Monthly Archives: September 2021

You will see the phrase SoGEA used more and more but do you understand what it means and the benefits it can bring to your business? In this article we explain all and in plain English.

SoGEA stands for Single Order Generic Ethernet Access.

Now, you only need to place one order with Deep Blue for your broadband data service. Traditional phone line installation is not needed, which lowers your costs!

It delivers the same performance and data rates as FTTC broadband, using the same infrastructure and has the same geographic availability, future-proofing connectivity as the UK moves to an all-IP network.

The Benefits

Cut Costs

Because you are only paying for a broadband data connection, your monthly costs will be power as the landline rental cost is no longer included.

Deal with only one provider

With our SoGEA solution everything comes from us and you are no longer tied into a landline contract with someone else.

Increased reliability

We use an established network without the addition of a phone line so the chance of interference or an unstable connection is lower.

Great for homeworking

Having access to the same infrastructure as FTTC broadband gives you peace of mind that when you need to work at home, it won’t be the broadband holding you back!

Future-proof connectivity

The analogue network as we know it has reached its end of life. Everyone will be affected by the switch off, with many exchanges already under notice as the UK prepares for the move to full fibre.

Learn more about how streamlining your services could also save you money, call 0333 240 9100 or email theteam@deepbluetelecom.co.uk

With the Coronavirus (COVID-19 virus) rapidly halting the world of work as we knew it, we have seen many businesses looking at different ways to remain competitive.

It is every small businesses dream for their company to thrive in a competitive environment, therefore now so more than ever, businesses must move towards a more modern way of working to remain at the top of their game – whatever life throws at it.

Added to this, we’ll be saying goodbye to the old telephone network too when the switch off comes into effect. When you consider that 16 million lines and channels will need to be migrated to alternative products it’s worth starting to look at other options sooner rather than later. See our article on how hosted telephony works here

 Here are our 4 top tips…

1 – Consolidate communications

Landlines, mobile, voice, video, text… Look at consolidating and streamlining them, to deliver a consistent service to customers no matter how they make contact. One provider. One bill.

2 – Simplify collaboration

Empower your employees anywhere and everywhere by giving them tools that support collaborative working. The ability to share information and work on data together allows them to be more productive and helpful to your clients. 

3 – Think outside the office

The modern workforce is increasingly mobile, and you need reliable ways to stay connected with your team. Seamlessly communicate using the most appropriate channel at any given moment, no matter where you are in the world. It will also help you to meet employee demands for increased flexible working.

4– Free up IT budget for strategic projects

Take the opportunity to consider how much of your current IT spend is “dead money”, propping up systems that frustrate your employees and limit productivity. What is the cumulative cost of IT spend and lost productivity? This will help you properly quantify the benefits of future investment in comms and collaboration tools.

Conclusion

If you wish to remain competitive in this ever-evolving environment, your company will need to make some necessary changes. Or more specifically, the ability to embrace and support regular change, in line with shifting consumer demands and priorities. The backbone of any such system is your communications, the ability to keep data flowing wherever it is required – and to assist your team to work more effectively and efficiently.

Learn about the benefits and how your business can improve its communication. We offer a no-obligation quote, so what have you got to lose?

Call 0333 240 9100 or email theteam@deepbluetelecom.co.uk

Very few organisations can afford communications downtime.

A breakdown in telephony systems could disastrously hinder an organisations’ ability to deliver services to the public effectively, not to mention the potential damage to reputation and trust.

As the saying goes, ‘prevention is better than cure’. However, many underestimate the scale of their vulnerability to the failure of their communications systems and, as such, might not have disaster recovery plans in place to mitigate the potential damage.

Unscheduled downtime can happen for a number of reasons and disaster can strike at any time.

No-one could have envisaged the affect that the pandemic would have on our businesses, from restrictions to lockdown we really faced the ultimate unknown.

Meaning that planning for potential disruptions by analysing your tolerance for downtime is paramount.

The following questions will help you determine this and what you should consider for an effective disaster recovery solution.

What would happen if there was a power cut?

Power failures can bring an organisation to its knees, shutting down anything from computer servers and phones to lifts and heating. Consider which of your communications systems would be impacted by a loss of electricity, as these are much more common than you might expect, and how you’d ensure calls could still be answered during the disruption.

What would happen if the internet went offline?

