Effects of the Qantas Strike on Business

With the sudden cancellation of all Qantas domestic and international flights business will wake up on Monday morning with big logistical problems. Will staff be able to get to the planned meetings? What about the staff away for the weekend or holidays? Will any of our products be delayed? Is there any part of our logistics that is dependent upon Qantas?

This type of disruption is akin to the SARS issue faced in the early 2000′s. Business scrambled for video conferencing services, remote office space and voice conferencing accounts to manage the fallout. A day and a half in we are already experiencing a significant jump in conferencing activity.

How a company adjusts and deals with this type of type of disruption can win or lose customers and long term revenue. The obvious is Virgin. They will get access to clients that have never used their service and have a chance to prove to them that they have a good offering. Less obvious are manufacturers who can provide product while international imports are delayed or cancelled.

Whatever the product or service, communication within your company with key decision makers is key.

This is an opportunity for many to differentiate themselves in the market, don’t miss out.

…Should Have Had a Chorus Call.

1800 from mobiles…

Many users of conferencing services are unaware that when they phone a “free call” service from their mobile that their service provider can slug them airtime charges that sometimes are in excess $1 per minute. To make this issue even worse the provider of the 1800 service will also be charging the receiving company, or conference provider, for the pleasure of receiving this call. This is a legacy issue that the dominant carriers have taken advantage of over the years and finally the communications regulator is going to regulate the charging, if any, that can occur here.

Telstra and Optus, being the dominant mobile carriers, will be working hard to thwart this initiative as it will will cost them millions in lost revenue. They will argue that much of the usage is already captured in “capped” or “unlimited” plans and there is not much savings that will be achieved by the end user. Beyond this being absolute garbage the issue goes back to the marketing of the number as a “Free Call” service. People don’t expect they will get charged similarly to some 0055 service when they phone a 1800 number. This can be especially hurtful in the conferencing environment where call lengths are more like 40 or 50 minutes instead of the average of 2-3 minutes on a typical person to person mobile call. We can only hope that the regulator has the fortitude to make the right decision here and not bow to the inevitable pressure.

At Chorus Call we have many organisations that we have worked with to minimise these unfair fees from mobile carriers. We have always offered no connection or booking fees so customers with large mobile fleets have used our operators to call out to mobile users so they don’t get any charges. Similarly, we have systems in place where advanced users can operate their own conference and dial out from our infrastructure to the end mobile, thus avoiding these unfair charges. The crux of the solution is that you have to arrange for our services to dial out to your mobile services to avoid the charges. Charges can really add up. Hopefully we will see the end to this cash grab in the near future, and customers can feel confident that the conferencing charge is the only charge they see form their mobile.

...Should Have Had a Chorus Call.

Chorus Call Australia: the “complete suite” of conferencing services

While 90% of your conferencing requirements may be one area I encourage users to look to the ability of a provider to quote across all services in the conferencing platform. While you may not need them now an astute provider will recognise and suggest conferencing solutions for your organisation.

Can your provider quote on IP and ISDN video? Do they have extensive links to video room providers around the globe? Have they experience in investor relations calls or product launch calls? Do they have an in house application sharing product? Do they have a disaster recovery solution? Regardless of your needs these things should be explored with your provider.

On the service side of the equation customers need to think about on-line billing services. Can we export detail directly into our cost management systems? Can we receive summaries by cost code or receive instant usage summaries on conference break down? What is not used now may become a necessity as your organisation moves forward.

I noticed the other day that a competitor (who shall remain nameless) has been up to the same old tricks. The modus operandi is to have multiple brands with varying price points, with no service differentiation. Clearly this is misleading at best and unethical in the worst case scenario. I count 4 brands that they are working on at the moment, I suspect there are more to come. Don’t be fooled this cheap advertising. Mainstream providers are much more capable and cost effective.

…Should Have Had a Chorus Call.

Teleconferencing Over Travel: iPad 2 Winner tells her story

Recently we announced the winner of our iPad 2 promotion.  

We decided to follow up with a recording of Ruth telling her story in her own words.  

Click to listen.

Once again, congratulations Ruth! From Chorus Call Australia.

More promotions soon at: www.choruscall.com.au

EU, USA Economic Turmoil

Oh, a storm is threat’ning
My very life today
If I don’t get some shelter
Oh yeah, I’m gonna fade away

Gimme Shelter – Jagger/Richards –Rolling Stones

Once again the world as we know it finds itself in economic turmoil with the European PIGS, Portugal, Italy, Greece & Spain defaulting on debt to sustain lifestyle. The mightiest nation of them all the USA is teetering on the brink of economic suicide as investments worldwide tumble and the people’s future funds once again devalue.

