Comms Dealer

Ten Entanet staff have walked barefoot across red hot burning coals and broken glass risking cuts and burns to raise money for charity.

The event, which took place at Albrighton Hall Hotel near Shrewsbury, raised over £750 for Severn Hospice, which provides palliative care for sufferers of long-term and terminal illnesses and relies heavily on public fundraising.

Entanet's Head of Marketing Darren Farnden said: "Entanet has raised money on behalf of Severn Hospice for the past few years and recently raised over £1,000 by participating in the annual Dragon Boat Race during June.

"Our volunteers decided the Fire and Glass Walk was an excellent way to push boundaries and continue to raise more money."

Team member Steven Wood from Entanet's sales team said: "The great thing about Severn Hospice is how it always comes up with fun and exciting opportunities to raise money and walking over hot coals and broken glass was an opportunity I could not pass up.

"I was a bit nervous leading up to the walk but the nerves were quickly displaced with adrenaline and in a flash I was on the other side with 'hot potato' feet and a proud, jubilant face."

Daniella Stewart from customer services added: "I was excited at the opportunity to take part in the Fire and Glass Walk. Admittedly, it's not the most conventional way of raising money for charity. I think this is why it appealed to me, despite dreaming about falling face first onto the hot coals."

Delivering a poor customer experience can have a significant impact on a brand or organisation, according to new research from Mitel which reveals the important role of contact centres in driving customer loyalty and retention.

Almost three quarters (74%) of UK adults would change supplier based on a poor experience with the contact centre, with 46% of these consumers confirming they have already switched for this reason.

The survey of 2,000 UK adults, carried out in September 2013, reveals that personal touch is critical to delivering a positive experience, followed by fast and effective service. The most important factor for consumers when contacting a brand or company is being able to interact with a real person, not an automated service (54%), followed by getting a quick response (49%) and having a query resolved immediately (44%).

Email is by far the most popular channel at this time, used by 72%. Less established communication methods like live chat and social media are currently used by 10% of UK adults, although the signs are that these internet-based channels will grow in importance, with one in five adults under 35 already using Facebook or Twitter to contact brands.

The research also revealed the critical role of the telephone in the customer service communications mix and in driving customer satisfaction. It is currently used by 49% of consumers when they contact companies, but is the number one channel of choice for voicing frustration.

Premium rate numbers, getting cut off mid-call, being left on hold and automated telephone services all rank in the top five frustrations of UK consumers when contacting a brand or service, via any channel. In contrast, only 13% of survey respondents ranked not receiving a response to an email in their top five pet hates.

Todd Simons, Director Solutions Marketing, Mitel said: "The channel is the first point of call for many companies looking to change their communication solution.

"Revenue generating and customer facing applications are rising to the top of priority list, with contact centre capabilities becoming more important to the overall buying decision.

"The channel is in a unique position to be able to educate its customers about the importance of the contact centre in customer growth and retention."

Channel Telecom has embarked on a staff recruitment campaign and aims to take on six additional staff to fill new positions in account management, support, sales support and a billing manager.

The company recently expanded its office space and has more than doubled turnover every year since establishment in 2008. This year revenues are predicted to exceed £6 million.

Clifford Norton, Managing Director commented: "Our continuing success and expansion means that we have a number job opportunities now opening up.

"We are offering a great working environment and remuneration that exceeds industry levels because we want to find people with the right skills and attitude.

"For some posts we are willing to train from scratch, if we get the right candidates. The company is now ramping up and we need the best people to take it to the next level."

The official launch of GCI Channel Solutions, the new indirect business of GCI, was dominated by news of a 30 SIP trunk giveaway on Ethernet orders and a proposition that includes an aggressive pricing structure and reseller-friendly portal that offers easy access to cloud business and higher ARPU opportunities.

Incremental upgrades qualify for 10 extra free SIP trunks per additional 10MB, and two entry level cloud services align neatly with the current requirements of a mobile workforce and the back-up needs of businesses.

