Expanding IT operator completes office switch

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An IT firm has moved to new offices to support expansion plans.

Razorblue is now based on Stockton’s Riverside. Bosses say the site – which replaces a previous Teesside hub – provides room for more than 100 staff, with space for planned new arrivals and a recentlylaunched apprenticeship academy.

Dan Kitchen, chief executive at the business, which expects to hit £13 million turnover this year, said: “Having outgrown our previous base, we took the opportunity to find a space that offered more to our people.

“Stockton has excellent transport links, has more in the way of venues for social events for our team, and it is a far larger premises to support growth.

“We are thrilled to have made this move and look forward to spending many years here as our exciting journey continues.”

The company operates from seven offices, which include its headquarters in Catterick, North Yorkshire, and sites in Newcastle, London and Scotland.

New partnership aims to bolster performance

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A digital operator has formed a Finnish alliance to improve user experiences.

Newcastle-headquartered whyaye is working with Helsinki’s HappySignals. Bosses say the partnership will help the firms align IT systems and processes to optimise user outcomes and personnel performance.

Maureen Robson Norman, whyaye chief executive, said: “We believe in using a collaborative, transparent and honest approach to achieve real results.

“Working with HappySignals will give us a deeper insight into user experiences and this will enable us to drive change more effectively throughout the businesses we support – and embed new ways of working into the DNA of organisations.”

Sami Kallio, HappySignals’ chief executive and co-founder, added: “We need partners who are engaged and can dive deep into the experiences of end users and help manage customer outcomes.

“Our truly collaborative approach will bring happiness to many customers.”

The BIG switch off

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Andy Watson of Unified Business Communications explains what businesses need to think about with BT having announced that they will be switching off the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) networks by 2025 and will no longer accept any new orders or amendments to services applicable to any PSTN or ISDN products as of 2023.

While 2023 and 2025 seem a long time away they will soon creep up on us and the upcoming switch-off means that PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network – analogue) and ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network – Digital) lines are now considered a legacy product.

Once the switch-off has taken place, customers will be migrated to a single IP network using SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) which will ultimately replace all legacy network and platforms. If your business uses PSTN and ISDN lines as a service, the switch-off is going to have a significant effect on your organisation unless you can migrate your own system over to a VoIP (Voice over IP) service.

Porting:

When the time comes your telephone service provider will assist you by migrating your existing telephone lines to an alternative Internet based technology, for example Hosted Voice or SIP Trunks.

Broadband

A fast and reliable internet service is the key to enabling the new VoIP technologies. Look for a broadband provider that can offer fibre services such as FTTC, FTTP, SoGEA, Superfast Fibre connections or a Leased Service.

Voice over IP

Choose from a Hosted Voice system in the cloud, on-premises IP phone system with SIP Trunking, or a PSTN/SiP Gateway to SiP Enable your Legacy Equipment. All services transport your voice traffic over the internet (VoIP) technologies and provide flexible and cost-effective alternatives to traditional fixed line telephony.

VoIP Provides:

1. Remote working:

VoIP promotes remote working. Staff can log into your VoIP system from anywhere using an Internet connection.

2. Multi-functional:

VoIP isn’t just limited to voice calls, VoIP phones can be used for a whole host of other functions, including videoconferencing and mobile apps.

3. System Integration:

Because VoIP technology uses the Internet, it is possible to integrate it with your other business systems, such as email clients or customer records.

4. Scalability:

VoIP technology is highly scalable and can grow with your business. New phone lines can simply be added, reassigned, or removed according to your ongoing business needs.

What you need to consider before moving to VoIP

Before you migrate to a VoIP solution there are a couple of things that you will need to consider:

Is your internet connection good enough to deliver VoIP?

While VoIP doesn’t use very much data compared to other services such as video, you need to ensure that your bandwidth has the capability to deliver voice services on top of everything else your organisation uses the Internet for. Without good Broadband speeds the quality of your voice calls could diminish.

Does your office phone system support VoIP?

Most new office phone systems support VoIP, but if yours doesn’t, you will either need to replace your entire phone system with an IP-enabled on-premises PBX, replace your PBX with a Hosted VoIP Solution or purchase a SiP Gateway to VoIP enable your existing PBX.

When should you migrate to VoIP?

Businesses should consider migrating to VoIP/SiP = sooner rather than later. 

Depending on the Broadband capabilities in your area, this may not as yet be possible.  Contact your phone or internet service provider and ask them to check what broadband is available in your area and if it can support VoIP services.

Andy Watson

Unified Business Communications

Stoneygate House, Stoneygate Lane, Felling, Gateshead NE10 0HJ

t. 0191 201 2112

e: [email protected]

w. www.unifiedbizz.com

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

Can Microsoft Teams be used as a phone system?

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Microsoft Teams has been put to use in businesses across the world, but often without understanding all of its capabilities. In this blog, Microsoft Gold Cloud Platform Partners and Chamber members Circle Cloud explain. 

