Fourtiers Prides itself on its customer reputation
Below you will find several case studies and references

Alexanders IFA - "Reference"
James Yorke - "Case Study"
The Lawyer - "Case Study"

Alexanders IFA

“Winning two corporate accounts in close proximity meant we had to take a good look at our business practice and day to day running,” says Ivan Richards FLIA, Principle of Alexanders Independent Financial Advisors.

Alexanders has been established in Swindon for over 20 years and has built up a loyal customer base and good reputation for impartial and invaluable personal financial advice and service to the small business community.

“Our core business is crucial, but we realised that modernisation was essential in order to efficiently service the newly acquired corporate accounts. Maintaining our excellent service and reputation with our existing clients was imperative while the modernisation took place ensuring the systems catered for both sectors.”

Having established a good working relationship with Fourtiers Ltd during an 18 month period Ivan Richards sort the advice of Chris Watts.

“The solution was simple,” said Chris Watts, Director of Fourtiers. “The requirements of Alexanders were by no means unique in comparison to other businesses of its size. A backbone based on Microsoft Small Business Server 2000 married with the Voxent BusinessGuardian phone system and applications gave Alexanders all the IT components a successful small business would require and more. Alexanders were always at the forefront of technology therefore the implementation of the new technology was not a giant leap.”

The new server supplied all the basic business requirements such as File and Print Sharing, Internet Security, Email, and Fax Server facilities. The BusinessGuardian added advanced features such as voice mail and computer telephony interface (CTI) applications direct to the desktop. Automatic leased cost routing reduced the cost of outbound calls considerably. Moving to ADSL halved the cost of Internet access by half in comparison to the ‘pay as you go’ solution previously implemented whilst increasing the download speed ten fold.

“Office efficiency has been improved greatly. Using our Admin staff as receptionist was time consuming and disruptive” said Ivan Richards. “Unlike the previous phone system, the BusinessGuardian provides all our advisors with direct dial numbers and personal voicemail allowing the advisors to take control of their own communication.”

Voicemail is delivered directly to the Microsoft Outlook inbox allowing the advisors the flexibility to listen to voicemails on the PC and the ability to save or forward voicemails in the same way as you would an email.

“Our Admin staff has benefited in terms of efficiency, which in turn has lead to happier more productive employees,” adds Ivan. “Any missed calls can be construed as needless potential lost revenue therefore the improved call handling means greater throughput and increased revenue. The system also allows us to create internal business units, hot lines and direct access for the Corporate employees direct to the relevant department, again taking the strain of the Admin staff. Because of the increased efficiency additional staff and office space is minimal to service our increased customer base.”

Voicemail is delivered directly to the Microsoft Outlook allowing the advisors the flexibility to listen to voicemails on the PC and the ability to save or forward voicemails in the same way as you would an email.

“With Alexanders’ extensive customer database, the BusinessGuardian CTI application is an ideal tool for quickly searching customer details allowing you to dial the customer without having to touch a telephone keypad,” said Chris Watts. “Also being able to identify an incoming call and have customer details to hand before answering has proved to be a time saver. The Application primarily links into your Outlook contacts, personal or company global, and can also link into Goldmine and Act.”

Tony Friendship MCSE, Fourtiers Technical Director, is convinced of the benefits and improved efficiency of the solution. “The BusinessGuardian solution can be seen as a natural addition to the Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS), specifically the synergy with the Microsoft Exchange Mail Server that is included with the SBS package. An example of the complete unification of SBS and the BusinessGuardian is the ability not only to be able to listen to your voicemails remotely (for example from a mobile phone) but also, to be able to listen to emails in the same way with the ability to delete or forward emails and voicemails to colleagues from your mobile phone. Being out of the office is no longer an excuse for not keeping on top of the email storm.”

The solution is true unified messaging suite that is normally only affordable within larger organisations. This type of solution puts small businesses on a level playing field with regards to voice and data communications. In the highly competitive arena of the small business community, missed calls are no longer an option.

James Yorke

Cheltenham based James Yorke Ltd. is a major independent manufacturer of pre-recorded music cassettes and has been in business for over 20 years. The company employs 60 people, all of whom play a vital role in ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of supplying music cassettes to clients such as the BBC and The Ministry of Sound.

At any one time, James Yorkes’ order book contains up to 400 orders. Annually, the company distributes up to 12 million cassettes.

