The Hindu Business Line : More isn’t merrier

At UK major British Telecom’s (BT) Asia-Pacific Media Day 2008 event in Hong Kong, the invitees were exchanging calling cards. This did not seem strange or unusual, until BT’s General Manager (Portfolio and Partnership), Nathan Bell, after giving a cursory look at this writer’s card said: “oh! So you have two landline numbers (office and home), a mobile, fax and what more?”

While most of us believe that having more than one number is a great way to stay connected, the BT official says “technological complexity can hinder business growth. And this is a challenge that most do not know how to deal with.”

When trying to reach a person, most people would obviously give the first shot on the mobile, despite the ‘user busy, please try later’ or ‘the number you are trying to reach is currently switched off’ deterrents. And then the landline, notwithstanding similar results.

“When employees have multiple devices, contact numbers and voicemail systems, time is often wasted in trying to contact colleagues and access corporate information, instead of doing business,” says Nathan.

Stating that a complex mix of mobile and fixed communication services could be a barrier to increasing productivity and enhancing customer service, he explained how BT’s Corporate Fusion strategy combined the best features of fixed and mobile communications in a single device.

“Employees can have one phone number, one voice mail and a single point of access to the corporate directory and other PBX services, whether inside or outside the office. When the employee is in office, his calls are routed using Wi-Fi and Voice over IP to the organisation’s fixed communication network. When he moves away from wireless coverage, his calls can switch seamlessly to a standard GSM mobile network, without the user noticing a difference in performance.”

Wasting time and effort

Studies show that 48 per cent of enterprises view mobile strategy as a key enabler for driving growth, but at least 25 per cent of these experience project delays, missed deadlines and loss of business due to inefficient communications.

It has also been revealed that employees spend up to two hours everyday managing different devices, calling multiple numbers, leaving messages and checking multiple voicemail systems. And around 30 per cent of employees use their mobile as the primary communications device in office.

BT is in the process of launching this convergence solution in Asia. The service is being initially introduced in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia next month.

It is to be rolled out in Japan and Korea in the subsequent months. The solution supports both GSM and CDMA settings, is PABX vendor and mobile operator-agnostic.

“End users can use their existing phones as long as they are BT Corporate Fusion-compliant. It is not a threat but an opportunity for mobile operators. There is a need to educate people on the impact of this service,” Nathan says.

lnr@thehindu.co.in

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