Introduction
How a new cloud telephony system enabled remote working at Tayntons Solicitors
The Client
Established in 1857, Tayntons Solicitors is one of the oldest law firms in Gloucester, offering a range of services for businesses and individuals, including dispute resolution, family law, debt recovery, and employment law.
Their lawyers deliver practical, efficient solutions to clients in Gloucestershire and beyond, and are dedicated to providing a high level of service. They are also fully engaged in the local community, hosting their regular (and highly regarded) Curry Club and ‘Leading Ladies in Gloucestershire’ events.
The Challenge
Going into the pandemic, Tayntons’ communications with clients relied on a phone system that was powered by on-premise hardware and SIP trunks. Its performance was acceptable for office-based workers who used a physical desk phone, but the system had limited Unified Communications (UC) capabilities. This meant that it struggled to function using softphones or mobile apps if employees were working outside of the office. The system also had poor integration features, meaning that they couldn’t properly integrate it with their Line of Business software.
When the pandemic hit, all of the issues were exacerbated – employees were unable to effectively communicate from home due to the limited UC functions. Tayntons knew that, for the safety of their employees during the pandemic, and the experience for their clients, they had to migrate to a cloud-based telephony system that was accessible without using a desk phone.
On top of this, their old on-premise phone system, 3CX, had a complicated model for billing calls and had poor reporting functionality.
The Solution
We designed a new, fully cloud-hosted phone system based on market-leading Broadsoft technology. We began the process with a consultation with a team of key stakeholders to fully understand Tayntons’ business requirements, and how a telephony system would best support them. We audited Tayntons’ on-site telecoms infrastructure, analysed their existing phone system, and discussed what worked well about it versus what needed improving, before exploring the features of the new system with them to see which ones they felt were most relevant for them.
Once we had completed the exploration stage, we designed and agreed the call flow, provisioned the licenses, then began to build and test the new system. Physical handsets were deployed, softphones were installed on PCs and mobile phones, and a switchover date was agreed with the client. Users were given training on how to use the new softphones and handsets, and were provided with supporting documentation.
On the go-live date, an engineer was available on-site to assist users during the changeover process. After a ‘comfort period’ of adjusting to/using the new system, we confirmed the number porting with the client. This comfort period was crucial, and it ensured that any teething issues were remedied before the point of no return was reached with the number porting.
"Our new phone system has brought great flexibility to our business. Emerge Digital took the time to understand our challenges, requirements, and aspirations, then implemented a solution which ticks all of the boxes. Our employees can now provide outstanding service to our customers no matter where they’re working from, and the business benefits from simple call charge billing and enhanced reporting capabilities."
Andrew Ollerenshaw, Managing Partner - Tayntons Solicitors
The Outcome
For a business that relies on robust connectivity to generate revenue, they need a telephony platform that is convenient, highly professional, and integrated. The client-facing front end of the new system is Cisco Webex. Webex is universally accessible via desktop application, web browser, a Microsoft Teams app, and iOS/Android apps, and has helped to transform the UC capabilities of Tayntons. Thanks to an application which the new platform supports called Go Integrator, the system is integrated into their Citrix environment, providing call control and click-to-dial capabilities from within the environment.
With the telephony system now fully location and device independent, Tayntons can offer their employees greater flexibility on where they work, with the system making phone calls outside of the office not just easier, but seamless.
This migration has given them a strong return on investment. The change has been cost neutral, but the value of the new system to the business is high. There’s more flexibility around adding and removing users, better call reporting features, and monthly user-based licensing rather than an annual subscription to the old platform – and the SIP trunks which came with it. They also don’t have to worry about call volume anymore – with the limited capacity that SIP trunks provided, Tayntons had to estimate the amount of inbound and outbound calls to ensure that their phone lines didn’t get overloaded. With this new cloud-based system, call volume is no issue whatsoever.
We’re now working with Tayntons to help them get the most out of the reporting features that the system provides, including reports on a user and departmental level showing data such as call volume, average wait times, commonly called numbers, and average call duration.
