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Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Our team are back in the office, ready for your enquiries.

For sales, contact sales@elmdaleit.co.uk or call 01189 821 444

For support, contact support@elmdaleit.co.uk

Merry Christmas

With Christmas just a few days away we wanted to thank our customers for their continued business and support during 2023 and provide details of our remote emergency cover over the holiday period, while the offices are closed.

Are you ready for the Big Phone-line Switch-off?

Everyone is talking about VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol and the Big Switch-off from ISDN and PTSN phone lines to cloud-based telecoms, in 2025.

In a bid to catch up with the latest technology telecoms companies are already making sweeping changes to move their customers away from the old analogue Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to a fully digital network.

This also applies to the ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network) lines too. ISDN may be a more up to date technology than the traditional switches system, but everything will be transferred to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in just 2 years’ time.

New digital technology is just so much better.

At a basic level, using the flexibility of the Cloud, people will be able to make and take calls on any device, from anywhere and everyone can keep the same number they’ve been using. Business applications and systems will link smoothly with video chats, calls and group collaborations making conference video calls to customers and colleagues much easier.

Instead of analogue phone lines a data or broadband connection is all that is required to receive, make, transfer and forward calls all over the world and it’s possible to combine mobile devices, headsets, and PCs together to enable all bases are covered.

Global industry experts predict a very bright future for VoIP.  According to analysts, Global Market Insights, VoIP is one of the fastest growing industries since the pandemic. It is projected that the IT and telecom VoIP market will “hold the largest industry share of over 25% by 2025”.

How does VoIP benefit your business?

‍Firstly, businesses can make significant cost savings with almost no call charges, a reduction in equipment required (as users don’t need a phone to make a VoIP call) and monthly costs are lower compared to traditional telephone systems.

In addition, with calls being made over the internet connection, there is no need for costly ISDN services and the VoIP system can be scaled up or down as business needs change.

VoIP is already proving itself as a leading factor in the success of flexible working. Unwittingly, the pandemic has enabled people to build confidence in using internet phone technology such as Teams and Zoom, headsets and mobile devices for making and receiving work calls from anywhere in the world.

With VoIP, only one phone number is needed and the customer can be transferred instantly to the person they need to speak to without delay – receiving a better customer experience because they benefit from an uninterrupted service.

It’s well known that, when compared with traditional ISDN and PTSN systems, VoIP offers a far better call quality when using a stable and reliable broadband connectio. So, the better the internet connection the better the call quality will be.

By bringing all communications together under one roof and linking everything to one system, there is a greater opportunity for clearer communications. As VoIP is IP (internet protocol) based, it is also possible to streamline and integrate the business phone system with Microsoft Outlook, Teams and any CRM systems in place.

Not only that but all systems on the network can be linked together including any security systems and print devices giving businesses the power to manage all their IT based systems in one place.

Here are some of the excellent features most VoIP systems provide:

  • Voicemail-to-email
    Messages are delivered as audio files directly to an email on any device that the email account is running on, be it in an office or on a mobile device.
  • Hunt Groups
    These can improve customer experience and internal efficiency.  They allow people in a single department or similar roles to be grouped so that all of their phones ring when someone calls the group. This is ideal if a company has separate departments or more than one office location.
  • Call recording
    By making a caller aware that they are being recorded it can make them more likely to behave in a civil manner. There are a few industries where call monitoring and recording are part of the system, such as banks and other financial services.
  • Unlimited VoIP numbers
    For local, national or even international numbers to be added to a VoIP service.
  • Out-of-hours-routing
    Set calls to be diverted to various destinations or a recorded message can be used at certain times of day or year – such as Christmas.
  • Play pre-recorded messages to people on hold
    Great to promote new products or services, or to simply provide information like opening hours to their customers, while they wait to be transferred.

Why chose the Elmdale IT Services as your Telecoms partner?

Elmdale IT Services has built a wealth of experience of delivering IT services and support to businesses, schools and organisations for over 20 years, to an exceptionally high standard, and offer a range of solutions and services to suit every budget, business type and size. We are a provider of 3CX systems which we know to be one of the very best available.

The 3CX VoIP solution that Elmdale IT provides can be deployed almost anywhere from business premises, a home office, a large data centre or even the cloud. We take care of the installation and maintenance from the start.

Our system provides customers with many advanced features, as standard, such as integration with CRM apps, browser-based video conferencing and gives complete control over the whole phone system. Customers can choose which SIP trunk they have, which cloud provider they prefer and whether they want the system to be set up on their premises and the hardware they want.

Our systems support all IP phones, modern Android and iOS phones and calls can be made from the web or Windows. Our systems integrate with MicroSoft Teams, leading CRM apps and includes Instant Messaging so it will be easier for staff to accept and use seamlessly.

