http://www.btlnet.co.uk/rss-news.xml Britannic Technologies 25 years of innovation and best practice helping our clients realise the many benefits of Unified Communications and IP Convergence. customers achieve. Thu, 17 May 2012 23:00:41 GMT Britannic Techologies http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2012/may/britannic-shortlisted-for-3-comms-business-awards We are delighted to have been shortlisted for three Comms Business Awards: SMB Convergence Solution, Mid-Market Convergence Solution and Enterprise Convergence Solution. Independently judged, The Comms Business Awards are designed to recognise excellence in the Channel. Acknowledging the successes of the reseller community, the vendors, distributors and service providers as well as those successful individuals who truly set the standard, these awards are one of the industry's most sought after accolades. Britannic Technologies is one of the largest and most technically able independent communications companies in the UK, providing both national and international solutions. We specialise in IP Communications, Networking, Systems and CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) and Applications Development. Having received a prominent industry award in 2011, and been shortlisted for a further four, Britannic Technologies look forward to making 2012 an equally successful year. The results will be announced in June. Mon, 14 May 2012 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2012/may/britannic-shortlisted-for-3-comms-business-awards http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2012/forthcoming-events/forthcoming-events Date Event Location 24/05/12 Avaya 'Bring Your Own Device' seminar Pall Mall, London 14/06/12   Mitel/Polycom 'Flexible Working' seminar Bishopsgate/Old Broad Street, London Thu, 12 Apr 2012 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2012/forthcoming-events/forthcoming-events http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/march-2011/britannic-deliver-better-value-for-housing Download article as published in Housing Technology magazine, March 2011 Jonathan Sharp, Sales and Marketing Director at Britannic writes about his visit to the Housing Technology Conference. If you would like a meeting so that we can share these ideas with you, please call 08448 666 100 or email enquiries@btlnet.co.uk I recently attended the Housing Technology Conference in Nottingham.  Professor Morris Pentel began proceedings talking about the future of Technology in Housing.  He was followed by excellent breakout sessions from suppliers and HAs alike where, not surprisingly, looking for innovative ways to deliver better value was a common theme.  Listening to the various presentations and talking with delegates throughout the day, what struck me was the desire to deliver an excellence of service both internally and externally to tenants, whilst managing and developing complex and mixed technology infrastructures and service providers within typically fixed annual budgets, which are now under pressure! There was a clear willingness to innovate and embrace new technologies to support the changing demographics of the tenant community and changes within the UK economy, whilst meeting staff expectations and objectives passed down from the board. Unified Communications empower a more efficient workforce The role of effective use of technology in this sector cannot be underestimated.  I heard examples of pressured and stressful environments whereby staff could not effectively deal with tenant questions which resulted in inefficiencies and poor service to those tenants.  In contrast, there were great examples of where the latest unified communications technologies had empowered staff at the sharp end to excel and deliver efficient and personalised service, by easily collaborating with back office and field staff through automatic access to supporting information and systems,  to provide a right first time every time culture. Without question the housing sector has undergone many changes over recent years following the large scale transfer of stock from government to new and emerging housing associations.  There has been a great deal of change and consolidation recently through the process of mergers, which have formed some 'super powers' in the housing sector. Today we embark upon the next phase of change and development.  The UK economy is experiencing high rates of inflation, twice the government targets.  This follows one of the deepest recessions of recent times.  Government have set their targets to eliminate the deficit and consequently a new period of austerity has emerged.  The Housing sector is not escaping.  Housing grants and subsidies have been cut and HAs are seeking ways to reduce their expenditure wherever possible, with a target of 25% being cited.  Government have also unveiled plans to introduce a single "universal" payment as part of the shake up within the benefits system.  Consequently the risk of debt increases and so too the demands to manage rent collections and arrears more effectively. Shared Services We have also seen the emergence of the "shared services" model, for example 24x7 support, outsourcing of repairs and care of the vulnerable.  This will undoubtedly increase, in an attempt to achieve greater cost savings and economies of scale.  This combined with the prospect of many front line services being reduced / eliminated by the government leaves HAs questioning who is going to deliver what services to citizens within the new "Big Society"?  Does this create additional burden, or opportunity for housing associations, with the demand for new services - such as benefits advice? All these changing conditions and budgetary constraints create a real paradox for the sector.  How can it still deliver accessible, personalised high standards of service with the requirement to cut costs?  The easy answer, it needs to do more with less. But how can this be achieved, without causing a detrimental effect? New agile technologies Positively, there are new technologies and models available which support this new agile, collaborative, cost conscious and service driven economy. Cloud computing, Virtualisation (voice and data), SIP trunking and Unified Communications have all emerged to provide cost savings, improved management, greater flexibility, 100% availability, personalised service and much more. At Britannic Technologies we work with our clients in true partnership.  We have an in-depth understanding of the sector and the challenges Housing Associations face and importantly we have a clear vision and tried and tested strategies to enable them to continue to serve the community whilst achieving automatic continuity, cost reductions, improved management visibility & control and planning for the future with confidence. We have many examples of where we have helped the sector benefit from our expertise, market leading portfolio, innovation and partnership approach.  This was recently summed up by Saul Stevens, IT Director of Family Mosaic: "Britannic have worked very closely with Family Mosaic.  