An estimated 72% of UK small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are always mobile, but can’t always be available.
‘Notspots’ of poor reception throughout Britain are so widespread that UK Members of Parliament are calling for sweeping change to regulation to make it easier for users to freely roam between networks to gain the strongest signal – something that TeleWare’s Business Anywhere reportedly already provides.
A reported 525 locations around the country have non-existent cellular coverage and around 17 million people who are unable to use mobile devices at home. Interestingly, foreign visitors to the UK may be in a better position than local workers. Overseas SIMs with roaming equipped are not tied down to any one network. They can therefore switch to find the strongest signal.
Steve Haworth, CEO TeleWare said, “We’re extremely pleased that the seriousness of the mobile notspot issue is being recognised by Parliament and we’re very supportive of the work being done by the British Infrastructure Group, led by the Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP.
There would be a national outcry if businesses had to choose their offices based on where they could gain access to critical IT systems and it shouldn’t be the case that being unable to connect via mobile affects agile working habits either. It’s also amazing that people visiting the UK may be able to work more efficiently than the businesses that form the backbone of our economy.
“We’re doing our part to make sure that businesses can stay connected and continue working—wherever they are. By using Business Anywhere, companies can rest assured that they will be available to take and place crucial calls,” he added.
At the heart of Business Anywhere is its multi-network SIM. While there is often no problem with mobile connectivity in the office, notspots around the country can mean that it is difficult to connect from home or on the move. By finding the strongest signal, users can remain connected and enjoy a full range of TeleWare functions to maintain office-level functionality wherever they are.
Business Anywhere is a mobile package that combines a number of TeleWare’s products, including cloud call recording and instant conferencing. Customers can also access Office 365 to maintain access to all-important documents, mobile apps and cloud services. Device-agnostic, Business Anywhere is simple, flexible and scalable—as businesses grow, so does Business Anywhere. ‘Build your own’ packages mean that users can tailor the service to the company, as well as individual users’ needs.
Andrew Fawcett, product manager, TeleWare said, “It’s a stark fact that businesses are losing out due to areas where they just can’t connect. With conversion rates of inbound calls to sales at around 30 – 50% and the conversion rate of web leads at around 2%, companies simply can’t afford to miss calls because of poor connectivity.
By being able to remain connected and taking full advantage of the opportunities agile working provides, UK businesses can save around 9.4 million hours by using mobile to make them more productive.
Notspots are a national problem and we’re happy to be providing a solution that can help alleviate their impact and facilitate efficient and seamless mobile working. We’re looking forward to working with new and existing partners in the national rollout of the service.”
Key product functions:
- Multi-network SIM which supplies users with a single number for all their calls and data, together with an advanced, intelligent SIM card which detects and connects to the strongest signal from the UK’s leading networks
- Cloud call recording which is device agnostic and provides secure, cloud-based recording of: fixed-line voice calls, mobile. This allows storage and easy retrieval of important call data for compliance, governance and customer experience purposes
- Instant conferencing with a simple and fast ‘click to join’ function which allows users to conduct conference calls anywhere, anytime with full conference call facilities. TeleWare’s Instant Conferencing allows scheduled and impromptu meetings for up to 40 participants with the option to record calls
- Alternative contacts to improve answer rates by allowing Business Anywhere users to divert calls to a colleague, a team or a personalised voicemail message when unavailable. A whisper function announces who the call was originally intended for.
- Fixed-line features which provide a choice of numbers which can be presented as geographic or non-geographic Calling Line Identity (CLI), with the option to promote low-rate and free numbers where appropriate.
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