Our approach is to be our customers’ IT partner and not just another supplier. The Elmdale Group philosophy is simple: to help its clients be the best they can be with the right solutions and management in place.

For more details about how we can help your business future-proof its telecoms and IT systems, contact us on 0118 982 1444, email: sales@elmdaleit.co.uk or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Temperature Screening Kiosk

Please Call for Information & Pricing

How does the technology work?

The kiosks support human body temperature detection and temperature display, with a marginal measurement error of ±0.5 °C . The kiosk reads the forehead skin temperature.
A distance of 0.5 meters is recommended for most accurate readings, with 1 meter being the longest distance at which temperature can be read
It only takes a few seconds for detection and an alarm will sound automatically when temperature abnormality is detected – at a threshold set by the user.

Hardware designed for reliability

• Waterproof and dust-proof
• Industrial-grade infrared camera with binocular-wide vision and LED lights
• 8in High definition LCD display screen
• Built-in speakers for automatic audible alerts and personalised messages
• High definition

Dashboard Control

The bundled PC-based software allows you to:
• Monitor users and activity
• Configure and control devices from a centralised point
• Compile network reports based on areas and movements

Call Elmdale IT on 01189821444

UK RECOVERY HAS BEGUN: BT OPENREACH IS NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS

BT Openreach ready for installs VTSL connectivity provider

As the coronavirus pandemic comes under control in the UK, companies across the country are re-opening for business. Those that have been functioning with skeletal staff, are beginning to operate with a fuller workforce.  And businesses that require a physical presence, such as moving companies and construction companies, are now allowed to visit sites.

BT Openreach is one of these companies. They will start ‘attempting to complete’ fibre orders for customers from the 14th of May onwards.  This is great news for anyone that had their installation delayed due to lockdown, and for those companies that want to upgrade their connectivity in time for everyone’s return to the office.  Because many employees have become use to working in cloud versions of their favourite applications, companies are expected to need more connectivity as they come back to the office.For business owners that aren’t that keen on the idea of upgrading a connection for what may be an empty office for sometime, Openreach are offering a deferred activation date for 100MB or 1GB fibre circuits. The circuit would be installed and then disabled for 90 days or until the business is ready to start using it (whichever is earlier). No rental or connection fee would be payable for the first 90 days.  It isn’t just fibre that seems to be available either. VTSL has recently placed some orders for analogue line installs, and these have been appointed within a week. Previously, Openreach had said they would not be making site visits for non critical infrastructure until after June 1st, but it would seem they are able to now. There are many areas of our lives that will take a very long time to get back to normal – flights and holidays to name a couple – but if Openreach is any indicator, we think telecoms will be back on its feet before you know it.  

IT Support company – how to decide

Introduction

Armed with a better understanding of the organisations you are dealing with, there are a some common traits, good and bad, which should make the final selection easier. 

What to look for in an IT Support partner

Good, customer focused, outsourcing service providers share many common traits regardless of whether it is for IT, HR, Accountancy or any other professional service.

They are in it for the long term

Look out for any organisation that wants to discuss the longer-term picture for your IT infrastructure and services, particularly to build a 3- to 5-year plan for renewal and improvement. Avoiding any organisation which is only interested in the day-to-day for your IT, as an engaged service provider will want to ensure that over time your infrastructure and service levels improve through their involvement and can only do this by taking an active interest in your organisation and its plans.

Pay particular attention to the service providers who ask you as many questions as they can about your organisation in an attempt to develop a deeper understanding of who you are and how you work. A good IT partner will want to integrate as much and learn as much as possible to be better able to serve, and this will also pay dividends for them in terms of efficiencies they can bring to your service provision.

Flexibility in their business model

A mature service provider will be able to accommodate how you want to work commercially, and be able to shrink-wrap the costs accordingly. On a continuum from fixed costs to timecard-based works they should be able to mix and match how they cost and deliver their services such that it leaves you in complete control over your IT spend. The fee structure and how it can be managed should be crystal clear, and how the non-technical part of the relationship works should be as clearly documented as the technical aspects.

A good service provider may be able to provide total flexibility, providing a fixed cost bedrock for managing infrastructure and scoped support, and allowing the client organisation to consume other works on a transparent timecard basis, and also be able to fix the cost of any piece of work instantly for peace of mind.

Clarity

When dealing with any service provider there should be complete comfort and clarity when dealing with either the technical, commercial or service level related documentation. Be extremely cautious of any individual or individuals who use technical jargon as a means to baffle, intimidate or obfuscate any aspect of the process. At no point should you not be completely clear about every aspect of the relationship and you should understand all that has been discussed. If you feel that you are being bamboozled by jargon and left feeling that you aren’t in control then show them the door.

