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Well the festive season is over and 2009 is certainly underway here at Data Mobility Voice as I am sure it is in your businesses.

I wanted to share with you in this blog an interesting conversation I had with a prospective customer earlier this week.  The company is a small accounting firm here in Adelaide and as they are not a customer of DMV yet I will keep them nameless for this blog.

The accounting firm is moving premises in March of this year and has commenced the search for a new telephone system for their new building and are looking at several makes and models gathering information.  Interestingly the ‘spec’ for the system is basically exactly what they have today and this person is simply in the initial phase of getting quotes on that spec.

Upon receipt of the spec and a request for quote, we contacted the company and said our preference is to meet key personnel of the business, find out how they operate and provide them with a demonstration of the various options and technology available that they could consider for their new building.

They questioned as to why they need to go to all of that trouble... during my explanation on how we do things here at DMV I said it is like... “would you buy a new car without test driving it?”

Not an analogy I have used really before, but when we discussed through it, it has some real merit that I wanted to share with you.

A new telephone system is major purchase for any business no matter what size and the options are very wide and varied, making the right choice for your business should result in a better solution than the old one. Most importantly delivering increased efficiencies, cost savings and enable employee productivity increases within your business.

So if you are considering purchasing a new telephone system in 2009 here is first tip that I hope will help...

 Insist on a demonstration.  I feel it is really important that key people within your business are comfortable with the technology and the user interface.  A good quality demonstration that shows all the features and functionality of the system, conducted by a solution provider that is truly comfortable with the technology (and preferably walking the walk by using it within their business) is just like test driving a car... it will give you the chance to get a good feel for the product and for the solution provider to ensure they are a good fit for your business and your communication needs for years to come. 

Stay tuned for more tips on choosing the right system for your business in weeks to come.

For those of you that know me, increasing productivity, implementing efficiencies and driving profitability are three things that I am passionate about every business striving to achieve. So when working with our staff here internally in their quest to do the same things for you in your businesses, I am constantly saying, it is not about the technology, it is about what the technology can do for you that matters. 

There is no better time than now... for as we prepare to enter 2009 with tougher global economic markets I believe that these 3 points are essential to get right in all of our businesses. So I thought that I would share my top two communications and technology tips to help you to continue to prosper in the year ahead....

1. I am a firm believer that ‘work is what you do not where you go’. There is so much technology out there to assist with remote workers, home workers, and workers out on the road to increase their efficiency and productivity and decrease the amount of wasted time in a day such as coming back to the office or depot. Not to mention that as Managers and Business owners not being tied to the office yourselves is the key to that ever elusive work life balance which is another one of my passions, but I won’t get carried away on that right now! 

2. Analyse and consolidate your communications bills... this is particularly relevant for small and medium business, where even saving a few hundred dollars per month on your communications bills is worth doing. I know that there are so many options out there and it is often confusing, but there is a lot of money to be saved and efficiencies to be made within your businesses with options like free calls between your office and mobiles fleets, mobile extension technology, and of course use of Mobile Broadband (Next G™) and Voice Over IP technologies. It is not always about saving cold hard cash on a phone bill or getting the cheapest deal, but about looking at how you can increase communication efficiency and employee productivity that can really affect the bottom line of your business. 

We are proud at Data Mobility Voice to have a long list of customers that have saved in labour costs, increased productivity and consolidated communication bills this year and I know that they will be reaping the rewards of that in tougher times ahead.

In closing, should you feel that Data Mobility Voice could assist your business as you strive towards the magic three things of increasing productivity, implementing efficiencies and driving profitability in 2009... please contact any one of our highly skilled team here at Data Mobility Voice, or email/blog me directly here at any time.

Wishing you a very happy and safe festive season