Introduction
Looking at the differences of business continuity vs disaster recovery has many businesses going in circles. In fact, some believe business continuity and disaster recovery can be used interchangeably.
However, in reality, they are two very different aspects of business, and you can uniquely benefit from both in a number of ways.
The importance of business continuity planning and disaster recovery
What is disaster recovery?
Disaster recovery explicitly refers to how your data, servers and applications are restored right after a damaging event – for example, one where a server has been compromised in some way or the other, such as following a cyber attack or data leak.
Many businesses shy away from disaster recovery as they see it as a very expensive solution. But the truth is when you use a cloud-based disaster recovery solution like the Veeam DRBC (disaster recovery and backup) platform, you are investing in a cost-effective way to restore your files quickly, servers and IT infrastructure.
In fact, Veeam’s Instant Recovery feature alone is changing how companies see backup and disaster recovery – by activating the server restoration process within minutes.
Disaster recovery is generally viewed as an ‘expensive insurance’ option by most organisations but Veeam works on a pay-per-use basis only, offering a very cost-effective disaster recovery platform to businesses of all sizes.
What is business continuity?
Business continuity refers to how businesses keep their operations running smoothly during an outage. Organisations that do not have a detailed business continuity plan in place in the event of a disruption – such as a fire, local/nationwide power failure or cyber attack, for example – stand to lose not only customers but their reputation as well, among other things.
Luckily, our risk assessment team is on hand to help you understand how your business may potentially be impacted by disruptions and put an effective plan in place to mitigate them.
Business continuity vs disaster recovery explained
Organisations of all scales and across all sectors can benefit from disaster recovery and business continuity. However, it’s important to keep in mind some key differences:
Business continuity focuses on keeping you operational in the event of a disaster, while disaster recovery focuses on restoring company data access and your IT infrastructure, following a disaster.
Business continuity plans revolve around creating safety measures, such as practising fire drills or stocking up on emergency supplies.
Both business continuity and disaster recovery have different goals – good business continuity is all about limiting operational downtime, while good disaster recovery is all about limiting inefficient and/or abnormal system function as much as possible. So, rather than seeing it as “disaster recovery or business continuity”, businesses should focus more on “disaster recovery and business continuity”, as a combination of both will best prepare you for any unexpected or potentially disastrous events.
In conclusion, we should think more along the lines of business continuity AND disaster recovery, rather than either or.
How Emerge Digital can help
Emerge Digital specialises in providing cost-effective business continuity and disaster recovery solutions, which are tested and implemented on a bespoke basis according to your ongoing needs.
Contact us now to learn more about how both disaster recovery and business continuity can help prepare your business for unforeseen circumstances and enable you to bounce back quickly with little effort.
For more information on the differences between business continuity and disaster recovery, please get in touch with our team of experts today.
Introduction
Good internet connectivity is something no business can do without. And, in the pursuit of excellence, it is paramount that businesses choose the right kind of connection that helps them meet day-to-day business needs and doesn’t cut too deeply into their budget.
So, should you choose a leased line or broadband? Which one is better? More importantly, which one is right for your business? We shed some light on the ‘leased lines vs. broadband’ debate.
Leased lines vs Broadband – Choosing the right one for your business
Broadband connectivity
If reliability and affordability are two of your key requirements when it comes to business connectivity and an important factor in deciding between leased lines vs broadband, then you cannot go wrong with SoGEA broadband.
Businesses must be prepared for the ISDN switch-off by 2025, making SoGEA the go-to alternative. It’s very reliable, affordable (especially if you are an SME) and boasts superfast connection speeds without a telephone line, saving you line rental costs too. If you’re solely using cloud-based telephony for your business then there’s no better option for broadband connectivity than SoGEA.
Broadband speeds of up to 80Mbps can be expected if you have a relatively small office. If you’re operating on larger sites requiring faster speeds, SoGFast gives you up to 330Mbps broadband speeds.
