systems for schools and colleges. Many companies just remove old switchboards like for like, misssing an opportunity to add greater functionallity to a schools facility management.

Some of the features we like to install specifically for schools are:-

1) An Operator console – to enable the receptionist to handle a large number of calls at the busiest times

2) Texting from the desktop to allow student or parent realtime updating of urgent opening times info

3) Mobex – to allow mobile phones to replace DECT systems

4) Paging through phones

5) Scalling of lines up and down at busyest times such as admissions for 6th form colleges

6) Mobile gateway to reduce mobile call costs by 60%

If your supplier has not recommended any, or all, of the above they are not looking after a schools functional needs!

Phone System Maintenance

Author: Zak CooganOn: Jan 13Categories: Alcatel, Business, General, Mitel, Phone Systems, Samsung, Small Business, Support, Technical No Comments

It is recommended all owners of telephone systems take out a maintneance contract on their phone system.

A maintenance agreement gives a number of benifits over a pay as you go call-out structure.

A specific telephone system maintenance agreement gives you 1. A contracted SLA (service level agreement) 2. HArdware and Labour cover

As an added benefit Smartinfo also throw in some free moves and changes into our maintenance contracts, that is we provide a number of free dial-ins over the term of the contract, often refered to as MOCs – or moves and changes, such as phone name changes or ring group tweeks.

What is often overlooked is the cheap cost of maintenance, on our survey of our customer base Telephon system maintenance if less than 10% of the price of IT support for the same company. If you consider a company still uses telephony for customer contact at least as much as email and web this offers great value. Also most IT contracts do not offer hardware cover, whereas a smartinfo phone maintenance contract covers all hardware failures and the labour to replace or fix, within an SLA of commonly 4 or 8 hours.

If you refer to our life of a phone system blog post it is interesting to note that maintenance or service contract also covers software upgrades.

Some people relate a service contract to consumer items such as washing machines or fridges, or even business products like photocopiers, but these items tend to have a single mechanical part, and a modernday phone system is software driven and a business critical component – in fact we would argue as important as the business premisis, or staff.

Investment payback on a Phone System

Author: Zak CooganOn: Jan 13Categories: Business, General, Phone Systems, Small Business No Comments

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Most business owners are unaware of the potential life of a telephone system for their small business.

Many phone systems we are replacing are 10-15 years old and potentially new phone systems could have an even longer life.

A modern phone system (or PBX) has less moving parts and is software driven; so the main driver for future replacement would be new available business features.

As new systems are software driven 99% of features will be made available simply by upgrading to a newer software level (such a mobex, or CTI screen popping). (Please read our post on Phone System Maintenance)

An obvious phone system benefit to us vendors in the industry is the prodctivity a PBX can add to a business, they far outweigh the small investment cost. Please see our post on phone system productivity.

Voip Telephone systems and inter-operabillity to 999 and other 3 digit short dials

Author: Zak CooganOn: Jan 13Categories: Business, General, Phone Systems, Technical No Comments

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Smartinfo install voip telephone systems with PSTN access (even if it is just a single traditional BT Analogue line) This can be programmed to provide both inbound and outbound resilliance, and can also be utillised for 999 emergency calls and operator type calls too: –

here is an interesting aticle from the states relating to Vonnage VOIP call 911 (999 evivelent)

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705397000/Can-you-text-911.html

Remeber if you install a voip phone system the system does not know your true location (a London number could be ringining on a Manchester Phone System)

Call us or fill in our for for a free quote for a Telephone System