Firms waste millions on telecoms
Poor communications management and the lure of low-priced voice minutes could be causing UK firms to waste millions of pounds on unnecessary telephone calls and services, while holding back the adoption of voice over IP (VoIP), according to new research.
A survey of 1,200 UK corporates by Azzurri Communications suggests that businesses spend up to £240m a year on unnecessary telecoms equipment and line rentals. It found that employees waste large amounts of money on personal calls to friends, relatives and premium rate numbers. Meanwhile, six out of 10 firms pay inappropriate tariffs and nine out of 10 could save money by switching provider.
“Firms have got complacent about getting a low pence per minute tariff rather than managing user activity or controlling access,” said Jason Standerwick, Azzurri’s managing director for the central region.
He advised organisations to look for better deals in terms of line and equipment rental, and maintenance, the prices of which remain relatively high.
Virtual network operator (VNO) Sirocom believes that its new VoIP service can help firms avoid the need to lease separate voice and data packages from established carriers, and so can reduce communications costs by at least 17 percent.
Sirocom chief technology officer David MacFarlane said, “If a VNO can’t do voice as well as data it is only delivering half the benefits, because they represent a 50-50 cost spend.”
Recent research from Analysys suggests the UK lags behind the rest of Europe in the adoption of VoIP in the home, partly because analogue telephone calls in this country already cost so little.