Cookie Preference Centre

Your Privacy
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Performance Cookies
Functional Cookies
Targeting Cookies

Your Privacy

When you visit any web site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences, your device or used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually identify you directly, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. You can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, you should know that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site may not work then.

Cookies used

ContactCenterWorld.com

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources, so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not know when you have visited our site.

Cookies used

Google Analytics

Functional Cookies

These cookies allow the provision of enhance functionality and personalization, such as videos and live chats. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, then some or all of these functionalities may not function properly.

Cookies used

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant ads on other sites. They work by uniquely identifying your browser and device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will not experience our targeted advertising across different websites.

Cookies used

LinkedIn

This site uses cookies and other tracking technologies to assist with navigation and your ability to provide feedback, analyse your use of our products and services, assist with our promotional and marketing efforts, and provide content from third parties

OK
[HIDE]

Here are some suggested Connections for you! - Log in to start networking.

EXECUTIVE MEMBER
Ikhwal Sidiq
Assistant Manager Trade and Remittance Services
408
MEMBER
Vijay s
Director
54
MEMBER
Thamer Noori
Director of Industrial Security and Safety Dept.
13
MEMBER
Jason Taylor
Officer of County 311 Services
0

Article : Don't Lose Your Voice

Telephony systems rarely make it onto the list of business continuity requirements, but how many businesses can survive without access to a working telephone? Just how much money would be lost if customers could not place orders, make sales inquiries or raise support calls for 30 minutes, an hour, a day – or even a week, asks Graham Chick, chief executive, GemaTech?

The telephone has become invisible; while reliance upon it has become complete, a perception of constant availability has created a culture of complaisance. But just what happens to a business when the phone network fails or a power cut takes out the PBX or, even more familiar, a cable in the road is cut, or a fire, flood or gas leak keep staff away from the office?

In an increasingly edgy economy, no organisation can afford a glitch in service – whatever the cause. Business as usual is essential if customers are to retain faith in an organisation's ability to deliver, on time and to contract – from manufacturing to financial services.

The good news is that while the carriers can only offer call recovery for expensive non-geographic numbers, a cost effective business continuity solution that delivers a seamless transfer of geographic DDI numbers to a range of pre-programmed, event dependent locations, from home to branch office, is now available for every geographic number.

Telephone Reliance
Even in this world of email, online transactions and instant messaging, voice communication underpins every aspect of business – from receiving customer orders to chasing unpaid bills. Yet how many companies actually consider the value of the telephony system within their Business Continuity plans? Just 2% according to the annual Business Continuity Awareness survey conducted by the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) and IMP events.

Indeed, the survey reveals that telecoms protection is almost a blind spot in the planning of many businesses. If asked to think of something adverse happening to their business, very few people spontaneously think of telecoms failure. But when directly asked, nearly all acknowledge that it's one of the gravest threats of all.

And, perhaps, this lack of focus on telecoms is understandable – the phone service is highly reliable; indeed the carriers' exchanges are, by OfCom Regulation , 99.999% reliable. But not so the connection between the local exchange and a company's premises – running underneath the pavement these cables are now fighting for space with a multiplicity of other services, and increasingly prone to accidental fracture.

Furthermore with every component of the telephony system – from PBX to ISDN30 connection – dependent upon power, for those organisations without an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), an outage in power will bring down not only the IT systems but the telephony network too.

Of course, at a pinch, employees can take to their mobiles – fine if the problem is building specific; no good if it affects a wide area, when the mobile network will keel over within minutes. And what about in bound calls? With the PBX down, calls cannot be automatically forwarded from DDI number to mobile, leaving customers' calls unanswered. Just how much would it cost an organisation if customers could not get in touch for 30 minutes, an hour, a day – a week? And what is the on going impact on reputation and loss of customer confidence in an organisation's ability to meet its obligations?

Limited Recovery
Of course a number of carriers are making great claims about their ability to recover calls for customers should a network failure occur. Unfortunately these services apply only to the non-geographic numbers, the 0845s and 0870s used primarily within call centre environments. The carriers offer little support for the geographic numbers that make up the majority of business lines – unless an organisation is prepared to pay an extremely expensive fee for some higher-end service providers.

And yet the perception amongst many organisations is that such functionality is already a basic component of their contract. One large government agency assumed that in the event of any problem in telephone services at one call centre using geographic numbers, the carrier would automatically route calls to another centre several hundred miles away. It was only when the agency actually asked the carrier to confirm this perception the truth became clear: the service was a figment of the agency's imagination and was simply not deliverable at any price.

Geographic Support
So how then to protect these key geographic numbers? What is required is a facility that can intelligently divert any DDI number to any other number – from mobile to home, branch office to call centre – at a price that brings telephony protection neatly within budgetary levels normally associated with other essential insurance policies

The solution must, of course, be robust and resilient, preferably leveraging the highly secure carrier exchange building and fast ISDN30 connectivity. If a problem occurs with the connection, incoming calls are automatically directed from the sanctity of the local exchange, at which point powerful rerouting software is used to forward calls on an individual DDI basis to individuals in any location – from home to branch office or recovery site.

Critically, this service must be affordable, and, if possible available as a managed service. For a £2,250 set up fee and £995 per month, up to 15 concurrent inbound calls can be recovered – potentially enough for a company with 150 employees. Underpinning the 'business as usual' concept is a flexibility to respond to the diversity of business continuity issues – from rerouting calls to home when employees cannot reach the office to managing a range of options in the event a major disaster.

In any situation, it is essential that the personalisation associated with DDI numbers is not lost if customer confidence and quality of service is to be retained. While it is often expedient to transfer all incoming calls directed to multiple DDI numbers to selected "operators", an organisation can retain the personalisation by playing one of up to a hundred recorded messages and flagging up the name associated with the DDI to all personnel allocated to answering the re-routed calls.

Invisible Costs
The phone's reliability has become its Achilles heel. It is an invaluable yet invisible business tool and, as a result, few businesses even take the time to consider the implications of lost voice communications. And yet the cost to business is severe – as one organisation that had been prevaricating on the implementation of a back up solution recently discovered. Several thousands of pounds and a loss of customer reputation later, a business continuity strategy and solution for the telephony network is suddenly top priority. So why pay for it twice?


Today's Tip of the Day - Utilize Time & Money Saving Tools

Read today's tip or listen to it on podcast.

More Editorial From GemaTech

Published: Friday, October 28, 2005

Printer Friendly Version Printer friendly version

About us - in 60 seconds!

Join Our Team

Industry Champion Award Leaderboard

Most active award (top 10) entrants in the past 48 hours! - Vote for Others / About Program
Submit Event

Upcoming Events

The 19th AMERICAS Annual Best Practices Conferences are here! Meeting Point for the World's Best Contact Center & CX Companies Read More...
 31783 
Showing 1 - 1 of 3 items

Newsletter Registration

Please check to agree to be placed on the eNewsletter mailing list.
both ids empty
session userid =
session UserTempID =
session adminlevel =
session blnTempHelpChatShow =
CMS =
session cookie set = True
session page-view-total = 1
session page-view-total = 1
applicaiton blnAwardsClosed =
session blnCompletedAwardInterestPopup =
session blnCheckNewsletterInterestPopup =
session blnCompletedNewsletterInterestPopup =