What you need to be wary of, and sometimes avoid

Following this guidance should give you a good understanding of which companies to progress and which to avoid however there are a number of recurrent pitfalls to draw your attention to. It is difficult sometimes to understand all of the problems inherent in providing a consistent level of service however there are some key items which are worth avoiding at all costs if you think they’re going to be a problem for your potential IT service partner.

outsourcing cautionNot all the signs that the organisation you are dealing with may not fit are clear, but there are some which stand out.

Supporting Custom software

If you have invested in bespoke software for your organisation then it will be difficult for any third-party support company to take over the maintenance and support of this. You are much better off keeping in contact with the original developer and putting in place some form of support contract, as very few IT service organisations have the capability or desire to support or maintain what can be an incredibly complex and expensive system created outside of their design or control, and with little knowledge as to the standards of quality of the work that went into producing it. If you find an organisation willing to take over an application like this either you are very lucky, they will be very expensive, or they are possibly lying about their ability to do so to win the contract.

Being partners in crime

Avoid any organisation which is willing to cut corners when it comes to software licensing. If you have 100 users and each of those users use a commercial piece of software like Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Office every single one of them needs valid licensing in place, otherwise you are breaking the law. In the bad old days this was difficult to police and the temptation was to only fully licence a small proportion of the user base. These days software houses take the situation much more seriously and it is a trivial matter to detect when licensing has been infringed in this way. If you feel that an organisation is likely to bend the rules, either at your request and with your knowledge or if you simply don’t trust them, then you should have nothing to do with them. Software piracy is simply theft.

Being overly protective of your assets

You should be cautious about any organisation who is not prepared to work with any internal resource that you may have that you want to keep. Sometimes IT support providers want to be the only people involved in the support and maintenance of your users and infrastructure, however with appropriate systems and safeguards in place that should be no issue with working with any existing staff you have. They should be prepared to work and collaborate with your internal resource and if necessary provide training and direct assistance. Some service providers will lock you out of your own systems, with the side effect that firing them becomes a much more daunting prospect. Always remember that, remaining practical about the implications of ill-informed end-user access, they are managing YOUR equipment.

Jack-of-all-trades

Sometimes IT support organisations have too many generalist staff, meaning they have a skills base of a number of Jack of all trades but no one particular referee or consultant for a technology. It is difficult for them to strike a balance between having their staff being generally useful for clients versus developing niche expertise which isn’t required all the time, however a competent and well utilised IT support provider will be able to balance this effectively and be able to develop a workforce capable of providing both specialist expertise and general IT knowledge.

Varying levels of service

Be wary of organisations which provide many different levels of support (Gold, Silver, Bronze etc.) or complicated service level arrangements based on a differential or tiered fee structure. This simply means that they don’t work as hard when it is not worth as much to them. Any service provider worth their salt will provide the best level of service they can and the most responsive service at all times, and not put in place artificial restrictions based on how much or how little they are being paid. Everything they do should always be on a best-efforts basis. Costs can be managed on any number of bases apart from quality of service, which should be the last thing you tamper with.

Jargon, Jargon, Jargon

As previously mentioned avoid any organisation which relies heavily on the use of jargon and technical terms to promote their expertise or in an attempt to intimidate any prospective clients. It’s just not necessary, and as a wise man once said if you truly understand something difficult you can make it sound simple.

Sales people

Salespeople are often highly polished and presentable and can win your trust and confidence, but are rarely the people that you will end up dealing with on a day-to-day basis for the next five years when dealing with your support requests and IT infrastructure issues. Ideally you want to deal with senior managers within the organisation and potentially even one or two of the people who will ultimately be providing support so you can get a sense early on of the people that you will be dealing with. Some element of sales is always required however it is reassuring to know that the people making the promises are also the people who will have to keep them.

Conclusion

Attempting to identify a good IT services partner can be difficult. There are so many factors to take into consideration, and unfortunately the better IT folk are notorious for being task-oriented and occasionally introvert, whilst IT salespeople (in a potentially high-value industry) tend to be the exact opposite. You should get a good sense from the best IT support providers that they can balance the human and technical aspects of delivering what can be a challenging service. It is a stressful process, having to boil down and reconcile the commercial, technical, and human requirements of trusting your organisation’s data and productivity to an outside party.

If you get it wrong it can be disruptive and expensive, and incredibly frustrating, however if you choose the right IT partner who wants to tie their success to yours and become a member of your team then it can be a tremendously empowering relationship which will help you manage what can be a significant cost, and drive productivity. It could be the beginning of a long and rewarding relationship with an organisation that can help you manage and harness the true power of IT.