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Small Buisness Solutions

Fri, 8 Feb 2008

SMALL BUISNESS VOICE

Advantages of Hyperconnectivity - No Longer Just for the Big Guys

Spencer Callaghan, Nortel
February 2008

Small businesses and their entrepreneurial spirit have always been a source of creativity and innovative thinking. However, while their ideas can push the envelop of possibilities, the execution has often been restricted by limited resources or access to the latest communications tools

Now thanks to innovative solutions specially designed for small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), simple yet sophisticated technologies like VoIP, unified communications and enhanced mobility are within reach of these business innovators.

In the current era of Hyperconnectivity, where anything that can be connected to the network, will be connected, SMBs can now keep pace with the big guys through advanced technologies that increase productivity and ensure reliable mobility wherever employees may roam.

"SMB's excel when it comes to meeting the needs of their customers.  They know how to deliver very personalized service, but until recently they were often hamstrung by the lack of productivity and communications tools designed for their scale of businesses," said Ryan James, director Small and Medium Business, Global Product Marketing, Nortel. "Today, being small, no longer has to be a disadvantage. Technology has leveled the playing field.  Any sized business can dream big and win big."

For charitable organizations, keeping the cost of communications to a minimum is a priority. However, when a large amount of charitable work is done via the network, access to cost-effective communications becomes absolutely fundamental to operations.

At the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) - a UK-based organization with more than 3,000 locations across the country - the telephone is a vital channel for delivering advisory services that help people resolve their legal and financial problems. Yet at many of its sites, its telephony services were costly and inconvenient. As Sally Salisbury, Bureau Manager, explained: "In my local area of North Hertfordshire, staff had no direct lines. This meant that incoming calls were often transferred around to different people before reaching their destination."

"We were also paying line rental per phone, and calls between sites were extremely costly," Salisbury said.
Keen to exploit the cost and efficiency potential of VoIP, Salisbury and her team approached a number of IP telephony suppliers - including Nortel and its SMB accredited reseller, Future Voice and Data. When it showed CAB the value for money of Nortel equipment, this blew the competition out of the water: "With one box from Nortel we would be able to route calls, create personal call profiles for staff and reap the benefits of IP telephony. This made Nortel equipment the only choice for us," she said. "I'm thrilled to say we are saving hundreds of pounds thanks to Nortel technology."

Having sold more than 75,000 units since May 2005, the award winning Business Communications Manager 50 (BCM 50) used by CAB, is integral part of Nortel's SMB portfolio. Over the past 20 years, the SMB market has been a strong focus for Nortel, having supplied more than 15 million SMB desktop systems in over 80 countries globally. These solutions are specially designed for SMBs allowing them to build scalable networks that fit their needs today and into the future.

Features like secure mobility and unified messaging - with one click access to voice, email and conferencing - allow employees to stay productive and in contact across all types of communications either in the office or on the go. Even the smallest of companies can have the benefits of an integrated contact center with BCM 50's automated "attendant" phone answering features that ensure clients and partners can be directed to the right person, right away, wherever they are.

"SMBs must have solutions that are tailored to their specific needs and because, those needs vary widely from business to business, flexibility is essential," said James. "You can't just take technologies designed for a multinational conglomerate with a fully-staffed IT department and plug it into an SMB setting."

Complex solutions designed to work in large corporations with large IT staffs are not always ideal for smaller businesses. Often the corporate IT infrastructure needed to run large enterprise systems is not available to SMBs and scaled down versions don't take into consideration the unique challenges faced by smaller businesses like limited resources to dedicate to communications.

For example, Peppermint Events, a small event planning company from London, UK with only four full-time staff, faced the prospect of ramping up to a seasonal staff of up to 30 people every summer, when garden parties and barbeques are in high demand. The nature of Peppermint's business means that employees can be in and out of the office on a regular basis. Running a large team with numerous events means its customers need to get through to the right person quickly and efficiently.

Keeping pace with the ebb and flow of a highly seasonal business while on the go, also required a solution for Peppermint that could be expanded or contracted to meet differing levels of staffing. The all-in-one communications solution, such as the BCM50 selected by Peppermint, provides employees with advanced call routing, voicemail and mobility features. It ensures they can stay in touch wherever they are thereby maintaining strong business relationships through prompt service to customers.

"The phone system helps to give a professional image to the business, which is difficult to portray sometimes as a small business," said Adam Hempenstall, director of Peppermint. "When dealing with big companies, image is very important."

T.A. Brannon Steel, Brampton, Ontario steel parts manufacturer, turned to Nortel when it needed a solution that would integrate communications into a business environment quite different from the traditional office setting.

The solution for Brannon is based on Nortel's BCM 400, a larger scale version of the BCM50 designed to support up to 200 users. Eight wireless base stations, covering three locations, are used to address the need for mobile and reliable communications capable of functioning in a challenging environment that includes millions of pounds of steel, heavy machinery, and extreme levels of noise and radio interference. Integrating the new system on the foundation of a previously installed Norstar system from Nortel, maximized the return on investments made years earlier.

Evolving from a Norstar system to BCM, "gave us the opportunity to do some unique things," said Glenn De Dieu, operations manager for Brannon. "Like for example, not having our sales guys have to drive in to the office. They could have an extension in their offices in their homes and answer and make phone calls as if they're here and the customer doesn't know the difference. That's a functionality that came right out of the box with the BCM 400."

"One key advantage of Nortel's SMB portfolio is the ability to integrate or upgrade existing investments in older technologies. This approach to evolving to new capabilities as needed, or as fits budget restrictions, can achieve cost savings of up to 70 percent over completely ripping out a current system and starting from square one," said James. "Using feedback from our SMB customers on their exact needs, Nortel has created a strong portfolio of products that are designed with the unique challenges SMBs in mind. We know what works for a Fortune 500 company might not be the best thing for a smaller up-and-comer. We ensure that they go to sleep at night knowing that they have the right technology matched to their individual business."

"It's no secret that many SMBs must make the most out of every investment. Any technology they invest in needs to not only deliver benefits immediately, but also be flexible and scaleable. The solution must be able to grow along with the company without stranding any assets or driving all new investments," he said. "SMBs are forming the heart of new business expansion around the world and Nortel is making sure this market sector is well equipped to join the largest enterprises in turning the challenges of Hyperconnectivity into opportunities."