Leased line connectivity
If superfast speeds and reliability are your primary concerns and you are not limited by any budget constraints, then leased lines offer dedicated internet connectivity with speeds between 100Mbps-10Gbps.
The reason for these blazing fast speeds is that you are directly connected to your local exchange – so, no matter what time of day it is, you never have to worry about slowdowns during peak times – you get the full bandwidth you signed up for, all the time.
Leased line connections are typical of businesses which rely heavily on online transactions and data-heavy transfers, where timely delivery of online services and data can mean the difference between success and failure.
If you don’t mind investing a little extra, we would strongly recommend going with a leased line which can be customised according to your internet usage needs, your day-to-day business objectives and any budget limitations you may have.
When it comes to settling the ‘leased line vs broadband’ debate, it pays to weigh the advantages of each:
Broadband benefits
For businesses looking to cut costs as much as possible, SoGEA’s broadband is more than ideal. In fact, according to a BT report, SoGEA is, on average, 30% cheaper than line rental costs and broadband costs combined.
SoGEA’s broadband does not rely on your company phone line for connectivity, so you never have to worry about instability or interference from any incoming or outgoing call traffic.
Leased line benefits
Leased lines offer the ultimate solution for businesses who require blazing fast internet speeds in the 100+ Mbps-10Gbps range, where they can’t afford any downtime. It’s basically an “always on” connection.
How We Can Help
At Emerge Digital, we provide business connectivity solutions based on your key requirements, ongoing business circumstances, and what works best for you in terms of cost-effectiveness, practicality and reliability, among other things.
Company Description
Emerge Digital is a technology and digital innovation business and Managed Services Provider (MSP) which provides solutions to SMEs that drive efficiency, competitiveness, and profit.
Using our comprehensive solutions – including outsourced IT support, cyber security, cloud infrastructure, and innovative technologies like process automation and data visualisation – we enable businesses to invest in technology that supports them in achieving their goals.
For more information on the differences between leased lines vs broadband and which type will be more beneficial for your company, please get in touch with our team of experts today.
Introduction
Patch management and good cyber security is more crucial than ever in the high-tech workplace of today. Attacks using ransomware have increased over the past few years. Cybercriminals don’t care who they target; but, high-profile data leaks are much more inclined to make the headlines. In actuality, 39% of UK firms said they had been the victim of a cyber incident in the previous year.
Employing efficient patch management is one approach for businesses to defend themselves against cybercriminals.
What Is Patch Management?
Patch management refers to the process of routinely patching operating systems and software applications in your business to make sure they are secure with the freshest security patches.
The Benefits Of A Managed Patching Service For Your Business
Using a managed patching service for your business can help make your business more efficient. Some of the benefits also include:
Securing Environments
By routinely patching issues, you control and lower the risk which arises in your businesses infrastructure. This shields your company from unexpected security lapses.
Adherence To Compliance Regulations
Regulatory authorities may fine your firm financially if it fails to patch and subsequently violates compliance criteria. Compliance is ensured through effective patch management.
Technology Innovation
Companies can add updates to their technology to enhance it with better functionality and capabilities. This can give your business a way to widely implement your most recent software advancements.
How Does Emerge Digital Manage Patching Services For Our Clients?
It’s not sufficient to respond to problems in the modern world by simply reacting. Maintaining the infrastructure is necessary to adequately safeguard systems and reduce downtime. We deploy an industry-leading specialist software that can monitor systems, apply patches, and orchestrate scripts and actions to be completed on all terminals which we manage.
Engineers closely monitor terminals around-the-clock so they can respond to any problems. Additionally, it enables us to programme and automate preventive maintenance procedures, that can help keep your system architecture and IT hardware healthy.
Want To Find Out More About How Emerge Digital Can Help Your Business?
Emerge Digital are technology and digital innovation specialists that offer trustworthy IT support and cyber security services and solutions for businesses as well as helping with technical and strategic guidance to ensure businesses are running efficiently and effectively. This allows businesses to continue striving to achieve goals and dominate their respective markets.
