We are delighted to welcome Hayley on board as Business Development Manager. Hayley brings a wealth of expertise with her background in fixed and mobile communications and Customer Relationship Management.


Slash costs with online call system. IPcell offers 40pc savings to SMEs

Technology company IPcell has launched a broadband-based telecoms system, which could cut communication costs for SMEs by 40 per cent.

IPoffice suite has been purpose-built for businesses with up to 250 employees and provides a secure communications networking system accessible from multiple locations.

The technology, which works in conjunction with Microsoft Outlook and Internet Explorer, allows companies to connect all of their present phone systems within one secure central network.

Cisco originally developed the technology for large corporations with multiple locations, and IPcell is now offering the system to SMEs for the first time as a managed package.

The system, which works on a similar principle to online telephone service Skype, allows companies to network its staff from anywhere in the world via the internet.

Managing director of Livingston-based IPcell, Alasdair Rhodes, said: "I was originally working for Cable and Wireless doing IP management services for large businesses.

"I saw a general shift away from the small business market for this kind of technology but thought there was scope for a smaller version of the IP communications systems already being used by large companies.

"Cisco has been developing this technology for a long time, and they have invested $2billion developing the smaller version, which now incorporates voice, data and video technology in one box.

"For small business with one or more locations, this system can easily replace existing fixed telephone extensions with roving internet-based connections on a secure private network.

"So, it no longer matters where you are, everyone is connected and customers can be transferred to that person free of charge, so it is aperfect system for a remote workforce."

IPoffice claim SMEs can also make significant reductions in the cost of line rental, equipment maintenance and support charges. Users can work from any WiFi location anywhere in the world, with free access to company data and free phone calls from their office extension.

Rhodes said the system is perfect for small companies due to the ease of adding or reducing the number of users on the network while cutting landline and mobile call costs.

He said: "The typical cost of adding a new phone line and setting up a new user is in the region of £100 per user, so if you have 20 or 30 staff moving in any given year the costs are significant.

"This system cuts those costs because of the ease in which a network can be updated, and that provides flexibility in moving and adding new staff.

"With this system, you just pick up your PC or laptop, plug it in and you're back on the network.

"Any changes in personal details held on the system can be updated by one user, which is then instantly available to all users on the network.

"Setting up a new office requires a broadband connection and router, and once new extension numbers are set up it's up and running with instant access into the central directory.

"But employees don't even have to be in the office any more to access information because they have the same access at home as they would have were they sitting at their desk."

By Scott Mcculloch Business7


Scots software firms making the most of 3G iPhone and AppStore

A LIVINGSTON-BASED technology firm is aiming to capitalise on the success of iPhone software downloads retailer AppStore by launching a business tool on the platform in tandem with Cisco Systems.

IPcell and Cisco are teaming up to launch Cisco VPN Client, which enables businesses to access information about their customers confidentially.

It comes as Adventi, an IT services group based in Bellshill, launched a competition for students to develop AppStore applications after Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said earlier this month that the platform had become a huge success since the launch of the 3G iPhone and would soon turn over $1billion (£533m) a year.
advertisement

Alasdair Rhodes of IPcell said that Cisco VPN Client was designed to allow workers to access details about customers or other business information securely over their iPhones. It is primarily aimed at small businesses, since most large enterprises will buy similar services as part of a much larger communications package. IPcell is providing the connectivity application.

The service, which launches next month and will also be available over certain Nokia smartphones, is one attempt to make AppStore and the iPhone more popular with the business community. Due to concerns about things like security, the previous lack of 3G and the need to use the consumer-oriented iTunes on desktop computers to communicate with the handsets, businesses have thus far been relatively wary of the devices. This is reflected by the fact that of the 1500 software applications to download, the top 10 include disco ball download Crazy Disco, a Wikipedia viewer and Texas Hold'Em poker.

"The iPhone is very popular among consumers, but not as a business tool," said Rhodes. "Apple is trying to make it more like a BlackBerry, and we are expecting a lot of interest in our product."

Advent's competition is a response to the fact that AppStore development in Scotland has been slow off the mark, aside from the IPcell launch. This is despite the fact that Apple offers a 50-50 revenue split with developers for all sales over the platform.

Eddie Chance, chief executive of Adventi Group, explained: "Young people know what the iPhone is; they use it and they're excited by it because it brings together many of the things that interest and motivate them, be that music, social networking, games and so on. We want to show them that they can build a career around this."

The competition offers the winner the chance to work with Adventi to commercialise their product.

By Karen Peattie and Steven Vass Sunday Herald