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DATASHARP TELECOM

0845 620 9707 ds@dstelecom.co.uk
news
Welcome to the Autumn edition of Comms News. The Datasharp group keeps on going from strength to strength and has recently expanded into channel distribution as a bolt-on to its core telephone systems business, opening a state-of-the-art warehouse facility in Redruth, Cornwall. This marks a significant milestone in the history of the company and should have a positive reaction on our price and supply models for all our new and existing customers.

As always we continue to seek out new cost-effective and innovative telecom solutions and have also recently welcomed a new IP communication solution from the American company, ShoreTel.

We talk about reducing your telephone bills using a facility called least cost routing through our BT wholesale partner status. We also thought it worth bringing to your attention a recent spate of voicemail hacking which may require your attention.

Please contact us if there is anything else we can help you with. Look forward to speaking with you soon.


Mark Wilson
Managing Director





SHORETEL – IP communications


ShoreTel’s pure IP telephony solutions deliver performance, reliability and value – with no surprises.

Across industries, companies of all sizes are embracing Unified Communications – the integrated delivery of voice, data and video – to accomplish four critical goals: improve employee productivity, integrate the communication system into business processes, deliver communication services with superior reliability and availability, and reduce capital and operating expenditures.

ShoreTel helps you achieve all these goals, and more. Incorporating a switch-based hardware platform, the ShoreTel distributed architecture makes each switch and site an independent call processor that continues to operate seamlessly in the event of wide area network (WAN) failure.

Datasharp has recently become partners of ShoreTel whose pure IP system is particularly good for multi-site and multi-country businesses or companies requiring a high degree of resilience.




NEW Datasharp Distribution

Datasharp head office is proud to announce that it has recently expanded into channel distribution through the opening of a state-of-the-art warehouse in Redruth, Cornwall.

We have entered into distribution agreements with all our main suppliers and are now fully operational. “What does this mean to us?” you may ask; well this means that you should now see reductions in cost and quicker delivery times as we effectively will have large quantities of products in stock and will be in a position to ship relatively quickly.

Our shift from reseller to distributor/reseller has come about because of our very strong position as one of the largest independent telecoms companies operating in the UK and reflects our continued focus on giving customer satisfaction and cost-effectiveness to all our clients. We look forward to offering more and more choice to our customers through our even closer ties with the manufacturers.





Voicemail Hacker Update

There has been a recent increase in hacking incidents whereby companies that have substitute number functionality on their voicemail systems have reported hackers dialling into their systems and changing the number routing option on voicemails to dial a premium rate telephone number.

The hacker then generates a multitude of calls to the office during out-of-hours causing the voicemail to forward the call to the newly created out-of-office telephone number and as a result can rack up an enormous phone bill which has been known to be as high as £10,000 in one case. In order to combat the potential threat of this happening, we strongly advise that the generic password that the voicemail system comes with should be changed as soon as possible which will deter the hacker being able to access the set-up stage in the first instance.





Least Cost Routing (LCR)

"How can I reduce my telephone bill?"

By transferring your line rentals and calls to Datasharp Network Services you can usually reduce your costs and get the same call quality as if you were directly with BT Retail.

Do you provide a 1st class quality service?

We partner directly with BT Openreach so calls are carried end-to-end over the BT network, thus providing a quality service without any 3rd party carrier problems.

How can you cut down my call charges?

Our buying power with BT Openreach, coupled with our lower overheads, means we can pass on significant savings in call costs and line rentals.

Are there any minimum specifications you require on my telephone system?

NO! As long as you have BT installed lines we can route the calls for you. AND your BT numbers will be retained.

How long does it take for connection?

After we receive your signed agreement and Direct Debit mandate, it takes about 10-15 working days for your lines to go live. You will receive a letter from BT stating the switch-over date.

How much does it cost me to sign up for this service?

NOTHING!! It’s totally FREE to sign up with Datasharp Network Services so call us today.





Are You Laying Yourself Open to a PRS Prosecution?

The Performing Rights Society (PRS) are now starting to target smaller businesses that do not have a licence to play music in public. This includes playing radios and music on hold. Most businesses want to have some music on hold so what are your options to avoid the need for paying for a licence?