If you want to find out more about how Emerge Digital can help your business with managed patching services or other fully managed IT systems and services, contact our knowledgeable team today.
Introduction
How dedicated leased lines and a migration to Microsoft 365 provided RCI with a foundation on which to innovate and grow.
The Client
Established in 1971, Ralph Coleman International (RCI) is a leading retail support business, delivering the provision, washing, storage, haulage, and repair of plastic crates in the food sector. Plastic crates are a critical element of the retail food supply chain, enabling food producers to deliver produce in an environmentally friendly manner for retailers to package and sell.
The business’s main customer is the world’s leading supplier of reusable plastic crates, and are trusted by the world’s top retailers (including Morrisons and Waitrose) to deliver on their reusable plastic crate washing requirements.
RCI’s business model is based on a high volume of work, with a low margin. The business went through a buyout in late 2018, and new directors wanted to increase the efficiency of their operations, and therefore increase the profitability of the business.
The Challenge
The new directors of RCI were looking for a technology partner who could provide reliable infrastructure, as well as implement solutions to improve the operational efficiency of the business. Across their UK sites, most of their operations were running using spreadsheets, and the data was self-contained within each site. This caused problems with data accuracy, visibility, and integrity, and made reporting a very complex task.
They wanted to improve, simplify and centralise their foundational infrastructure, which encouraged better collaboration and more visibility within the business. That same infrastructure needed to also act as a platform to build automations, digitise processes and visualise their data. The model needed to be easily scalable if they expanded their operations to further sites.
The Solution
We proposed a cloud-first approach powered by Microsoft 365 to provide a stable, secure foundation for their operations. The first step we took with RCI was deploying dedicated leased line connections to all of the sites that didn’t already have one. This provided them with resilient internet connectivity so they could connect to their cloud services reliably, and at ultrafast speeds.
Next, we moved all of their critical infrastructure services to Microsoft 365 and Azure Active Directory. We migrated their files away from on-premise storage and into SharePoint, which we rolled out in conjunction with Microsoft Teams. Once all of the data was accessible across all of their sites, the individual site’s servers were decommissioned.
Once the foundational infrastructure was up and running, we used business analysts to understand exactly what was causing the efficiency problems in the business, and identify processes which needed automating and digitizing. We went on to build several Power Apps to modernize these processes and eliminate the spreadsheets, along with some Power BI dashboards for enhanced multi-site reporting.
"Emerge Digital understood our business goals and designed a set of best-in-class solutions in support of them. We’ve seen significant business improvements thanks to our new infrastructure – our employees are more productive, our systems are more reliable, and our Power BI dashboards have directly influenced our profitability. Emerge Digital have always put our goals at the heart of what they do."
Jon Graves, Managing Director - Ralph Coleman International
The Outcome
Running on infrastructure powered by the Microsoft cloud, RCI now have a strong foundation on which they can innovate and grow. Using ultrafast, dedicated internet connectivity, they can access Microsoft 365 – including SharePoint and Teams – which acts as a central hub for their digital operations.
Their new SharePoint file structure was designed to bring all of their data into one centralised location, which can be securely accessed from anywhere. Employees can spend less time searching for files and sharing them over emails, and more time on optimising the operations of the business.
RCI have been using Microsoft Teams – which is closely connected with their SharePoint structure – to collaborate across sites in a more productive manner. They’re able to chat to and call colleagues, find and edit files, view dashboards, and use bespoke apps all within Teams.
RCI are also benefitting with the advanced, enterprise-level cyber security features that Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses bring. Microsoft Defender for 365 is helping to guard RCI against viruses, spam, unsafe attachments, suspicious links and phishing attacks – reducing the risk of downtime and financial loss.
Having a fully cloud-based infrastructure on Microsoft 365 means that RCI have access to the Microsoft Power Platform. With Power Apps and Power BI, we created apps and dashboards that gave the management a better view at the utilisation of resources. Using this data, they were able to make important decisions which ultimately increased ulilisation, and therefore profitability.