Connectivity powers modern working. Most offices require the internet to access cloud-based tools that are key to productivity. How many of these are utilised by your organisation? Which fundamental services would you not be able to deliver without an internet connection and what backup provisions are already in place to mitigate this?

What would happen if a natural disaster struck?

Would you be able to continue to meet your customers needs if heavy rain, snow or winds temporarily closed your site? Would you be able to do so if conditions prevented staff from reaching the office? What remote working provisions do you have in place to enable staff to work productively away from the office?

What would happen if key staff were unavailable?

If only a small number of staff are responsible for handling the majority of calls that come into your organisation, then service could be massively compromised if they are not able to make it into the office. Transport difficulties, illnesses or industrial action can really interfere with meeting planned workloads, and there should be a contingency plan in place for this eventuality.

Understanding your own vulnerability is the first step

If these questions have thrown up some risks you weren’t previously aware of, you are not alone.

There are many organisations that do not have disaster recovery plans in place in the event of unscheduled downtime.

The best way to protect your organisation against this eventuality is to build ‘business as usual’ reliance into your communications solutions. There are a host of preventative measures to help you safeguard your business in the face of a catastrophe.

Call us on 0333 240 9100 and let’s get your business covered, whatever is thrown at you.

The term ‘communication’ is much broader than you may give it credit.

It’s more than talking to each other. Far beyond customer services and employee engagement, business communication embodies everything from your corporate branding to the ethos of your entire business.

Essentially, it’s so important because it’s in everything you do and deliver at once.

Communicating who you are, via carefully detailed brand messaging, builds trust with your customers and employees alike. However, you need to back this process up with an internal communication system that allows employees to sustain this trust externally.

The bottom line is that these internal business processes ultimately become how your business expresses itself. High levels of satisfaction and knowledge in your employees are reflected in their communication skills, whether through phone calls, emails or instant messaging platforms.

Just as communication is naturally within all of us, good communication tools are all around us, too. Once the ethos of good communication is established within a business, it might not take much change at all to channel it through the right tools.

Giving your business the right tools to succeed

Multiple communications channels, such as voice, video, personal and team messaging, voicemail, and content sharing platforms are now readily available, putting every member of staff, as well as every phone, smartphone and mobile device, within touching distance of instant connection to every customer, colleague and piece of equipment.

This technology essentially channels all of these through one platform which any worker in the company can access. As most businesses already operate with a combination of computers, phones and mobile phones, it’s a simple case of connecting them to the one platform.

Here is a snapshot of how we can help your business. As we build your communications to your specific needs you can be sure that you are delivering on all levels.

Telecoms and IT

Whether you want to move your existing services or require new ones to be installed, Deep Blue can project manage this for you.

Lines, SIP & VoIP

From physical to virtual, we have options to suit every need and budget.

Broadband, Internet and Data

From large Business Parks to a single user Home Office, we have a range of Broadband Services to suit all needs and budgets.

Managed Services

Fully integrated solutions. Lines, broadband, handsets and numbers. One provider, one bill.

Structured Cabling

From new installs to repair and maintenance

Mobile

With a range of options to suit all needs and budgets. One bill, one provider.

Need some advice? Call our friendly team on 0333 240 9100 who can discuss your requirements and assist with the right products to suit your needs.

Our managed services give you the confidence you need to choose and implement the right solutions for your business.

We have tried and tested our products to make sure they work together seamlessly to give you complete control over your telecoms whether you are a tradesperson who is out in a van all day, or a call centre with hundreds of seats.

Transform your company communications with expert guidance and ongoing support. Fully integrated solutions. Lines, broadband, handsets and numbers. One provider, one bill.

Great Features

End-To-End

Remove the burden of dealing with multiple technologies and access providers by relying exclusively on us to deliver an end-to-end solution.

Fully Managed

Take advantage of our guided managed services process that takes you through the procurement and roll out process step by step.

Support

Full support before, during and after your service is installed. From training to our out of hours emergency assistance.

Modernised Operations

Introduce modernisation that increases business performance, supports new work practises, consolidates services and more, all while reducing costs.

Enquire Now

The switch off timeline

• 2017 BT Openreach announces intentions to switch off the PSTN in 2025.
• 2019 BT Openreach strengthens the fibre network.
• 2023 Providers stop selling PSTN and ISDN products.
• 2025 PSTN completely phased out.

