Communicate everywhere

Technology
Written by David Critchley, Director of Small Medium Enterprise at Cisco UK and Ireland
Wednesday, 02 September 2009
Top tips on converging your communication tools to increase business efficiency. Business is only getting faster, and your customers need to get hold of you no matter where you are. Bringing all of your communications together is the perfect way to make sure that you’re always in touch, says David Critchley, Director of Small Medium Enterprise at Cisco UK and Ireland. Know what you’re already spending Related Articles: Communicate everywhere Streamlining communications More productive out of the office Making remote working work Opening a conferencing gateway IT and communications systems are getting more affordable for smaller businesses but before you make any investments, it’s wise to consider what you’re already spending on keeping your company connected. Areas that are taking up most of your attention and need the most maintenance should be your top priority when making upgrades or new purchases. Communicate effectively on the move Mobile devices, such as laptops and Smartphones, once the preserve of the boardroom elite, are now more affordable and accessible than ever and can now be set up to update your co-workers on your ‘presence’ so they know where you are working from, and how best to contact you. Routing direct lines, mobiles and voicemails all to the same device can also allow you and your employees to be contactable even when you’re not at your desks. Boost productivity Keeping your workers connected allows them to work from practically anywhere. Creating a ‘virtual’ office space that can be accessed from a laptop or handheld device means time out of the office can be just as productive as that spent in the office. Using video conferencing is a great alterative to traveling as it saves both time and money without having to compromise on the quality of the meeting. Keep your customer connected Your customers are your priority, now more so then ever so. Bring together your organisation’s phone system and customer information for a quick route to increased customer satisfaction. Customer recognition will identify customers when they call and pop up on your screen so you can promptly address their enquiries. The ability to view a co-workers presence also allows you to route customers to the most suitable person available. It’s a great time saving technique and shows that you are attentive to your customer individual demands Share this: digg del.ico.us Newsvine Reddit Furl technorati Facebook Comments (1) Subscribe to this comment's feed ... Posted by Toby Treacher, 14 January 2010 All good points well made, unfortunately many suppliers just don't understand what small businesses want/need to do with the technology http://www.digital-nerve.net/2...oming.html. My advice would be to select which of the technologies above are genuinely adding value to business, and then shop for them aggressively - don't be bamboozled by the sales people. Post a comment Name (required) Email (required) (not published) Website Title By posting on this website you are agreeing to abide by our website comment policy and all posts are subject to the approval of the website editor. We will remove posts that contain offensive or threatening language, personal attacks on the writer or other posters, posts that are off topic and posts that are considered spam or specifically used to promote any commercial products or services. Any poster who repeatedly contravenes the policy will be banned from posting on the website.