IT Networks: 10 Ways to bring it all together

Keeping your company running smoothly can be difficult, especially when you’re juggling all manner of tasks. BT’s Trevor Allchorne highlights the 10 best ways that BT technologies can help you to co-ordinate operations, please your customers and boost business.

1. I need email on the move

If you’re out of the office you could lose large chunks of the working day without access to email. With BlackBerry you’re always in touch and up to date with internal and customer enquiries, wherever you are. And that’s good for productivity. BT’s Managed BlackBerry service is a cost-effective way for staff to stay efficient and connected, with mobile access to email and contacts.

2. We need a better mobile phone system

With 20 per cent of business calls now being made on mobiles, getting a handle on phone bills has become a priority for companies. BT Fusion for Business lets you do just that. It’s an intelligent phone that automatically switches the mobile calls you make in your office to your T Broadband line, when you’re within distance of your Fusion hub, giving you the benefit of lower landline rates. You get single handset, so you only need to access one set of contacts.

3. I need to operate efficiently from branch offices

People who travel around, working in branch offices, often find that they have to use different kinds of handsets, so they can’t always access their contacts and voicemail. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gives you that flexibility, because an IP telephone can be configured to your specific needs, wherever you are. BT can design and tailor a VoIP system for you, based on your requirements. You get the option of IP telephones or ‘soft phones’, which allow you to make IP calls via your computer, using a headset. And because calls are made on the internet, it’s cost effective. BT can also provide a fast and reliable network for your company.

4. I need to access the internet on the move Wireless connectivity is now increasingly available in public places

You could be at a railway station, café or airport and use the internet to access your business systems and applications using a wireless connection from your laptop. BT has 30,000 Openzone wireless hotspots around the world, all giving you the opportunity to use what would otherwise be lost time, perhaps between meetings, to communicate easily and cost effectively with your office and customers

5. I need to log on to my email when I’m out of the office

It’s not easy to keep tabs on what’s going on in your business if you’re out at meetings for any length of time. BT Business Email Lite, available free with BT Business Broadband, allows you to access your email and Outlook tools, whether at someone else’s office or an internet café. You just dial in to an email server over a secure internet connection, and you’re ready to go. You can upgrade to BT Business Email plus Organise and you gain the ability to track, manage and access business critical files, contacts, email and calendars on the move.

6. When a customer calls we need information about them instantly

Computer telephony integration (CTI), which links the telephone system and customer data, can help you to handle customer enquiries more effectively. For example, relevant information about the caller can pop up on a screen, so you can greet your customer by name. This improves the customer’s experience and prevents annoying delays while you search for information. In addition, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology can automatically route calls to the right department. BT Versatility is a phone service appropriate for companies with up to 32 users. You get everything you need in one package - great call handling, plus voicemail, networking, wireless connectivity, web browsing, email and even VoIP.

7. I need to know when colleagues are available to speak to online

Instant messaging (IM) is the answer and it’s quicker than email or voicemail. You can see the availability of people in your online contact group – which could be your whole department. If you want to contact several colleagues urgently, you can drop them all a quick message and, if they are online, have a three- or four-way chat and solve urgent issues fast. You can use the IM application with BT Business Broadband, so you can stay in quick and constant contact with colleagues.

8. We’re all based in different places but need to work on the same documents together

Projects can be so much more effective if you can collaborate with all those involved, even if they’re spread across several locations. Now it’s possible to operate in virtual teams, all working on the same documents. With BT Business Email plus Organise &Share teams can share business-critical documents, files and schedules whether they are in the same office, diverse locations or out and about using handheld computers.

9. I need to collect remote staff into meetings quickly

It’s good to be able to talk to colleagues in a meeting, but it’s even better to be able to see them even if they’re in a different location. BT’s video conferencing service, Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2005, enables you to create live meetings: staff can be invited into a video or audio conference at a click of a button. You can work collaboratively and pull documents into the system to work on them together. This is a hosted service from BT. All you need is a phone, a PC and an internet connection. The service will let you share presentations and documents, and work together with your colleagues sing features such as whiteboards and IM.

10. I need to tighten my travel budget

Lengthy meetings can gobble up time and money. Now, thanks to technology, teleworking is increasing, and businesses are able to hold virtual meetings without incurring travel costs. Staff can attend five or six audio meetings a day, when in the past they could only be physically present at two or three meetings because of the time spent travelling. BT MeetMe is a very effective way of getting multiple people to share a discussion. This phone conferencing service allows groups of up to 20 people to meet quickly and easily. There’s no need to book and all you need to join a conference call is a telephone and a security pass code.

More info can be found at:

• http://www.convergentsolutions.bt.com/ict
• http://www.btbroadbandoffice.com/broadband

ILLUSTRATION: LEE WOODGATE
WORDS: ARIF MOHAMED