Using Microsoft Teams as a Phone System 

With the sudden wave of homeworking came the equally sudden requirement for platforms that accommodate it. As you might have seen from the most recent post on our LinkedIn company page, IT leaders have been forced to deliver four years’ worth of IT strategy in just six weeks. For this reason, I am sure we’ve all become familiar with Microsoft Teams. 

The thing is, as is often the case when there is a quick uptake of new products, I doubt people are aware of the full capability of the platform. Perhaps you use it for internal communications, conferencing or document collaboration? But my question is… 

Have you thought about using Teams as your centralised Phone System? 

Because Teams has such a broad range of capabilities, some get more attention than others. This is usually dependent on what people need it for on an individual basis. But I am writing this to make IT professionals aware that Teams can actually be used as a full phone system, providing your organisation with all the features your existing PBX [Private Branch Exchange – a traditional internal phone system] does and more. 

Using Microsoft Teams and Circle Cloud’s Direct Call Routing, you can turn your PC, Tablet, Laptop or Mobile into a fully featured and secure phone and calling platform. Doing so also allows you to replace your existing on-premises or Hosted Voice platform and centralising your business’s communications infrastructure. 

Here are a list of Reasons as to why you should use MS Teams as your Core Phone System: 

  • Fully featured phone system with all standard PBX functionality including, Auto Attendant, Call Queuing, Ring Groups, Call Transfer and Voicemail 
  • Make and receive internal and external calls 
  • Retain your existing business numbers and DDIs 
  • Use your PC, tablet, laptop and mobile as your phone system 
  • Also supports the use of conventional desktop IP handsets 
  • Administration portal for easy configuration changes and service management 
  • Optional Call Recording, Call Centre and Advanced Call Reporting packages available 
  • Cost effective and removes need for additional PBX, hosted voice services or line rentals 
  • A true Unified Communications solution, bringing chat, meetings and other Office 365 apps together in one place 

Teams Calling is the perfect voice and collaboration solution for your workforce – whether office, home or field based – users can choose to use whichever device best suits. It works perfectly within the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) strategy. In these difficult times where staff are required to work remotely, Teams calling can be securely ran from a user’s own Laptop or Mobile device. 

Teams Calling has been configured for resilience and security from the outset. It uses a fully redundant network architecture built on Microsoft accredited SBCs and is hosted within highly secure, geographically diverse data centres with high availability. Teams Calling takes away that single point of failure that a legacy on-prem PBX can suffer from and allows users to utilise the calling platform from anywhere across the globe. 

Microsoft Teams Calling- Questions you may have been Afraid to Ask! 

We have done a number of separate posts on our blog recently about the various benefits of using Microsoft Teams as the complete phone system for your organisation. That said, there are still probably things that you’re wondering about, so we have condensed all the questions that we get asked by our customers into this FAQ. Hopefully you’ll find what you’re looking for. 

We already have Microsoft Teams as part of Office 365, why do I need to buy anything extra? 

Teams comes as part of the Office 365 Suite of applications. This “free” version allows you to communicate with your work colleagues through voice, video, or chat. The Teams Calling licence adds the ability to make and receive external phone calls and behind the scenes full phone system functionality. 

But will it replace all the features I have in my existing phone system? 

Absolutely – Teams Calling provides a full complement of phone system functionality, including Auto Attendant, Call Transfer, Ring and Hunt Groups, Call Queuing, Voicemail with email notification and auto message transcribing, Night / Out of Hours Service, Extension Dialling to mention a few. Advanced services such as Call Centre Inbound Services, Call Recording and Calling Analytics. Essentially, Teams Call can replicate the majority if not all standard phone system features. 

Do I need to pay for any additional line rental? 

No – Teams Calling is carried over your existing internet connection and requires no other line rental charges. 

How many devices can a single user have allocated to their licence? 

Up to five live devices. (Can be a mixture of Desktop Application, Mobile or Tablet app or Desktop Handset) 

Can I use a conventional desktop handset with Teams Calling? 

Yes – Microsoft certify over 20 IP handsets to use with Teams Calling. Check out our blog post that we dedicated to this very topic. 

What about using Teams Calling with a mobile? 

Yes – The Teams application for iOS and Android provides all the calling functionality of the desktop application. 

Can I retain my existing phone numbers if I move to Teams Calling? 

Yes – Any existing phone number (including DDIs) can be ported onto the Microsoft Teams Calling platform; this includes existing ISDN and PSTN numbers and IP Voice and SIP numbers. 

What about calling charges? 

Circle Cloud’s Teams Calling service comes with inclusive UK Calls (01,02,03 and 07 numbers). 

Can Teams Calling be used outside of the UK? 

Yes – Teams Calling is a fully global service which works in most countries around the world. Users based in an international location can also present and dialling code for the country in question and benefit from inclusive in country calling. 

What about staff based remotely or working from home? 

Teams and Teams Calling is the perfect communications solution for staff working out of the main office or based at home. As a cloud-based platform, users can be based anywhere with an internet connection to be able to function as though they were in the office. Workers can use either the Desktop application or mobile app to make and receive calls. 