They are very capable, very happy to work with and support organisations such as us. Britannic are very technology savvy, very responsive, they have great technical resource and over and above everything else they have really listened to what we want and are helping to shape our technology roadmap for the future." Delivering better value In summary, one of the questions which resonated with me from the conference is: What can suppliers to the housing sector do to deliver better value? By working with award winning Britannic Technologies, Housing Associations will be able to benefit from an organisation that recognises the importance of this sector, has 25 years' experience in telephony and contact centres to draw upon and is leading the way in new wave technologies such as SIP, Telephony virtualisation, Unified Communications, WAN Governance and Systems integration. We will help achieve significant costs savings by as much as 50%, increase management visibility and control and reduce the management burden of ICT.  We will support greater efficiencies, provide personalised customer service and adopt a flexible managed service framework for changes, additions and enhancements without the need to increase budgets.   We will provide clarity out of the confusion across the telecoms sector with tried and tested strategies that will deliver cost savings, greater business agility, automatic business continuity and demonstrable benefits for tenants and HAs alike and identify how and where technology can effectively be used to support the desire to attain 3 star and excellence. We will provide good value from the offset with a competitive single tariff for the housing sector. Sound too good to be true?  Call us today on 0845 056 2000 and find out how we do it! We look forward to the opportunity of partnering with you. Thu, 17 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/march-2011/britannic-deliver-better-value-for-housing http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/january-2009/9th-january-2009---britannic-launch-1st-newsletter Welcome to the first Issue of Britannic Technologies regular Newsletter, 'Convergence'. Download Each month we will explore the latest issues concerning Convergence and Unified Communications, the latest news from Britannic Technologies and their strategic partners, new solution announcements, Britannic events, customer case studies and much more. Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/january-2009/9th-january-2009---britannic-launch-1st-newsletter http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/february-2009/3rd-february-2009---britannic-technologies'-business-continuity-plan-kicked-in-to-keep-their-workforce-and-customers-connected Many thousands of businesses have been affected by the worst snowfalls in Britain in the last 18 years, leading to school and road closures, disrupted rail services and countless train and flight cancellations. With as many as 1 in 5 people in London and thousands more across the UK not being able to go to work the UK economy is counting the costs, expected to top £3.5b. Find out more Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/february-2009/3rd-february-2009---britannic-technologies'-business-continuity-plan-kicked-in-to-keep-their-workforce-and-customers-connected http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/february-2009/12th-february-2009---britannic-technologies-excel-in-avaya-service-delivery-assessment-(1) Britannic Technologies have passed the Avaya Joint Service Delivery Assessment with flying colours. This assessment is to confirm and gain accreditation and recognition that Britannic Technologies are providing and maintaining a high standard of customer service. Find out more Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/february-2009/12th-february-2009---britannic-technologies-excel-in-avaya-service-delivery-assessment-(1) http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/march-2009/9th-march-2009---britannic-launch-2nd-newsletter Welcome to the second Issue of Britannic Technologies new regular Newsletter 'Convergence'. Download Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/march-2009/9th-march-2009---britannic-launch-2nd-newsletter http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/may-2009/20th-may-2009---britannic's-netmanager-launch-event-was-a-great-success Britannic Technologies and Ipanema Technologies launch netMANAGER - probably the best network management suite in the world! Find out more Tue, 19 May 2009 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/may-2009/20th-may-2009---britannic's-netmanager-launch-event-was-a-great-success http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/july-2009/23rd-july-2009-britannic-technologies-announce-much-anticipated-6th-annual-convergence-summit Britannic Technologies today announced that their 6th Annual Convergence Summit will be held at the prestigious Royal Ascot Stadium on 12th November 2009. Find out more Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/july-2009/23rd-july-2009-britannic-technologies-announce-much-anticipated-6th-annual-convergence-summit http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/september-2009/1st-september-2009---britannic-launch-3rd-newsletter Welcome to the third Issue of Britannic Technologies new regular Newsletter 'Convergence'. Download Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/september-2009/1st-september-2009---britannic-launch-3rd-newsletter http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/december-2009/1st-december-2009---a-new-world-of-convergence---ascot-race-course Once again Britannic's Annual Convergence Summit attracted a full house, world leading line up of speakers from across the industry and exceptional feedback from those who were fortunate to attend. Find out more     Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2009/december-2009/1st-december-2009---a-new-world-of-convergence---ascot-race-course http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/june-2010/june-2010 25th June, 2010, Guildford, Britannic Technologies builds on success with key internal developments.  The management team has been expanded to include four newly created positions. Within the next month this will be complemented by the release of both a new website and a comprehensive CRM system. In June eight new employees joined Britannic's head office team in key managerial and support roles to enhance the delivery of its solutions.  Read More Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/june-2010/june-2010 http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/july-2010/july-newsletter New BTL Website Launched! There have been a number of developments within Britannic Technologies over recent months in line with our ongoing development and strengthening of the services we provide to our customers.  This has included the introduction of a number of key appointments across the management team within technical services, marketing and project management. As you know our market and the technology moves at a pace and can quite often be quite complex and confusing.  Our focus is to support you with this evolution through managed introduction of new technology and services and access to specialist resource. This is backed up by  our comprehensive events programme, sharing information and updates as to what the technology means for you, once again this culminates with our annual convergence summit, now in its 7th year. I am also delighted to announce the release of our new website which will act as another great platform to develop and help communicate the latest information and updates. These are exciting times as we continue to help our customers and the market embrace, implement and support business enabling, resilient and cost effective technology solutions underpinned with highly customer focused service. The latest in SIP, Managed Networks, SaaS and Virtualisation have enabled the introduction of our "New World Communications" model, further details can be obtained through our new website btlnet.co.uk. We would like to take this opportunity to show you the real business benefits our New World Communication solutions can bring to your organisation. Jonathan Sharp Sales & Marketing Director 7th Annual Convergence Summit Announced We have just finalised the 2010 Convergence Summit which proves to be bigger and better than ever.  