Mobiles come of age

Today employees, particularly those in the business sector, have become more and more mobile, working in and out of the office and requiring greater amounts of flexibility in their day.

However, while employees are out of the office they also need to keep in touch with key contacts and customers. Modern telecommunications has enabled people in different positions, and in different kinds of working environments and jobs, to work from any location as long as they have an internet connection. This flexibility has had a significant impact on the way the nation works.

Enabling access to the office environment while away from the office has given many more workers the opportunity to benefit from flexible hours to accommodate lifestyles outside of their job. However, one thing that has prohibited staff from being completely mobile is their desk phone and the ties to an office landline number. As fixed-line phones are stuck to a desk it has meant that customer calls can be missed if employees are not in the office to answer their phone. Additionally, employees have had the hindrance of handing out two phone numbers - their office landline number and mobile - if they want to be reached.

Until recently, using mobile handsets for working purposes was perceived as too expensive to handle all office calls. The reality is that mobile is now a cost-effective alternative to the office phone system and companies are increasingly adopting them as their main form of voice communication even in the office.

As the office environment changes - with both technology and they way we work - it is now the fixed-line element of communication that is becoming complex and expensive. With new mobile tariffs on the market, mobile-to-mobile calls have become the cheapest and most convenient form of communication.

Over the last few years small to medium sized businesses have been promised cheap (sometimes even free), easy-to-use, reliable telephony by VoIP, but most vendors or service providers have failed to deliver on this promise. Businesses have been left with a telephony bill that has increased, high upfront investments, sizable ongoing costs for technical staff and worst of all, poor call quality (sometimes unacceptably so). With this being the case why have businesses not gone totally ALLmobile?

Working without fixed-line phones
Even with one office number and a range of extensions which route directly to employee desk phones, smaller businesses still need to come across as slick, without the risk of dropping or missing phone calls.

By going ALLmobile a company, even one too small for a receptionist, can be contacted wherever they are. It does not have to be expensive to introduce an ALLmobile communication system because in today's mobile environment employees already have a mobile handset. No hardware or software is required and it enables employees to be ‘in the office' from anywhere. There is no need for separate phone numbers for office and mobile as the user has just one number, and mobile phone features can be the same as those on a desk phone.

The key difference to a fixed-line telephony system is that every call is directed, at no cost and in real-time, to the user's mobile phone over a GSM mobile network of choice, rather than over the office fixed-line telephony network to a desk phone. Standard features of this type of service include a local phone number for reception, customisable voice menus, recorded greetings, music and a software-based switchboard.

This type of service is flexible and future-proof, providing several plug-ins and extensions to enhance the basic phone system. In addition, there is no need for a communications equipment room, a service or maintenance contract, support engineers or fixed handsets on every desk. Moreover, moving desks or even offices becomes simple as there is no need to uproot office networks and change over fixed-line phones. In fact:

• There is no need for kit, or technical staff. The entire infrastructure of an ALLmobile solution means there is hardware or software so there is no need to install, maintain or upgrade any phone system. No grey boxes with wires coming out of the back, no cables, no technical complexity. No engineers, no missed installation slots or spare parts, not even phones on your desks: just the mobile
• Mobile calls without mobile charges. Let's face it, more staff are working outside the office environment, so redirecting calls without having to pay dearly is a good option. This is cheaper than ringing a mobile from a landline
• Quick and easy to install. The web-based system can be provisioned and activated instantly online in less than 10 minutes
• New business phone solution without additional costs or research and development. Businesses can convert from fixed-line business to mobile simply and cheaply.

Over recent years it has been well documented that employees are more productive when they are mobile, being able to take calls and do business anytime and anywhere as long as they have a laptop, high speed internet and a mobile phone connected to the office. After all, things happen in life and there will be occasions when employees cannot make it into the office.

By being ALLmobile employees can continue working if they can and be more productive. It also means that employees spend less time checking office voicemails, leads to less angry messages from customers chasing for information and more time spent where it matters. Overall, the entire business can achieve more.

Francois Mazoudier is chief executive of GoHello