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Adrian Conington
June 8, 2016
Technology is an enabler and when you get it right its effect is transformational. Remember the joy of your first smartphone? The wonder of how self –intuitive it was? Consolidating multiple data and communication streams into a single device. The result was flexible working, an idea that previously had only been dreamt of and it changed our lives.
These technological game changers don’t come along at a user level very frequently and even less so in a corporate environment. The work place has become an area of integration. There are so many different platforms and applications fighting against each other to demonstrate their value and cost benefit but ultimately it is the user experience that is lost.
At BPS World we have always put a focus on technology enabling our business. In the early days it was getting the best PC’s we could afford. More recently we have focused on consolidating our telephony and video conferencing platforms to improve the ease of use and quality of our communication. At a user level we have removed telephony handsets on desks and every individual within the organisation now has a softphone on their notebook combined with a visual conferencing application.
As a business we are growing rapidly and opening offices both in Europe and the US. Core to our success strategy is the ability to attract the right staff and communicate in an effective manner, particularly where English is not the first language. Successful staff attraction requires the ability to demonstrate there is platform and processes in place for the individual to succeed professionally. It is a powerful statement when first engaging with prospective colleagues to showcase a converged communication platform. It provides confidence to the individual that there is investment and leadership synonymous of a successful organisation, it also shows we are committed to improving the user experience.
So what is the significance of a merged communication? It’s a true convergence because any member of staff can travel globally and retain their telephony extension anywhere in the world on either public or secure Wi-Fi. Furthermore an application installed on the user’s Smart phone picks up calls to the extension when notebooks are offline. If a user does not have access to Wi-Fi, the data package on the smart device is seamlessly used to undertake calls as opposed to using call minutes or incurring roaming charges.
The technology enabler here is a unified global communication solution that can be deployed rapidly and supported remotely without any capital expenditure on hardware. It has also resulted in an 80% reduction in monthly call charges. ROI will be achieved in 5 months. As for the user experience? This is significantly enhanced with all communication deliverable through a single Smart product without the need to carry separate personal and company devices. Business calls are all handled by the app which can be disabled out of work hours. For those operating under the companies BOYD scheme a contribution is made toward the data package charge and the user gets to retain the device of their choice – the Smart device app is vendor agnostic. From a soft benefits perspective to the user unlimited national and international calling to friends and family is provided.
As for quality of communication, the Chinese philosopher Confucius in part said: “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember.” Every member of staff in the business is communicating wherever possible via video across all locations. The value of this is clear, improving the quality of communication which is essential for supporting staff operating out on international locations. This is not Facetime or Skype but a fully-fledged system that allows multipoint conferencing, screen sharing in broadcast quality with minimal bandwidth overhead. In a business that wants a superior user experience with video conferencing this is a platform that works first time and every time.
The days of complicated control interfaces and the hope the conference call will connect are in the past. The true benefit of staff being able to see each other and correctly interpret human interaction across international boundaries is being realised at fraction of the cost and click of one button.
Technology is an enabler for our business as we grow globally.
For more information on this topic please contact Adrian Conington on 01628 857 342 or adrian.conington@bps-world.com
