SPECIAL REPORT aches phase of maturity
and physical attacks. “This environment is designed to offer maximum security which can offer great piece of mind to the end user looking for business continuity and a facility that would simply not be available in-house,” added Grant. “Call recordings are accessible only by the customer. As a managed service, resellers are provided with a great revenue model, attractive to the customer by providing a cost-effective, capex-light solution.”
As a hosted solution, Replay is particularly suited to multi- site networking where calls are frequently transferred to different locations such as homeworkers and third party call centres. “By deploying the solution over a robust Next Generation Network (NGN), resellers can be confident in their proposition,” added Grant.
The issues around storage and network bandwidth when selling call recording solutions within a multi- site environment are not lost on Simon Whatley, Director, Tollring. “We sell both options, but after discussing their needs in detail we find that most of the customers we come into contact with tend to choose the on-premise option, with multi-site access, rather than multi-site centralised recording,” he explained.
“This is because it gives them local control yet still with multi-site access, rather than creating storage and bandwidth issues by transferring all call recordings to a central data repository. The bottom line is, most companies that record calls never need to listen to all
of them. They just need to search for a specific recording or sample of recordings. So the need to transfer high volumes of data is simply not there as they can just stream the recordings on an as-required basis. Having said that, when we do meet clients who have concerns with this approach, for example due to resilience issues at local sites, then of course we can also recommend the alternative solution, but it all comes down to what’s right for the customer and having the right product knowledge to make the best recommendation.”
The solution which any self-respecting reseller proposes has to be the right one for the customer’s business, taking current and future requirements into account. A cheaper product which does not address the business needs of the customer will ultimately lead to dissatisfaction in both the product and its supplier, regardless of whether it appeared to be a good deal at the time.
Gaining trust
“At the other end of the scale, any temptation to up-sell to the point where features are recommended which the customer simply doesn’t need, in order to push up the sale price and so the margin, will again ultimately lead to mistrust and loss of potential future business,” added Whatley. “It’s always better to meet the customer’s needs accurately and to clearly demonstrate that you have understood their situation and have taken the time to propose a solution which balances cost against functionality, in the
context of their individual business requirements.”
Manchester-based In Call Solutions (ICS) specialises in cloud-based call recording and can provide inbound and outbound at network level. “With cloud-based solutions there is a cheap entry point as customers do not need to invest in hardware,” said Steve Glaister, Sales Director. “We benefit most when resellers can demonstrate how this already low cost solution can save prospective customers money in the long run. It is crucial that resellers have an in-depth understanding of the products they are selling and are able to demonstrate how the right products can make significant cost savings. It’s equally important for them to have a thorough understanding of the type of business they are selling to.”
ICS offer network and cloud- based call recording that is managed through a web portal. “We have found that our most successful resellers have greyed the areas between where a cloud- based service finishes and a PBX-based service starts,” said Glaister. “This has given them the opportunity to offer lower end hardware while also offering the facilities of a top end switchboard. The obvious advantage to this is that while money and credit is still tight, the end customer gains a switchboard with the functions that they could only previously wish for, but does not need to lease at a high monthly cost.”
Looking to the future, network and cloud-based recording is the way it will go, claims Glaister. “At ICS we have seen a huge growth
in the percentage of calls being recorded, which now tops 25 per cent. When we launched in 2006 this figure was less than five per cent. Obviously end users will always need some form of hardware to make the call on. But the solutions will be in the cloud and not on the premises, perhaps bundled with SIP hardware. This will keep a customer’s costs down while we are still in a poor economic climate.”
Centralisation No skills are required from end user and installer as it is all in one place. This cuts back on downtime as new systems are installed, and reduces the amount of time spent on staff training, particularly important in smaller businesses and start-ups, notes Glaister. “As the solution is 100 per cent web-based it means a salesperson can walk into the customer with no bag and has the ability to demonstrate products on the customer’s own equipment,” he said. “This really gives power to the salesperson demonstrating how quickly and easily the products can be deployed.”
By using cloud solutions multi-site call recording solutions become more viable and remove storage and network bandwidth issues, claims Glaister. “Adding cloud-based IVR routing has allowed functionality that was traditionally held at a single site, to be altered so that it is held over the entire company,” he said. “Fifteen years ago, every company would have a receptionist sitting at the front desk of the building taking the inbound calls. Five years ago, the receptionist
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had moved into the main body of the company and calls were received there. Today the receptionist can be somewhere else in the country and forward the calls from their home, or even their mobile. Resellers can address this by opening their minds and understanding how easy it is to offer this opportunity. If they carry on selling hardware to multi- sites they will soon come up against competitors selling cloud based services.”
Liquid Voice has been active in the multi-site recording arena for some time. “There are a plethora of scenarios we cater for from centralised storage to synchronising data between sites and everything in between,” said Chris Berry, Director. “We have customers utilising our multi- site technology from across as few as two sites, right up to over a hundred. Wide Internet bandwidth makes this all the more feasible these days. We see huge value in enabling information to be made available to any location within the company and even externally.”
Liquid Voice advises its resellers to be as consultative as possible during the sales process. “This approach provides the customer with the best possible fit and enables the reseller to tease out from the client additional opportunities for value added sales,” added Berry. “Resellers need to have a thorough understanding of call recording and associated solutions and be aware of all of the various opportunities to provide a fit that will not only satisfy client expectations but also provide additional valued added revenue streams.”
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