It will be held at Twickenham Stadium on Wednesday 24th November, if you would like to register, please use the booking form on the website, or give us a call on 0845 0562000. The Convergence Summit is renowned for the high quality speakers it attracts from our partner community.  We look forward to giving you further details in due course. November is a busy time at Twickenham as it is the Investec International rugby season.  England will start the month playing the All Blacks and finish after our Summit playing South Africa. Twickenham seats an impressive 82,000 spectators and is the largest dedicated rugby union venue in the world.  You will be able to tour the stadium and visit the fascinating museum during the day. Register today! New World Communications Britannic Technologies are creating a new, simplified world that removes the heavy IT support burden of a complex environment and brings together voice, data, video, software applications and hosting into one integrated, managed solution. It is the dawn of a new era of Unified Communications, and our managed service solutions are at the forefront of this technology. We bring to your business a wealth of knowledge and experience, converging all the layers of your business voice, data, video and software applications. Read More… CZONE You will find access to CZONE at the bottom of every page in the footer, as well as in the About Us section.  The CZONE facility is where you can log any service requests, manage your calling plans and gain access to reports.  You can also register if you would like to gain access. Click Here to visit CZONE. Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/july-2010/july-newsletter http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/august-2010/convergence-newsletter-virtualisation-special   Welcome to the latest edition of our 'convergence' newsletter. Download Newsletter This issue is a Virtualisation Special, looking at how the latest technology can make your IT and Telecoms infrastructure easier, more cost effective and secure to manage. Included in this issue: - 7th Annual Convergence Summit Announced - Avaya: Changing times of Communication - Mitel: Completing the Virtual Revolution - iomart: How can Virtualisation live up to the hype? - netMANAGER and Virtualisation - Britannic Technologies New World Communications Plus News & Events, Customer Case Studies and much more. Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/august-2010/convergence-newsletter-virtualisation-special http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/september-2010/britannic-wins-marketing-excellence-award Britannic Technologies has been announced as the winner of the Westcon Avaya 'Marketing Excellence Award' sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). Judges were particularly impressed with the return on investment demonstrated within the entry. The submission focused on Avaya SME marketing and highlighted innovation and how the solution met the end user customer's business objectives. Jonathan Sharp, Sales & Marketing Director at Britannic Technologies, made the following statement: "I am delighted that Britannic Technologies have been recognised by Westcon with the accolade of "Marketing Excellence Award" in recognition our comprehensive integrated communications program, which includes our newsletter, corporate website, telemarketing, direct mail, trade exhibitions, regular seminars, and culminates in our annual flagship event, Britannic's Convergence Summit, which is now in its 7th year. This is fantastic news as it is real recognition to the team who work so hard to clearly communicate the developments and business benefits that can be derived within our fast moving market place and innovative portfolio, which can all too often be confused with technical terms and TLAs!   My vision of building a customer led communications program began at the BT Tower with our first Convergence Summit in 2004 and has gained momentum year on year and is firmly positioned as an industry leading event.   We look forward to the future with great excitement as our business grows and we continue to develop new and innovative marketing communications channels, some of which will be launched within the coming weeks!" Mon, 13 Sep 2010 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/september-2010/britannic-wins-marketing-excellence-award http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/september-2010/reseller-awards Britannic have been shortlisted at both key industry awards events and in two categories for each of them! COMMS NATIONAL AWARDS 2010 Shortlisted for: Enterprise Hosted Solution Enterprise Mobile Solution Now in their 9th year, the CN Awards are regarded as the 'Oscars' of the ICT Channel. The Awards have developed an undisputed reputation and being nominated is a huge accolade in itself. The winner will be announced on 14th October. CRN CHANNEL AWARDS 2010 Britannic have been shortlisted in two categories: Convergence Reseller of the Year Mid Market Reseller of the Year The results will be announced on 18th November. It is pleasing to have recognition within the channel for being a highly successful and experienced supplier of complex solutions.  We are looking forward to the results. Thu, 09 Sep 2010 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/september-2010/reseller-awards http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/september-2010/call-centre-expo-2010 The Call Centre & Customer Management Expo showcases not only improvements that can be made within your call centre but also brings together key individuals that will help you achieve unparalleled results. Offering a blend of integrated customer products and services, cutting-edge education programmes and unique networking opportunities, no matter what your business objectives Call Centre & Customer Management Expo will provide you with the full array of solutions. We will be exhibiting on Stand Number: A9 Come and chat to us about your Call Centre and Customer Management requirements and test the latest solutions live on our stand. Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/september-2010/call-centre-expo-2010 http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/october-2010/britannic-wins-cn-award Last night (14 October) at the Hilton, Park Lane Britannic Technologies was announced as the winner of the Enterprise Mobile Solution at the Comms National Awards ceremony. The Comms National Awards are judged independently by an experienced and knowledgeable team of industry experts who are not employed by any ICT industry company entering the Awards. Britannic Technologies was shortlisted in two categories against substantial opposition. Enterprise Mobile Solution - WINNER Integration of mobile devices and applications is now becoming increasingly important in the provision of unified communications solutions. This award recognises reseller solutions that reflect the wider use of mobile technology to increase the customers' productivity improve efficiencies and reduce costs in an Enterprise environment. Britannic's winning submission was for delivery of their Total Business Plan solution, which provides the customer with one unified billing platform and contract, regardless of handset type or user location. This solution has dramatically lowered overall mobile call costs and given detailed visibility and reports of individual usage. The billing process has been simplified through secure email and online billing.  