SOLUT IONS

Get Get CONCONNECTEDNECTED!!!!

In thisissue:We discuss the problems businesses face with connectivity and explore solutions for a variety of situations.

Messagefrom the editor:CONTENTSpg3 | Message from the Editor

pg4 | The Contention of Connectivity

pg7 | Case Study - Bromak

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pg3Messagefrom the editor:

PHOTOOF

ADAM

During my time as director of Tandem Systems Ltd, I havefound that the best way to conduct business in the IT SolutionsIndustry is to create long-standing relationships with the peoplewe are helping - to know them as more than just a name withno face to put to it. That way, we can provide them with the bestservice possible, and become a valuable part of their business.We regularly review the needs of our clients and ensure theyare getting the most out of technology in order to benefit theirbusiness in the greatest way possible.

We are also un-paralleled in our field, as we offer inte-grated phone, computer, and security systems- everything is to-gether on the same network. Most of our competitors eitherdeal with just computers, or just phones, whereas we deal withboth. Therefore, all your business systems will run smoothlyand in sync with one another, saving you time, and stress - andfending off those grey hairs for a little longer!

Being partnered with some of the leading giants in Tech-nology World, we can pass onto our customers the great dealsthat they offer - some of which you’ll find later on in this issue.

We also understand that choosing the right business ITsystem to invest in can be a tricky task, since you don’t want tobe spending ridiculous sums of money on features you don’teven need and wouldn’t use. On the same score, you wouldn’twant a rubbish system that didn’t help towards your businessproductivity and ended up being a waste of money altogether.That is why Tandem will take the time to sit down and discusswith you the best option for your individual needs, and tailormake a solution to suit you.

If you are having any issues at the moment with your sys-tem’s connectivity, or just need advice on how best to approachthe development/reconstruction of your current system, ormaybe you want to start completely from scratch, please don’thesitate to contact me or any of the rest of the team on 01204860060, or you can email me at info@tandemsystems.co.uk.

Adam.

pg4The Contentionof Connectivity

Productivity and efficiencyare some of the main focusesof any business today, yet a lotof companies fail to understandhow important a role collabo-rating their IT systems (unifiedcommunications) play inachieving the best results inthese areas.

In a recent survey of firms withoutunified communication, 56% of the re-spondents reported that employees try-ing to reach a colleague simply guesswhich device to use and fail at the firstattempt. Nearly half of respondentsmissed a deadline or experienced proj-ect delay because of communicationproblems.

The way that unified communica-tion works is simple. It basically inte-grates your computer and phonesystems (utilising IP Telephony), con-necting people, information, and teams.It contains features such as HuntGroups (where a call is transferred auto-matically to a group of numbers, ratherthan just one, which ensures that if youare engaged or away from your desk,the caller will be put through to a num-ber of available lines, making sure theyare able to speak to a relevant person,and maintaining business); presence(so employees can see where col-leagues are and if they are available);

and you can even get voicemail mes-sages sent to your email.

If your business has numerousoffices/ branches, they can be con-nected using a Virtual Private Network(VPN), instead of the traditional ActualPrivate Network (APN). This way, youcan collaborate and share informationsecurely between all your offices, asthey’ll all be on the same network, andbranches in more remote areas willnever be left stranded. Therefore, wast-ing time sending files over by fax/emailwill be a thing of the past, as you cansimply access the information on thenetwork yourself. You can also workfrom home or on the move, and stillhave secure access to files and infor-mation stored on your company net-work, keeping you and your employeesconnected, and saving time.

Sprint Nextel havesaved $12.85 million withUnified Communications.

As well as increasing productivity,Unified Communications also helps tosave money. There are many differentareas in which it does this.

Having a telephony system whichruns using the internet (‘The Cloud’),means line-rental charges are abol-ished, which means you only have topay for the phone system itself, and theinternet (which most companies alreadydo). Also, IP phone systems are future-proof, in the sense that instead of hav-ing to purchase new hardware andhandsets every time the current ones

Quote: Sprint Nextel

pg5are out- dated by new technologies, youcan simply upgrade the software whichthe system runs on, keeping you up-to-date for a fraction of the cost.

VPN’s, which use a public network(usually the Internet) to connect remotesites or users together, are also a lotcheaper than their alternative. You coulduse leased lines such as ISDN (Inte-grated Services Digital Network). Altho-ugh these are reliable and secure, theyare also extremely expensive, with costsrising as the distance between officesincreases. With VPN, you keep the se-curity,with the use of current fire-wallsand anti-viruses; reliability, with theVPN’s back-up facility, and connectivity- the only thing you do lose is the pain inyour wallet at the end of the month!

In any case, it seems crazy in aworld where Recession is still dominant,with it’s grasping claws protruding intothe budgets of companies of all sizes,that some business owners are still re-luctant to even investigate the benefitsof system connectivity, collaboration,and having a system with a solid, well-developed infrastructure.

You’d think that everyone wouldvalue productivity, and the importance ofutilising their employees to the best oftheir ability; or even hold the essence ofTime in high esteem. Yet, a lot of peopleare still sticking to the old methods, pay-ing ‘out of the nose’ monthly for rocket-ing line rental; wasting precious timetrying and failing to communicate effi-ciently with each other using stone-agesystems; and pulling their hair out whenthe pre-historic technology fails!

It’s also astounding that when mostother areas of life are embracing the in-ternet in all it’s communicative glory,

with technologies ranging from thegood-old email, to more complicated so-cial networks such as Facebook, Twitter,and even Match.com, the systems inthe average workplace are poor in com-parison, even though this is where peo-ple spend most of their day, and wherethey actually need to be more produc-tive!

Unified Communicationsand Network Connectivity areclearly the future for any kindof industry. Hopefully, more and more busi-nesses will start realising it.

Jodie Williamson

Quote: Adam Warren, director of Tandem Systems

For Smalland MediumBusinesses

David Brooks, manager ofBromak Recruitment

It was 2010. Bromak, a recruit-ment consultancy who specialise in the‘built-up’ environment, were getting backon it’s feet (like the rest of the country)after a good few years of heavy, eco-nomical down-time. The construction in-dustry was starting to pick up, andDavid Brooks, the manager of Bromak,started to gather his energy for a full-steam-ahead dive back into the recruit-ment rat-race.

However, David knew the impor-tance of collaboration and connectivityin regards to his businesses IT systems.He needed his offices to be integratedwith one smooth, sophisticated solution,in order to increase his productivity, andmake his business the best that it possi-bly could be. David knew that heneeded Tandem Systems.

So, that’s when Bromak’s David,and Tandem’s Adam put their heads to-gether to develop the perfect IT solutionto suit all of David’s needs.

At Work