According to CEO Wayne Martin, GCI Channel Solutions (officially launched at Mercedes-Benz World in Surrey on October 1st) will become a key plank in his ambition to grow the company into a £100 million business from its current £54 million turnover.

"The race is on to capture the Ethernet pipe and drive value by up-selling cloud services," said Martin. "Our commercial proposition is dramatic and enables partners to secure the connectivity piece with low cost Ethernet and 30 free SIP trunks."

The two entry level cloud services, ShareFile (which automatically backs-up data on a mobile users' laptop into the cloud), and GCI Back-Up (a storage solution that enables users to pay only for the data they use in a calendar month), are positioned as a springboard for resellers who want to realise analyst predictions that 75 per cent of businesses will adopt some flavour of cloud services this year.

Mark Whitehead, Head of Channel Solutions, said: "During the last 12 months we have created a full portfolio of cloud solutions, built new Ethernet pricing tools that can generate multiple quotes in minutes, cloud services tools, on-boarded key channel managers and positioned GCI to offer partners an end-to-end experience underpinned by our nationwide infrastructure."

Full story in the November issue of Comms Dealer

Network Rail is to invest £1.9bn to upgrade its telecoms infrastructure and roll out high-speed mobile broadband across the busiest parts of Britain's rail network.

By 2019, 70% of train passengers should have access to the faster technology, leaving rail users and business travellers who rely on the backbone of Britain's transport network to struggle with inadequate mobile broadband for the next six years.

Mobile Data and broadband expert Nigel Bramwell, CEO of Voiamo, the company behind MobiData, can explain how rail travellers will need a practical solution to this broadband issue and can show how passengers can stay fully connected to their smartphone, laptop or tablet and beat the broadband block when on the train.

Nigel Bramwell, CEO of MobiData, said: "For anyone who wants to get their gigabytes on the go and stay connected to their digital life while using the rail network it can be frustrating when you're sharing a dial-up connection with 100 people.

"Rail use in the UK has doubled in the last decade and while we wait for this much needed upgrade, passengers demanding mobile broadband services need a new way of bridging their personal data gap on the railways."

Education sector specialist The National Business Network (TNBN) has bagged Mega Comms for an undisclosed sum.

Although far from a trial run, the acquisition has armed TNBN with the insight and hands-on experience to pursue more acquisitions, according to Michael Hardy, Director of Communications at the company.

"This acquisition has given us a real understanding of how to buy other telephone companies which is something we shall look into over the next couple of years," he said.

During the past year TNBN has expanded by 50% and secured many big council contracts for schools that require major cable reconstruction following building works completed over the summer term. "It's so busy we needed to hire teams of skilled engineers to help us," added Hardy.

TNBN has come along way since its inception 10 years ago as a telecoms dealer operating from the back room of a council flat.

Speaking from offices in Stockley Business Park, Uxbridge (also home to Apple UK, Hasbro, Adobe and Activision), Hardy added: "We now own our phone, broadband and engineering telephone company and aim to continue winning major deals over the big networks." 

He attributes the organisation's success, in no small part, to a policy of personal one-to-one service supported by transparency across every order.

"All of our customers know our staff by name and they all have our mobile numbers should they need help," added Hardy. "Everything is simplified for the customer."

Paul Whiting, President of Global Sales for Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Buckinghamshire New University.
 
The award was made in recognition of the contribution Whiting personally and Sennheiser UK have made to the University's School of Applied Production & New Media.           
                                               
Whiting was among a distinguished gathering of individuals being honoured at Bucks New University's graduation ceremonies held at Wycombe Swan Theatre during the week of 9-13 September.
 
"I am proud and honoured to receive this award in recognition of my years of involvement in the audio industry," says Whiting. "At Sennheiser, we believe in the investment into education - this is where the future audio specialists are born, it is a great business to be involved in."
 
The School of Applied Production & New Media at Bucks New University covers a wide range of technology and production-based disciplines. It has a strong focus on developing the skills and knowledge synonymous with the creative industries, and has benefited from a large amount of support from Sennheiser.
 