A dedicated Britannic account manager provides a single point of contact, giving enhanced customer service. Enterprise Hosted Solution - RUNNER UP This award recognises resellers providing innovative hosted/managed service solutions that meet Enterprise end user requirements to lower ICT costs, improve productivity, security, compliance, disaster recovery, reliability and flexibility, while enabling business transformation. Jonathan Sharp, Sales and Marketing Director at Britannic Technologies commented on receiving the award, "This is the first time that Britannic has been recognised at these awards and it shows just how much our business has changed over the last ten years.  From being a supplier of telecoms and lines, our business has evolved so that we are now offering comprehensive, integrated ICT solutions and developing strategic direction for our customers.  This includes virtualisation, hosted services and a managed environment which will not only reduce capital costs, but also reduce the burden of IT resourcing." Britannic Technologies are very excited to have been recognised for the innovative solutions we deliver to our customers. We were pleased to be able to offer a number of submissions in each category, evidence of the wide range of solutions that are successfully delivered to our customers. We look forward to returning next year with evidence of more innovative solutions that we have delivered to market. Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/october-2010/britannic-wins-cn-award http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/october-2010/ip-expo-2010 IP EXPO is a true end-to-end IT infrastructure event, offering visitors a rare, once a year opportunity to discover everything they want to know in one place at one time. Uou can learn about IP Networks, Virtualization, Cloud, Wireless and Storage technologies - and see how they connect together. We will be exhibiting on Stand Number: 433 Come and chat to us about your Unified Communication requirements and test the latest IP solutions live on our stand. Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/october-2010/ip-expo-2010 http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/november-2010/crn-awards Last night (18 November) Britannic Technologies was presented with a major industry award, "Converged Reseller of the Year." The award was presented at the CRN Channel Awards in Battersea park in front of over 1500 industry peers.  This was a highly contested award and recognises the great efforts and achievements made across our business over the last year in our objective of delivering the best converged technology design, implementation and on-going management thoughout the ICT industry as a whole. Converged Reseller of the Year - Britannic Technologies Britannic is a well-established business with an enviable reputation that demonstrated in its entry a keen awareness and ability to respond to customer requirements. The judges were impressed by how it enables its customers to adopt new technologies that bring voice and data together, reduce costs and maintain the highest standards of quality and service. We were in competition with well respected organisations 2e2, Maxima and Arrowdawn, as well as being shortlisted in the mid-market reseller of the year category. This is a very timely award, given that Britannic Technologies is holding its 7th Annual Convergence Summit next Wednesday 24th November. If you were undecided as to whether to attend, what better testament could you need? Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/november-2010/crn-awards http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/november-2010/sip-service-certificated-by-mitel Britannic Technologies has received "official" notification from Mitel SIP Center of Excellence that it has successfully completed Mitel-Compatible Test (MCT) certification between the Britannic SIP Trunking solution netX and the Mitel 3300 (MCD 4.1) platform. As a result of this successful certification netX will be listed in the Mitel Global Solutions Catalogue. Britannic Technologies' Carrier Grade SIP Trunking Platform netX has been extensively developed and rigorously tested to ensure reliability, flexibility and interoperability in this complex communications environment. netX is a "business class" SIP exchange platform which has direct connection into the BT network for the large scale routing of IP telephone calls.  This has enabled our customers to work towards a strategy of moving towards a single standardised network infrastructure. Reliability The netX infrastructure is fully resilient both physically and virtually and the network is controlled end to end to guarantee carrier-grade quality.  Backup trunks are available over a number of access methods. Security Every call made through netX is authenticated and transported across private network links; each session is kept separate to ensure privacy.  Transport Layer Security (TLS) is available on request. Features netX supports multiple protocols, support for any SIP codec, it provides full NAT support and is integrated with Microsoft's OCS platform and BriPORTAL gateway support for backwards compatibility for TDM.  It provides full disaster recovery options. Flexibility Numerous access methods are available across a multitude of interconnect models and channels can be added incrementally. Cost savings These can be achieved through consolidation of lines and lower cost call routing via SIP. Tue, 02 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/november-2010/sip-service-certificated-by-mitel http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/december-2010/newsletter---convergence-summit-2010 The latest edition of the newsletter is now available. Download newsletter This issue is a Convergence Summit Special with articles focused on enhancements to the IT and Telecoms infrastructure to make it less complex, more cost effective, secure and simple to manage. Articles included in this issue: 7th Annual Convergence Summit overview Professor Morris Pentel, Chairman, Customer Experience Foundation Aligining Technolgoy with Customer Contact Strategy Tim Stone, Marketing Director Collaboration, Europe, Cisco The Workspace of the Future Don Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Mitel Your Future is Virtual and Mobile - Make it Happen Now Roger Jones, EMEA Business Development Director, Avaya The New Avaya - The Future of Unified Communications Eddie Cronie, Sales and Marketing Director, THUS Enabling the Enablers Nigel Pink, Vice President & General Manager, Ipanema Technologies The WAN Governance Business Advantage Jonathan Sharp, Sales and Marketing Director, Britannic Technologies Optimise the Journey from CPE to Cloud with New World Communications Thu, 23 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/december-2010/newsletter---convergence-summit-2010 http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/december-2010/convergence-summit Britannic Technologies and its strategic partners reviewed the latest strategies for converged communications, virtualisation & next generation networks and outlined the future direction of the ICT marketplace. Britannic Technologies' 7th Annual Convergence Summit on November 24th attracted a full house, world leading line up of speakers from across the industry and exceptional feedback from those who were fortunate to attend. The event was held at Twickenham Stadium, attracting almost 400 guests and 20 exhibitors, providing a unique networking opportunity with peers and influencers within the industry. This year's summit reviewed the evolution of convergence within the communications market place and the virtualisation of technology, centralisation of services and availability of next generation networks. Throughout the day there was a clear message as to how the communications market is now at a point where it can firmly align technology with business strategy. Communications can be simplified and more easily managed, reducing costs and delivering operational improvement, whilst supporting the growing demand for business continuity. Delegates were presented with a comprehensive strategic review of the communications marketplace, underpinned with a clear strategic vision for the future.   