How easy is to make a call using the Teams application? 

Very simple! Team Calling adds an onscreen dial pad for dialling a number, as well as the ability to highlight and automatically dial any phone number from an email, document or web page. The Teams Calling tab also provides a full call history and contact listing for easy dialling of commonly used numbers. 

How easy is Teams Calling to setup as a full company phone system? 

Teams Calling is no more difficult to configure than any hosted voice phone system. Administration users will have access to a full admin portal where changes can be made to the core setup. As part of the Teams Calling solution, Circle Cloud offer a complete data acquisition, installation, configuration service as part of our Teams Calling Proposition. This fully project managed roll out is designed to make the movement to Teams Calling as a completely painless and seamless process. 

How flexible is the contractual terms on Teams Calling – Can I add or remove licences? 

Circle Cloud’s contractual terms aim to make the Teams Calling solution as flexible as possible. New users can be added or removed at any time. 

What about updates to the Teams Calling Service – are these free of charge? 

Microsoft are rolling out new features for the Teams Calling service all the time. These are installed automatically as part of the normal Microsoft 365 update function. There is, of course no charge for these updates. 

I hope this has been really helpful and given you a flavour of how Microsoft’s virtual calling platform can be used as an ideal replacement for voice infrastructure. 

If you have a question of your own that hasn’t been covered in this FAQ, please feel free to get in touch. 

Circle Cloud 

Circle Cloud are Official Microsoft Gold Cloud Platform Partners specialising in the implementation and management of Azure and Office 365 

https://www.circlecloud.co.uk/

LinkedIn 

Facebook 

This post originally appeared as two posts on Circle Cloud’s own blog. 

Increased Cyber Security Risk and Guidance

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Updated advice from the North East Regional Cyber Crime Unit on an increase in cyber crime related to Coronavirus.

It has been identified by multiple sources that cyber criminals have started to exploit the Coronavirus epidemic. There has been an increase in coronavirus linked phishing emails, websites that download malicious software and with a growing number of people working from home and self-isolating this could make users and networks more susceptible to attacks.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has mitigating advice and guidance for malware and ransomware; home working and phishing attacks:

It is important the users and businesses are vigilant against cyber attacks, more now than ever; below is a list of recently released guidance which can help:

Mitigating malware and ransomware attacks:

How to defend organisations against malware or ransomware attacks

Home working: preparing your organisation and staff

How to make sure your organisation is prepared for an increase in home working, and advice on spotting coronavirus (COVID-19) scam emails.

Cyber experts step in as criminals seek to exploit Coronavirus fears

Experts at the NCSC have revealed phishing attacks exploiting worries over COVID-19

Fake Online Coronavirus Map Delivers Well-known Malware

A malicious website pretending to be the live map for Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by Johns Hopkins University is circulating on the internet waiting for unwitting internet users to visit the website. Visiting the website infects the user with the AZORult trojan, an information stealing program which can exfiltrate a variety of sensitive data. It is likely being spread via infected email attachments, malicious online advertisements, and social engineering. Furthermore, anyone searching the internet for a Coronavirus map could unwittingly navigate to this malicious website.

Coronavirus Related Scams

Since February 2020, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has identified 21 reports of fraud where Coronavirus was mentioned, with victim losses totalling over £800k. Ten of these reports were made by victims that attempted to purchase protective face masks from fraudulent sellers. Reporting numbers are expected to rise as the virus continues to spread across the world.

Fraudsters are also sending out coronavirus-themed phishing emails in an attempt to trick people into opening malicious attachments or revealing sensitive personal and financial details.

Some of the other tactics we’ve identified from victim reports:

  • Fraudsters purporting to be from research organisation’s affiliated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) contact potential victims over email. They claim to be able to provide the recipient with a list of coronavirus infected people in their area. In order to access this information, the victim needs to click on a link, which leads to a malicious website, or is asked to make a payment in Bitcoin.

Watch out for scam messages:

Don’t click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails, and never respond to unsolicited messages and calls that ask for your personal or financial details.

Shopping online:

If you’re making a purchase from a company or person you don’t know and trust, carry out some research first, and ask a friend or family member for advice before completing the purchase. If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, use a credit card if you have one, as most major credit card providers insure online purchases.

For more information on how to shop online safely, please visit: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/shoponlinesafely

Protect your devices from the latest threats:

Always install the latest software and app updates to protect your devices from the latest threats. For information on how to update your devices, please visit: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/securing-your-devices

https://takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/Take Five to Stop Fraud

Take Five is a national campaign offering straight-forward, impartial advice that helps prevent email, phone-based and online fraud – particularly where criminals impersonate trusted organisations.

If you have been a victim of cyber crime, please report this to Action Fraud. The information you provide may help protect others from becoming a victim of cyber crime, if people do not tell us what is happening, then we do not know the true extent of the problem. You can report to action fraud via:

https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ 

If you are a business, charity or other organisation which is currently suffering a live cyber attack (in progress), please call 0300 123 2040 immediately.