It’s important to note that although Openreach plans to stop allowing the connection of new PSTN services, like ISDN, from September 2023 in some areas this stop sell has already been rolled out.

Don’t get caught out!

What’s the alternative?

Voice over the Internet (VoIP) services uses your internet connection to transmit voice calls. This is a much better alternative to traditional landlines, and it will be the industry standard for years to come.

Hold on, I’m still not convinced. Why is VoIP better than traditional landlines?

VoIP solutions offer a range of advantages over traditional landlines. A VoIP solution is:

Scalable

It grows with your business and adjusts to your needs.

Flexible

It doesn’t tie you to a physical location.

Cost-effective

There are no initial and ongoing maintenance costs.

Futureproof

It won’t become obsolete for a long time.

It’s time to start planning your move to the future of business communications – the longer you wait, the more opportunities you’re missing out on.

We can help you transition to a VoIP phone system to help your business succeed. Give us a call today to discuss how we can help your business choose the right solution for your needs 0333 240 9100.

Find details on our Fantastic Offer for Yorkshire based companies here and see how you can claim your FREE VoIP system with Deep Blue.

Over the past 20 years, new technology has changed the way we do business. Today, the vast majority of companies are heavily reliant on the web – and that is not simply limited to large companies, with stats showing that 57 per cent of SMEs couldn’t function without it. 

One of the key barriers identified is connectivity, with slow internet connections stopping companies from doing what is best for them. Whether it is embracing cloud computing or implementing an internet-based phone system, companies are confined by ill-equipped internet connections.

One in five businesses in the UK suffer with an unreliable internet connection

THE CHALLENGE

Phones have remained a constant in businesses for decades, but the availability of faster broadband has seen a shift towards Voice over IP (VoIP) systems. Run over the internet, VoIP is a high quality option which allows businesses to consolidate their communications over one line, which can significantly reduce costs. 

However, as VoIP services are web-based that means they are entirely reliant on the quality of your connection. So if you have a slow connection or are prone to dropouts, you can expect patchy calls – not much fun for people on either end of the phone. Latency is another infuriating issue, with people frequently talking over each other due to a delay in the transfer of information on the line. 

If you’re reliant on the internet to do business then it’s natural that poor connectivity will have a detrimental effect, and with UK businesses clocking up 149 million hours of internet downtime each year, there is a staggering £11bn worth of lost productivity.

For many using VoIP services, these exasperations with your internet connection will be all too familiar.

But why are businesses so willing to accept these frustrations? And how can it be fixed?

The proportion of businesses where day-to-day operations grind to a halt completely when connectivity fails is 38%

OUR SOLUTION

If you are planning on switching to VoIP – or have already done so and are being plagued by problems due to a slow or unreliable connection – then the solution is simple.

Full-fibre internet connectivity is available now and is by far the fastest technology available for companies in your area.

You can expect speeds of up to 1000Mbps – and when you consider that 1.5million UK businesses suffer with speeds less than 10Mbps, the difference is night and day.

But it’s not simply just a case of superior speed. With full-fibre, there is also greater reliability as the higher capacity bandwidth can easily deal with the strain that often proves too much for standard internet connections. And with increased reliability comes greater staff productivity – and far fewer ‘head in hands’ moments.

With increased reliability comes greater staff productivity, expect speeds of up to 1000Mbps

THE IMPACT

With the support of full-fibre internet connectivity, your VoIP service will be noticeably more robust. You’ll no longer have to worry about lags ruining the flow of conversations, and dropouts will be consigned to the past. In short, you will move from a patchy service to one which is seamless.

The buffering stops here!

Crucially, you will be able to confidently access the many additional benefits it offers. Whether it is video conferencing or sales driven tracking and statistics, VoIP can be a huge help to businesses – but only if the infrastructure is in place to allow it to succeed.

Entire offices will be able to switch to cheaper, business-friendly VoIP systems – and with those who switched from standard phone services saying it has saved 35 per cent on costs, there is a genuine impact on your bottom line.

In short, a superior internet connection lets you make the most of latest technologies – and allows you to put your money to work elsewhere. 

To find out how full-fibre connectivity could benefit your business and how to get it, call us on 0333 240 9100 or click here to register your details for a call back