Getting the best deal for your business mobiles is no longer just about phones. There are a range of mobile devices which can be included within your new contract, such as tablets (think iPad, Samsung Galaxy etc) and netbooks.

Achieving balance and integration between devices and platforms requires knowledge of all of the different devices, operating systems and how they all work together to achieve your business goals.

Mobile data is becoming the most important aspect of a business mobile review for many companies and we have expertise in this area gained from our 15 years in the mobile industry.

From BlackBerry BIS/BES/BES Express setup and installation through to data roaming and tethering we can advise you on the best way to set up your contract to get the data you need without breaking the bank.

How to get the best business mobile deal

If you already have a business mobile contract you will have your monthly bills which indicate your usage. You can email, fax or send them to us for a full analysis.

By analysing these we can match a tariff that provides you with the right balance of minutes, texts and data to keep your bills down. We also look at overseas usage, which is becoming increasingly important for many businesses, and ensure the tariff will be flexible enough to fulfil your requirements.

We can then provide new handsets for you which do the job you need them to. You may have specific requirements, such as an operating system to integrate with your current infrastructure, or be flexible in your choice. We can advise regarding the features of the latest SmartPhones which could enable you to increase productivity.

When undertaking a business mobile review we look at reducing your costs AND improving the devices you have.

All quotes and reviews are free and without obligation. They are offered to all types and size of business from single handset users through to corporate enterprises. We can also incorporate other products and services into our review to further save you money.

Solving your business mobile problems

You may be looking for a review because your contract is due for renewal and you wish to reduce costs, but you should also contact us if you are having problems with your mobiles wherever you are in terms of contract. Your current mobile dealer might be failing to respond to you and giving you poor service or you might be finding your current network coverage and service to be unsatisfactory.

We can look at transferring your contract to another network and buying out your existing contract. In this way you can reduce your monthly expenditure and improve service without having to pay any upfront costs.

All enquiries are welcome and treated in confidence. For a no obligation dicussion please call us on 0115 944 8977.

Posted in: Best Deals , Business Mobiles , Business Phones , Mobile Data , SmartPhones , Solutions , Telecoms

Wednesday 8th June 2011 is IPv6 day. But what is it and could it affect your business?

An IP address is a set of numbers that uniquely identifies any device which connects to the internet. Currently the system of numbering is IPv4, but the numbers allocated under this system are running out fast, and will probably be exhausted by August.

IPv6 is its replacement, a 64-bit numbering system, and will provide a huge boost in available numbers. IPv6 provides enough addresses (340 trillion) to allow the internet to continue to expand.

However, because IPv6 is different to IPv4 there is a chance of some connectivity being lost in the changeover. IPv4 and IPv6 devices cannot communicate directly. That is why on Wednesday some of the big players in the internet industry, such as Google and Facebook, are making their sites available under the new protocol. If you can connect to them on Wednesday it is likely that your current set up supports IPv6.

Most internet users will not notice any difference, however Google anticipates up to 1% of failed connection attempts on the day, mainly due to misconfigured devices.

Business networks may not fare so well though. Recent research suggests that very few businesses are completely ready for the change to IPv6. Only 12% of network professionals thought that their networks were 80-100% ready for the change.

As well as internet/broadband issues other devices such as those used in IP telephony will also need to be migrated to IPv6 at some point in the future.

Posted in: Broadband , Data Solutions , Mobile Data , Solutions

Many businesses are now totally reliant upon their data connectivity, not only for standard data but also for voice services. When broadband goes down, the company comes grinding to a halt. Yet a lot of these businesses, particularly small businesses, are relying upon consumer grade broadband with high contention ratios.

This means that a lot of other users are sharing your line, diluting the speed into your premises. Once it reaches you it is then further reduced by being split amongst your own users. If every user in your building is waiting on a slow internet connection productivity drops and, over the course of a year, or even a month, this drop could really damage your profits.

Faster broadband = increased productivity. No waiting for downloads or portals to open - unlimited access during your working hours. Investing even a small amount in faster (and more reliable) connectivity will quickly pay for itself.

That is why we don't offer consumer grade broadband to our business customers. Contention ratios for our standard products are 1:8 and we are seeing more businesses taking up dedicated lines with 1:1 uncontended bandwidth. This will become even more popular as prices continue to drop.

Dedicated ethernet services with guaranteed upload and download speeds are ideal for VoIP services. As well as giving you guaranteed speed you will benefit from a four hour fix on any problems that arise. This type of line rarely fails in comparison with a general broadband line.

For companies who are reliant upon a constant connection there are failover systems which can be employed in order to keep you running seamlessly. You will not even notice there has been a problem.

Because we use a range of suppliers we are able to source a mix of connectivity products which can work together to give your business an integrated data solution. This can be for a single premises or across multiple sites nationwide.

We have expertise in new technologies and a dedicated data solutions department. Ask us about MPLS networks and Ethernet connectivity and how they could help your business perform more efficiently.

Are you currently using a VoIP phone system? If not, why not? VoIP offers better features than standard telephony and has matured into a business grade product which you can rely upon.

You can even take advantage of hosted VoIP which involves no initial outlay or set up costs - ideal for small businesses and new businesses. It is flexible and scalable and can grow with your business. It's a very cost effective solution.

Posted in: Data Solutions , Ethernet , Mobile Data , Networks , Solutions , VoIP

With the huge surge in sales of SmartPhones, enabling people to access email and the internet on the move, the mobile networks responded by offering large, and in some cases unlimited, mobile data tariffs.

However, as more and more people used the services it has become clear to the networks that continuing this policy could lead to a problem accomodating all of the data traffic. So now unlimited data tariffs are disappearing and the monthly allowance limits are shrinking.

For many people the possibility of a large bill at the end of the month is stopping them using their SmartPhones to their full potential, keeping them off the internet except on rare occasions.

If the networks genuinely wanted to help their customers this would be quite easy. For instance, they could notify customers when they are approaching their allowance limit. A customer with a 500mb limit would receive an sms when their usage reached 450mb. The limit to trigger a notification could even be set by the user themselves (particularly with online account access).

Even better if you could check your data usage at any time, then you would know exactly where you stand, you can work out roughly how much each online action contributes and it would also eliminate the problems for the networks of angry customers ringing in following receipt of large bills.

However, the networks are less interested in helping, more interested in profits, and the rates they charge for out-of-bundle data are extortionate. It would also help their customers if these rates came down, so going a bit over your allowance cost a few pounds instead of tens, hundreds or even thousands of pounds!

What can you do with 500mb of mobile data? A 500mb limit should cover casual browsing and email usage (without numerous large attachments). However it won't go far watching videos on You Tube or streaming other media.

If you are new to mobile data and worried about potential costs you could make a note of your first month's usage, using it sparingly, and then see how much actual usage you have incurred when you receive your bill. From this you can increase your usage incrementally as you need to whilst remaining safely within your data package.

Posted in: Business Mobiles , Business Phones , Mobile Data , SmartPhones