The audience heard how the leading players are releasing technology in line with current market trends and opportunities. Professor Morris Pentel, Chairman of the Customer Experience Foundation, set the delegates thinking about the way in which they communicate with their customers and the changing demographics and demands introduced through new generations and social media. Tim Stone, Cisco's Marketing Director Collaboration, Europe surprised the audience by commenting that in a recent survey 66% of employees said they would take a job with less pay and more flexibility in device usage, access to social media, and mobility than a higher-paying job without such flexibility.  He discussed the changing workplace and the need by employers to embrace new technologies and new ways of working along with the real business benefits of collaboration. Don Smith, CEO of Mitel explained how we are going through a major re-invention of business communications. The latest mobility solutions are transforming the traditional office into a more mobile and cost effective environment. Roger Jones, EMEA Business Development Director of Avaya delivered an interesting perspective on the green element of telephony as he discussed the journey to fully unified communications. Eddie Cronie, Sales and Marketing Director for THUS discussed the conflicting agendas in business management and encouraged simplification of networks and key enablers to deliver and manage these converged networks. Nigel Pink, Vice President & General Manager of Ipanema Technologies raised the question of how much bandwidth business critical applications use and what the cost is to the business. He talked of the importance of WAN governance and how in this changing world, a holistic approach to network management is essential. Jonathan Sharp, Britannic Technologies' Sales and Marketing Director and host for the day concluded the presentations with a review of Britannic's vision, how they work with their technology partners and clients to align technology systems and investment with operational requirements and business strategy, citing a number of recent projects such as Grange Hotels, Family Mosaic and Trailfinders. He discussed the importance of supply chain management and the need to migrate to new technology at a pace that fits the customers' business. A key component of Britannic's solution is its managed services and the implementation of tools which enhance management of the network and environment.  These include netCONNECT, the latest in CTI middleware technology (which delivers CTI capability out of the box for most major CRM and Business System software and all major PBX systems, complimented by a free SDK for software companies / developers); netMANAGER, a new approach to WAN management utilising Ipanema's carrier class platform, which is provided as a service via Britannic's Network Operations Centre and netX, Britannic's carrier class SIP Exchange platform helping to support business continuity and deliver significant cost reduction and great flexibility. Jonathan announced the arrival of netPBX, Britannic's hosted PBX platform that is entering into trials with two major channel partners to deliver a hosted telephony solution to their customers. After the presentations delegates attended the technology exhibition where they were given the opportunity to experience technology first hand and discuss specific projects and requirements with Britannic and their partners.  The exhibition showcased the latest technology across a wide range of technology manufacturers and services providers, including: Avaya, Britannic Technologies, Cisco and Tandberg, ComputerTel, Gamma Telecom, HP, Intercept IT, iomart Hosting, Ipanema Technologies, Kelder, Keysource, Mitel and their affiliates, Nimans, Nouveau Solutions, Oak, Redbox Recorders and THUS. Over all the day was a great success, as Britannic Technologies Convergence Summit continues to go from strength to strength providing a unique opportunity for visitors to hear from the industry leaders in one place hearing about their strategy and vision, supported with access to the latest news, views, technology and technical experts. This was a view reinforced by delegates and partners alike and in the words of Cisco director Tim Stone, "The Convergence Summit attracted more attendees than any other event of its type this year, due to the impressive list of exhibitors and conference speakers from across the industry. This is the must attend educational event for any company looking to improve communications and collaboration." Videos of the presentations are available at BritannicTech.tv, while PDFs of the slides can be viewed here. Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2010/december-2010/convergence-summit http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/january-2011/computertel-karting To blow the January cobwebs away, ComputerTel and Britannic Technologies entered the Telecommunications Go Karting Endurance Challenge at TeamSport Indoor Karting, Crawley on 12th January. The event was well received and a manic time was had by all! Reaching speeds of up to 40 miles an hour, The "Britannic Maniacs" and "The High Flyers" took on another 8 teams from the Telecomms sector, to challenge each-other for poll position. As an endurance event, all teams raced for an hour and a half to see who could complete the furthest distance. The Maniacs and The Flyers put up a good challenge, especially The Maniacs who were even leading at one point in the competition. Our team members all vowed to meet again for a re-run next year. Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/january-2011/computertel-karting http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/january-2011/housingtech-article Article taken from Housing Technology Issue 19, January 2011 Click here to read the latest edition of Housing Technology magazine. © 2011 The Intelligent Business Company, publisher of Housing Technology magazine Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/january-2011/housingtech-article http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/january-2011/agendagrange Taken from the forthcoming issue of Agenda magazine Grange Hotels, The Big Idea - "Now we're talking" Cast your eyes over the five-star facilities at the Grange St Paul's and you'll notice a host of sophisticated communications, courtesy of Britannic Technologies, who were charged with the task of creating the flagship hotel's bespoke communications infrastructure. IT plays a major role in ensuring that guests enjoy a hi-tech, low-stress stay, and the hotel's advanced ICT network provides easy access to the wide range of amenities on offer, incorporating Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and enabling wi-fi for voice and data use. "As our engineers for a future-proof, fully converged IP and SIP solution at the Grange St Paul's, Britannic Technologies provided us with excellent design, installation, service and support," says Steve Waldron, financial director for Grange Hotels. "Britannic Technologies applied the economies of convergence to both future developments and elements of the existing group." When it comes to mobile IT, video conferencing, video streaming and access to hosted services, guests have ever-increasing expectations, and the hotel's telephones, which incorporate touch-screen technology, provide each guest with customised information and services. The communications hub delivers voice and data services across the hotel group and VoIP enables free calls between sites. Thanks to Britannic Technologies, Grange Hotels has a solid foundation for years to come, with a host of intelligent features, high-speed access to every port and the ability to provide a sophisticated communications system well into the future. View article Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/january-2011/agendagrange http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/march-2011/netpbx Download brochure Independent communications company Britannic Technologies launches its own hosted telephony platform netPBX. The product is aiming to fill a gap in the market for businesses who want to drive forward greater efficiencies in the current economic climate. These efficiencies include cost of ownership, energy usage, carbon footprint, technical expertise and speed of implementation. netPBX is a simple to use cloud based telephony service, paid for by monthly subscription. It is setup and administered through a user-friendly web portal, making it an ideal solution for branch based businesses that don't have on-site technical expertise. This telephony solution is ideal for organisations with home workers, branch locations or a distributed business model as they can now benefit from professional telephony in every location. "We are seeing tremendous interest in this product from organisations that want the features of an on premise phone system but don't want the headache. netPBX delivers the functionality via the cloud, with inbuilt resilience and scalability - making it excellent value for money." Commented Jonathan Sharp, Sales and Marketing Director, Britannic Technologies. The handsets sold with netPBX are a key component of this highly efficient service.  They are from German manufacturer snom who have a reputation in the market place for delivering highly energy efficient phones. snom, like Britannic Technologies are known in the industry as SIP pioneers.  They provide leading technological features and functions like security protocols to ensure safe VoIP telephony use. "Britannic Technologies share the same ethos as snom, by delivering tangible efficiencies with netPBX coupled with our phones.  They have proven themselves with their carrier class, SIP exchange platform netX, which is certified with the snom ONE IP PBX and the new hosted telephony service is a natural extension of this development." Commented Jonathan Greenwood, Managing Director snom UK Ltd. "We welcome the fact that they have chosen snom phones as their handset of choice for this solution." Today Britannic Technologies is one of the largest and most technically able independent communications companies in the UK, providing both national and international solutions. They specialise in IP Communications, Networking, Systems and CT (Computer Telephony) Integration and Applications Development. ENDS Download brochure For further information contact: Jonathan Sharp, Sales and Marketing Director, mobile 07766207136 email jsharp@btlnet.co.uk - at show on 9th March. Kristopher Januszajtis-Neale, Product Manager, kjanuszajtis-neale@btlnet.co.uk mobile 07824845920 - at show on 8th March. About Britannic Technologies Britannic Technologies is an award winning value added solutions provider specialising in unified communications technology, network services and systems support. Britannic was founded in 1984.  From the offset it established an enviable reputation within the market for delivering high quality telecommunications solutions and services combined with a real ability to innovate. Throughout this time Britannic has developed their position within the fast moving and evolving telecoms market place by partnering with world leading manufacturers and service provides to deliver a best of breed solution to organisations throughout the UK, complemented by our total commitment to customer care and integration capabilities. Today Britannic Technologies are one of the largest and most established independent privately owned communications companies in the UK, providing both national and international solutions. Britannic have an enviable portfolio of market leading products and services, combining in-house developments with products from world leading manufacturers and service providers, such as Mitel, Avaya, Cisco, HP, Cable & Wireless, BT, Sun Microsystems and Tandberg to name but a few. For more information visit www.btlnet.co.uk and our TV site www.britannictech.tv About Snom snom technology AG develops and manufactures VoIP telephones and related equipment based on the IETF open standard, SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). Recognized for its high-quality, customizable, and cost-effective business solutions, snom is also differentiated by the company's history in the VoIP industry, and its dedication to high security standards. All of snom's products, from desktop phones to IP PBXs, are designed to be fully interoperable with leading communications equipment vendors, and in 2010 the snom 300 desktop phone was officially accepted into the Microsoft Lync 2010 device compatibility program, qualifying it as a recommended device for use with the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and Microsoft Lync 2010. snom customers benefit from the interoperability and flexibility that the snom telephones offer, including plug and play integration and universal compatibility with any SIP-based telephony platform. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany, snom technology AG also has offices in Italy, France, the United Kingdom and the US. The company distributes its fourth generation SIP phones through its network of more than 200 authorized reseller partners in 60 countries worldwide. For more information on snom, please visit www.snom.com. Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/march-2011/netpbx http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/march-2011/contact-centre-'pet-hates'-survey Let us know what annoys you the most when you get in touch with a contact centre by completing our 'Pet Hates' survey!   Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/march-2011/contact-centre-'pet-hates'-survey http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/may-2011/britannic-shortlisted-for-comms-business-awards-2011 We are delighted to announce that Britannic Technologies has been shortlisted for the Comms Business Awards 2011, in the category of 'SMB Convergence Solution', for the telecommunications solution provided to Worthing Homes. Independently judged, The Comms Business Awards are designed to genuinely recognise excellence in the Channel. Acknowledging the successes of the reseller community, the vendors, distributors and service providers as well as those successful individuals who truly set the standard, these awards are one of the industry's most sought after accolades. Britannic Technologies is one of the largest and most technically able independent communications companies in the UK, providing both national and international solutions. They specialise in IP Communications, Networking, Systems and CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) and Applications Development. Having received three prominent industry awards in 2010, Britannic Technologies now look forward to making 2011 an equally successful year.   