In addition to the supply of audio equipment, scholarships, bursaries, paid internships, industry master classes and long-term equipment loans, Sennheiser UK also provides the University with contract and consultancy work which includes developing media assets for online delivery and viral marketing applications.

Professor Ruth Farwell, Vice Chancellor of Buckinghamshire New University, said: "Paul is among a celebrated group of honorary awardees, who are chosen in recognition of their outstanding achievements in their fields, and because they are an inspiration to our graduating students."
 
Two students who have directly benefited over the past year are Jamie Leeming and Gemma Robinson, who both graduated in September. Both received Sennheiser sponsorship and were lucky to be given internship placements within Sennheiser UK's marketing department.
 

Aastra has been named by MZA as the leading supplier brand of DECT handsets to businesses in the EMEA region in 2012.

In its shipment review, independent telecoms and IT analysts, MZA assesses the multi cellular cordless PBX market by handset volume and reveals that Aastra sold more DECT handsets to the enterprise market than any other vendor.

Mobility is a key part of Aastra's strategy and the organisation this year the vendor introduced High Definition (HD) audio quality to 'corridor warriors', enabling DECT customers to reap the benefits of the CAT-iq (Cordless Advanced Technology - Internet and quality)standard. This is a new standard for IP and voice services in the next generation cordless network which provides crystal clear sound.

Pierre-Alexandre Fuhrmann, Vice-President Global R&D at Aastra, said: "By offering a comprehensive range of competitively priced DECT solutions, our sales volumes have increased this year and it's great to see MZA's report which sets our growth in context within the market."

Stephanie Watson, General Manager of MZA added: "DECT has unique benefits which will see it keep its place in terms of wireless business communications. Its strong vertical application solutions, including messaging and alarming features combined with high quality reliable voice, address real needs in business."

The importance of the contact centre's function as brand ambassador has been overlooked by management for years. However, this is about to change as more and more companies are realising that the battle to win and maintain customers is fought by contact centre agents every day, according to Jabra.

"We recognise the trend and appreciate the significant role of the contact centre," says Andrew Doyle, Managing Director, Jabra Business Solutions, UK & Ireland.

"We believe that contact centre agents are major contributors in safeguarding brand perception and by making this value-add tangible, it will clearly demonstrate their role as brand ambassadors alongside their Marketing colleagues."

According to Sarah Stealey Reed, Content Director at International Customer Manager Institute (ICMI), we will see a shift towards contact centres becoming much more of a customer experience and knowledge centre, playing an important role as brand guardian.

Stealey Reed commented: "When customers finally communicate with the contact centre it is because they literally have reached the end of the line. So, that interaction with the agent needs to be fantastic or this might very well be the last time you will ever hear from that customer again."

Companies are no longer being defined by their products, but by the way that customers experience them. And now that the customers have so many options of brands and products to choose from that experience is vital. "That is why call centre agents are becoming much more like brand ambassadors," added Stealey Reed.

Ahead of the iPhone 5S/5C launches, the iPhone managed to take share (on a Y/Y basis) in the US, Europe, and Japan, according to Kantar Woldpanel's latest data.

Kantar estimates the iPhone had a 39.3% share of U.S. smartphone sales in the June-August timeframe, +540 bps Y/Y. In the EU5, where the iPhone has been losing ground to Android, its share rose 200 bps to 16.1%, and in Japan, it rose to 48.6% prior to the start of NTT DoCoMo's 5S/5C sales.

The UK (27.5%) is Apple's strongest major European market.Android respectively had US, EU5, and Japanese shares of 55.1% (-560 bps), 70.1% (+130 bps), and 46.7%. It's still taking share from the iPhone in China ahead of an expected China Mobile iPhone deal. Android's Chinese share rose 920 bps to 72.4%, while the iPhone's fell 270 bps to 20.8%.

Europe is turning out to be a bright spot for Windows Phone: Kantar estimates Microsoft's OS had a 9.2% share in the EU5, +420 bps Y/Y. Nokia's Lumia 925 and 1020 launches, along with strong demand for the low-end 520, likely helped. But WP only had a 3% share in the U.S., and a 2.1% share in China.