Ooh, see the fire is sweepin’
Our very street today
Burns like a red coal carpet
Mad bull lost its way

People generally are wired for greed; it is in many persons nature, what is enough? Who knows? One thing we all know is you can sell anything to make money, eggs or CDF’s. Eggs exist, CDF’s do not. If it looks too good to be true, perhaps it is. Boom and Bust, never have the cycles been so close together though they have had worse recriminations as we ride this one out.

War, children, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
War, children, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away

Communication continues to be the best way forward and many companies have lost some serious market capitalization and yet are still reporting good profits in this reporting season. Chorus Call provides cost effective, professional solutions to communicating your results in the marketplace and many companies take advantage of this.

• Web Streaming
• Event operator assisted teleconferencing
• Compatible software
• Experienced highly trained staff
• Valuable AV partnerships

Call now on 1800 98 88 99 and discuss your needs with our team

The floods is threat’ning
My very life today
Gimme, gimme shelter
Or I’m gonna fade away

Working from Home.

 

Congratulations to Minister for Broadband and Communications, Stephen Conroy for recently spruiking the idea of more Australians working from home.

 Monday to Friday millions of us file like so many ants from our suburban homes into the concrete jungle of the CBD, almost every car on the road containing one lonely individual accompanied only by the inane dribbling’s of the breakfast radio presenters.

As scooter riders, my wife and I like to think that we are making a small contribution to reducing our impact on the planet; imagine if 10,000 Brisbanites were no longer compelled to drive to the CBD for even 1 day of the working week, surely that would be a good thing.

As with every change there are winners and losers, the losers in this scenario would be the coffee shops and lunch bars, petrol companies and transport companies amongst others. The winners would be the environment and the people who get to work from home, and of course people in the communications industry.

Technology today makes working from home a breeze, internet, the cloud, video conferencing from desktops or mobile devices and telephone conferencing all available at the drop of a hat to make sure that there is no lack of communication. There is no reason to expect a drop in productivity when working from home but it will require a massive change in mindset from company managers who still have a “bums on seats” mentality.

There are of course things to be aware of, such as OH & S measures and insurance liabilities, the employer still has a duty to provide a safe working environment even when the place of work is at home, is the cost of this going to deter employers or is it just another cost of doing business. Employees also have a responsibility to make sure that the environment they are working in at home is appropriate.

On the whole a great idea with many benefits to workers, employers and the environment and don’t forget if you are working from home and need to have a telephone conference…………….call Chorus Call Australia.

What is the Economic Impact to your Business using HD Video Conferencing?

In today’s economic climate, businesses want real tangible justification when looking to invest in communications technology. Most organizations know that video conferencing solutions can help reduce travel and labour costs, increase productivity and collaboration while decreasing environmental impact. But the question remains – What is the real financial outcome?

Here at Chorus Call Australia we make companies and people successful in their job on a daily basis by advising how technology can be successful in their business by taking on technology today.

So what does economic impact mean to your business?

By this I mean, calculating the ( Return On Investment ) ROI that companies can realize when investing in technology. This takes into account cost v benefit over time, % return on investment and payback return to name a few things. As you are aware, the hardest thing to measure or predict as a business are the soft benefits. By this  I mean, the productivity benefits and being able to adjust the focus of your organization to using technology. In addition to this, the hard dollar costs, dollars invested and saved on goods and services purchased or acquired.
Customer Benefits of implementing HD Video Conferencing to your business:

• High quality definition without needing in most cases to invest in more bandwidth
• Usability, manageability, reliability
• Improved productivity – more employees working rather than travelling equates to less people needed on the payroll
• Sales teams more coordinated as they will communicate more
• Lower cost of operations
• Reduced travel = major cost savings and productivity increases while doing your bit for the environment
• Reduction in carbon emissions
• Improved field selling capabilities
• More efficient and improved working experiences ( projects, training, Learning & development etc)
• Typical payback period 12 -14 months – imagine what you can do with that extra cash in the bank ?? Have a think about it
• Great ROI – especially when you are needing to get more productive, increase communication, decrease costs and drive bottom line performance

For a complimentary consultation on High Definition Video Conferencing contact Chorus Call Australia www.choruscallaustralia.com.au the trusted authority in Conferencing collaboration services and High Definition Video Conferencing.

Remember our goal is to make you and your teams more successful and profitable by using technology so call us today by visiting the link attached   www.choruscallaustralia.com.au and start investing in your future tomorrow.