Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

If you are one of the 4 in 10 businesses in the UK that can get Fibre Broadband you are probably enjoying a significant improvement in performance. You may not be aware that for a small monthly premium you can upgrade your Fibre Broadband to a new type of dedicated leased line that will reduce your overall communications spend by around 50%. How is this possible?

…and why 90% of UK SMEs don’t use hosted voice.

1. Acceptance of the concept. Before IP voice was commercially viable, millions of US SMEs were already using Centrex. In the early 1980s the US telecommunications market liberalised, creating 7 local operating companies (the equivalent of Openreach) nicknamed ‘Baby bells’. These all launched their own central exchange offerings (Centrex) in preference to on-premise telephone equipment. With a big stake in the equipment market, BT was never really interested in Centrex and the UK’s first Centrex product launched by Mercury in the early 1990s was clumsy, unreliable and expensive.

Companies have traditionally preferred to advertise non-geographic numbers for customers and prospects to contact them. Read why this is now changing:

You have a great relationship with your customers but you don’t feel 100% confident explaining and selling connectivity and hosted products. You know you need help but are cautious about inviting your Partner supplier into the account because:

Here are 5 easy steps to getting your hands on £3000 to increase the speed of your connectivity but hurry because the scheme finishes in March 2016.

1. Is your company situated in a qualifying area? Type your postcode into www.connectionvouchers.co.uk.
2. Check that your company complies with the criteria at www.connectionvouchers.co.uk/whos-eligible/
3. Select a registered supplier. Note that not all registered suppliers have the relevant experience so choose carefully.
4. Get a quote to upgrade your connection to the Internet. Even if you have chosen a supplier its best to get at least two quotes for comparison.
5. Your chosen supplier should know how optimise the deal to your advantage and be able to handle all the paperwork for you.

Jola is an exceptional communications provider to UK SMEs via local Partners. One of our local Partners manages the LAN and associated IT infrastructure for his customers locally. One of his customers has recently purchased a competitor in the North and wants to relocate them nearby. They have around 15 people to accommodate and need to keep their telephone numbers and DDI ranges but would also like the option to answer calls in their head office in the Midlands. The telephone system in their head office was purchased outright a few years ago and works fine. A small satellite office has two phone lines and no telephone system.

Research just published by TalkTalk Business suggests that 59% of small businesses are unhappy with their broadband provider, half feel they are not getting value for money and 20% are looking to make a change. Companies need faster more consistent speeds and are relying more on their internet connection as the move towards the Cloud picks up pace. 

The technology

Next Generation Ethernet connectivity and Cloud Telephony are two of the fastest growing technologies in 2014. 2015 will see even more SMEs upgrade their connectivity to take advantage of the savings available from cloud-hosted applications such as voice and CRM.

There is evidence that the trend in the mobile consumer market towards SIM-only deals has now really taken hold in the business world.

SMEs are ditching pooled, usually 24-month, contracts in favour of more flexible deals where they can buy their handsets and airtime separately.

Jola have now gone one step further by offering an amazing SIM-only deal on a monthly contract.

Consumers have been moving towards SIM-only mobile deals for a few years and now UK SMEs are jumping on the bandwagon. Why?