Tue, 17 May 2011 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/may-2011/britannic-shortlisted-for-comms-business-awards-2011 http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/september-2011/silverstone-rally-thrill-winner-announced! We are delighted to announce that the final winner for registrations is: Nigel Dickens of Cardif Pinnacle More Rally Thrills will be given away as tomorrow's event so bring your licences with you. We look forward to seeing you at Silverstone on Thursday. Should you wish to register yourself or a colleague to attend please go here for further details. Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/september-2011/silverstone-rally-thrill-winner-announced! http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/september-2011/mitel-hospitality Britannic Technologies has recently been recognised by Mitel as a specialist provider of hospitality-specific communications. The hospitality sector provides a large addressable market for Britannic Technologies with a close compliment to both Mitel (as a key strategic partner) and Britannic's overall value added offerings to market.   Mitel have a large base of clients within the hospitality sector, notably with legacy SX2000 platforms.  Britannic will support Mitel in efforts to dominate the sector with net new clients and migrating legacy platforms through Mitel's technology evolution.  As a highly capable, Mitel-solutions-focused, value added provider/systems integrator, Britannic are confident they are well placed to help drive growth and development within the hospitality sector with Mitel for mutual benefit. Britannic has strong references within the hospitality sector including Grange Hotels, RAC Club and Cheval Apartments with a strong pipeline of familiar brands within hospitality.  Our existing clients provide an excellent reference point to the wider capabilities of Britannic and demonstrate a close alignment with sector requirements over and above merely providing a telephony solution.  Consequently this provides Britannic with a clear value added proposition elevating above the commodity end of the market. After reviewing the market Britannic have decided to focus on 3* and above hotels, leisure clubs and high-end apartment lets. Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/september-2011/mitel-hospitality http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/october-2011/convergence-newsletter-6 Issue 6 of Convergence,  Britannic Technologies' newsletter, is now available to download. It includes articles on Unified Communications in IT departments and contact centres, the 8th annual Convergence Summit and call manangement, with contributions from Mitel, Avaya and Oak. Read newsletter http://view.vcab.com/?vcabid=ghaSejrjeSgelrgn Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/october-2011/convergence-newsletter-6 http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/october-2011/-c-n-awards At last night's Comms National Awards Britannic Technologies shone out by being shortlisted in no less than 5 different categories! We were very proud to be chosen as the winner in the reseller category for best Enterprise Vertical Solution. This award was received for the innovative solution that was delivered to CCS Group Plc by our highly experienced development and project management teams. Britannic developed a hosted IVR and Onlline Workflow Monitor enabling 300 CCS safety critical contractors to input their shift information remotely via an automated system. "We are extremely proud of the system and have demonstrated its uses to a number of senior delegations from London Unerground, Tube Lines and the Office of Rail Regulator.  All have left visibly impressed." Tristan Martens Senior Compliance & Performance Manager, CCS Group Plc Other shortlisted categories were: SME Vertical Solution, Enterprise Mobile Solution, Hosted Telephony Solution and Reseller of the Year. Thu, 13 Oct 2011 23:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/october-2011/-c-n-awards http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/convergence-summit-2011/dreams-come-true Britannic Technologies introduced the charity Dreams Come True at this year's Annual Convergence Summit. Delegates at the event had the chance to have their photos taken with some amazing cars and put their hands in their pockets for a great cause. Dreams Come True is a children's charity serving the whole of the UK. Their mission is quite simply, to make dreams come true for seriously and terminally ill children across the country. Over the last 10 years they have brought happiness and joy to more than five thousand children as well as their friends, family and carers. How you helped... Rally Thrill silent auction Britannic ran a silent auction at the taking bids for a Rally Thrill. The thrill of rally driving is like nothing you will have ever experienced before. These Group N spec Ford Fiesta ST cars are state of the art rally cars that are currently used in championship rallies around the world. Your photo with this F1 car Guestes at the Convergence Summit were photographed with the Stewart GP car driven by Johnny Herbert in 1999, in which he won the Monaco Grand Prix. For a suggested donation of £10 you can have your photograph taken with the car, along with an Aston Martin Vantage V8 and a Ferrari 430. Pictures were printed out and are available online. ___________________________________________________________________________ Matthew Argenti, Development Director for the charity was delighted to work with Britannic Technologies, "we are so pleased to welcome Britannic Technologies to our growing list of corporate supporters. We immediately liked their can-do, progressive attitude and they have also demonstrated a very mature approach and a keen understanding to marketing and the needs of a children's charity like Dreams Come True. They are like us, a national organisation and we are privileged to be a part of their Convergence Summit 2011 at Silverstone." "We wanted to help a children's charity so we were delighted to team up with Dreams Come True," says Britannic's Sales and Marketing Director, Jonathan Sharp. Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/convergence-summit-2011/dreams-come-true http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/november-2011/mitel-housing-specialism Tuesday 22 November 2011 - Britannic Technologies, a long-standing Mitel Premier Partner has just been awarded the accolade of Housing Specialist in recognition of the comprehensive integrated telephony solutions they have been supplying into the housing sector for over ten years. Britannic Technologies deliver value for money through telephony and ICT, helping housing associations to achieve their key objectives.  