If you are using a CD Player then we can provide copyright-paid special music on hold CDs which have a range of middle-of-the-road music with and without reassurance messages for £29.90


An alternative to having CD players which are prone to stopping unawares is to have a solid state device with a USB port which we can supply for £299 – this has the advantage that it can be loaded with fully scripted and customised programmes. 

Any business with a Siemens HiPath phone system with integrated Xpressions voicemail can use one of the free Siemens music files to play music on hold, create their own WAV files or have a customised program previously mentioned.





What we Can Supply

Just a reminder of some of the main additional items and applications we provide:

  • Headsets both wired and wireless.
  • Audio Conference Phones – suitable for all sizes of meeting rooms.
  • DECT Cordless Phones
  • Call Logging – to help manage the business better.
  • Conversation Recording – important when critical orders are taken by phone.
  • CTI – to integrate with your computer system for dial out and screenpop.
  • Uninterrupible Power Supplies – avoid loss of business when the power goes down.
  • Marketing on Hold – make the most of the time that callers are on hold.
  • Broadband including ADSL Max and SDSL.
  • SIP Trunking – for linking office and remote workers.




Customer News

Our longstanding customer, the Samaritans, have now upgraded their telephone system to the latest all IP Siemens HiPath OpenOffice system which provides them with ‘presence’ information, integration with Outlook and sophisticated voicemail amongst the benefits.

Intavent Orthofix, a growing diversified company that offers a broad range of minimally invasive surgical and non surgical products in Spine, Reconstruction, Trauma, Orthopaedics, Anaesthesia and Mother & Baby, has upgraded their Nortel BCM to connect their new warehouse using Voice over IP phones.


October 2008 - Datasharp Channel Distribution is launched at a new state-of-the-art warehouse facility in Redruth, Cornwall with Siemens as its tentpole manufacturing partner.

December 2007 - Datasharp becomes one of Siemens test sites for the new HiPath OpenOffice system

March 2007 - Datasharp wins Nortels top SMB Achiever award for the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

April 2006 - Datasharp launch 'Hosted IP Services'. All you need is an IP phone, or softphone on your laptop, and a Broadband connection to operate anywhere in the world.

March 2006 - Datasharp Group win Siemens 'Customer Care' award for the fouth time

September 2005 - Datasharp gain Gold Solutions Partner accreditation with Nortel Networks for SME IP Telephony with the BCM range. That makes Datasharp one of only two such companies in Europe; the other being BT.

March 2005 - Datasharp Group win Siemens 'Customer Care' award for the third time

September 2004 - Datasharp become the first organisation to sign an agreement with BT Indirect Channels for the promotion of BT products and services, including line provision and end to end routing of calls over the BT network.

June 2004 - Datsharp win the Siemens 'Dealer of the Year' award

May 2004 - Datasharp customer Trials Latest Siemens IP Cards & Phones
KPOS Computer Systems acted as trial site for the new HG1500 version 3 IP cards and new OptiPoint 410 IP phones. Also taking the IP phones were BMW UK and Deutsche Bank.

February 2004 - What to Buy for Business awards Siemens 'Best Buy 2004'
Siemens have won 'Best Buy for Business 2004' with their HiPath 540, HiPath 3500, 3550, 3700 and 3750 systems

November 2003 - Siemens launch 'OpenScape'
Developed in conjunction with Microsoft, it is real time communication software designed to boost personal and workgroup productivity. It can help eliminate telephone tag, manage availability, eliminate e-mail trails and provide workgroup collaboration by controlling the various means of communication under a portal with a single virtual contact number.

August 2003 - 192 Directory Enquiry Service ends.
BT's monopoly on directory enquiries has ended. Several companies have been licenced to provide competing services under 118 numbers. For a full list of providers go to www.newdirectoryenquiries.com Further information is also provided in our Autumn newsletter.

July 2003 - Samsung launch their IP enabled business phone systems called OfficeServ. This is designed not only for companies with multi-sites but also for those wanting to provide IP down to the desk.

December 2002 - Datasharp have supplied three videoconferencing systems to Apollo Fire Detectors in Havant, Hampshire to enable them to have 'visual' links with their offices in Germany and USA.

November 2002 - Datasharp awarded Siemens 'Customer Care' award for the second year running. This prestigious award recognises the high level of care and support we provide our customers.


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