Britannic Technologies has developed strategic partnerships with a wide range of Housing Associations to help create business enabling, resilient telephony platforms to support both current and future business needs. Britannic has worked hand in hand with Family Mosaic, among others to develop a strategy that will set the organisation apart from other housing associations. According to Saul Stevens, IT Director of Family Mosaic, "we now have a clear technology road map with a well-defined migration path and options to make our telephony technology work harder for us." "Britannic's approach to working with Family Mosaic is illustrative of their comprehensive understanding of our sector and their ability to really help organisations align technology with business goals" Saul Stevens, Family Mosaic. Wakefield District Housing have recently started using the services of Britannic Technologies.  This comment from Eric Backhouse is indicative of the service they receive. "Since transferring IP-Telephony support to Britannic they have proved from day one that they are more than just a market leading support organisation.  It would be easy to say that we are a partnership and that together we are delivering quality telephony services to Wakefield and District Housing tenants and employees.  But that isn't the case; on top of being a support provider, and partner, helping me reduce costs while still improving services, they are the friend that we all need from time-to-time.  If we have a bit of a problem, or want a bit of advice, Britannic have demonstrated that we 'just need to pick up the phone and ask them', and that sort of support is priceless." If you would like to find out more about Britannic's housing solutions please visit the Housing Section of this website. Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/november-2011/mitel-housing-specialism http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/november-2011/housing-technology-magazine Article taken from Housing Technology Issue 24, November 2011. Click here to read the latest edition of Housing Technology magazine. © 2011 The Intelligent Business Company, publisher of Housing Technology magazine Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/november-2011/housing-technology-magazine http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/december-2011/news-release Britannic Technologies' Annual Convergence Summit took place at Silverstone on November 17 2011. Now in its 8th year, this event has established a reputation for bringing together world class experts and business leaders from across the UK. "Very informative and leading edge as always, just as we know Britannic! Well done, looking forward to attending next year as well!" Read more Delegate Feedback Full News Release The summit reviewed today's rapidly evolving communications marketplace focussing on cloud services, virtualisation, centralisation and Next Generation Networks. Delegates helped Britannic raise money for Dreams Come True, a charity raising money to help terminally ill children and their families - a very worthwhile cause. This year attracted a record number of new prospects, a world-leading line up of speakers from across the industry and exceptional feedback from those who attended. Over 300 people enjoyed the day, providing a unique networking opportunity with peers and influencers within the industry. Once again the event provided an insight into the developments and innovations within the communications industry, complemented by practical advice from experts and was on hosting and cloud services. The summit included a solutions exhibition show-casing 16 of Britannic's key strategic partners, who are amongst the world's leading cloud solutions suppliers. The exhibition gave delegates the chance to try this technology first hand, speak face-to-face with Britannic Technologies and their partners and see live demonstrations of this technology. Business leaders, Heads of ICT or Operations from across the UK enjoyed networking and learning from world class experts about the latest developments in hosted and cloud solutions, and were able to experience the latest technology first hand in the exhibition area. The "behind the scenes" tour of Silverstone proved popular with delegates who also participated in a silent auction, raffles, competitions and many had their pictures taken for charity with an F1 car. All proceeds from the day were donated to the children's charity Dreams Come True. A ride in an F1 simulator, lunch and a networking drinks reception topped off this enjoyable and productive day. Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/december-2011/news-release http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/december-2011/convergence-newsletter-7 Issue 7 of the Convergence newsletter is now available, with contributions from ten companies including Cisco, BT Wholesale and Polycom and articles on topics such as remote working, the London 2012 Olympics and communication management. Read newsletter http://view.vcab.com/?vcabid=ghaSejrjeSgelrgn Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2011/december-2011/convergence-newsletter-7 http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2012/january/call-recording-videos Seven new videos giving information about call recording are up on britannictech.tv, including case studies on Blackburn and Darwen council, Holiday Extras and South Essex Homes. View videos Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2012/january/call-recording-videos http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2012/january/new-testimonial-videos Two new testimonial videos are now up on our educational TV site, britannictech.tv. Steve Waldron, CFO for Grange Hotels, discusses his experience of working with Britannic Technolgies at the Annual Convergence Summit view video Morris Pentel, Chairman of the Customer Experience Foundation, talks about Britannic Technologies and the Annual Convergence Summit view video Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2012/january/new-testimonial-videos http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2012/february/ipanemagartner Read the original article here Gartner has published their 2012 Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization Controllers, authored by Joe Skorupa and Severine Real. Ipanema Technologies has been positioned as a "Visionary" in the 2012 Magic Quadrant report. According to the report, "WAN optimization is about improving the performance of business applications over WAN connections. This means matching the allocation of WAN resources to business needs and deploying the optimization techniques that deliver measurable business benefits. The majority of WOCs are purchased by North American companies (with Europe coming second) because these companies have the greatest number of branch offices. These WOCs are deployed to support an increasingly global WAN footprint. Most networks carry a variety of traffic types of differing characteristics and importance. Many organizations are striving to manage this traffic to optimize the response times of critical applications and reduce costs, given that bandwidth continues to represent a significant proportion of operating expenditure for wide-area data networks. But the cost of bandwidth isn't the only consideration - as resources are increasingly centralized, minimizing the effect of latency on application response times is becoming a critical requirement. In addition, virtualization and new application environments, such as cloud computing and Web services, can put an unexpected strain on the network…" Gartner analysts evaluate technology providers on completeness of vision and ability to execute. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.btlnet.co.uk/news--events/2012/february/ipanemagartner