Driving the need for Change
A move to new premises provided the opportunity to review the current telephone system and IT network. James Yorke wanted a telephone switch that would integrate with their network and the applications in use. This would allow for easy information exchange between a wider group of employees and would help the company in its plans to introduce newer services to its customers.

A key influencing factor in the company’s decision to review and update its infrastructure was the view of how they saw their industry evolving and what impact that would have on the business.

Director, James Scarlett comments:

“The industry will change dramatically over the next five years and it is our belief that customers will demand more of an e-commerce service from suppliers. Instant access to order information via the Internet will very soon become a standard requirement. Call centre functionality will be an important driver as we evolve the business to incorporate new services such as marketing fulfillment in response to market and customer demand.”

In response, James Yorke is developing an e-business enterprise partnership with its suppliers that will culminate in an automated on-line service solution for their customers. Putting them easily in touch with information relating to their orders through secure access enabling them to track progress, view delivery schedules and stock availability. A process that will help drive down supply costs and greatly enhance customer services.

The Fourtiers BusinessGuardian solution
After evaluating a number of manufacturers solutions, James Yorke was convinced that Fourtiers BusinessGuardian system was the best choice for its ability to meet their immediate and long term needs and for the flexible after sales service available via Fourtiers local BusinessGuardian Authorised Reseller.

The configuration
James Yorke opted to use PRI ISDN lines to accommodate the number of extensions. A total of 29 extensions were connected including one for an external fax machine and another to operate the automated secure door entry system. The system can support many more extensions, as the company requires.

James Yorke purchased standard 2-wire telephone handsets to use with the BusinessGuardian X300.

BusinessGuardian software installed on the desktop PC’s gave James Yorke employees access to sophisticated telephone services, from call conferencing to personalised voice mail, without the need for expensive, multi-function feature phones.

BusinessGuardian at Work for James Yorke

Reception: Operator Console

James Yorke do not employ a dedicated receptionist and so the operator console software has been installed on two of the PC’s. This allows the MD’s secretary and the accounts assistant to field incoming calls and transfer accordingly. The operator console software gives them visual access to the status of all lines and extensions within the company for efficient management and onward call distribution. For example, if a caller wishes to speak with the Stores Manager, either person using the operator console can ‘view’ the status of that extension to see if it is free, engaged, forwarded to another telephone or requested ‘do not disturb’.

Sales, Finance and Admin: CTI and Unified Messaging

These departments use the client software ‘screen pops’ to make and receive calls. This enables them to place; answer or transfer calls and even put them on hold to take another incoming call. The CLI (Caller Line Identifier) recognises the caller through their number and displays the callers record (if available) on the PC. This gives the person receiving the call, instant access to details about the caller. If sales receive a new enquiry they can create a record in the database simply be clicking on the task bar and selecting ‘add new record’. Contact information can be taken during the call and added to the new record. This is then saved to the database.

Everyone now has the ability to react quickly to customer enquiries and can even fax or email account details or sales information to the caller while still on the call simply by pointing and clicking the mouse at the desired menu item on the screen.

The Managing Director: CTI, Unified Messaging using remote message retrieval

James Yorkes’ Managing Director does a fair amount of travel and has found the unified messaging option a particularly useful and flexible feature. Now, when he is away from the office, he simply dials in and collects his messages: emails and voice messages, which keeps him in touch regardless of his location.

Logistics: CTI and basic telephone handsets

The Stores department has three PC’s. Staff using two of the PC’s do not have a need for the client software features and so they use the telephone in the traditional way. However, the Stores Manager often speaks to customers and James Yorke plan to install the client software onto his PC to give him the same CTI facilities used in other departments. This means, that when a customer calls inquiring about an order, the Stores Manager will ‘see’ who it is and have access to the appropriate information.

James Scarlett concludes: “The Fourtiers BusinessGuardian solution enables people to work more efficiently by simplifying business processes and sharing resources across the organisation. It makes it easier for people to do their job and puts them quickly in touch with information when they need it. James Yorke now has a technology that will enable us to evolve our business, moving away from order fulfillment and focusing on delivering service-based solutions in line with customer demand.”

The Lawyer

The busy law firm had been experiencing the growing pains typical to a newer, expanding business. With an increasing number of clients, existing communications methods were no longer adequate.

This was having a detrimental effect on the effectiveness of the company. Too much of their time was taken up performing the most basic of tasks or placating irate callers. Even worse, the firm's public image and reputation were suffering, as perception of the practice became negative.

A closer look at the existing communications processes uncovered many of the problems:

• Clients were encouraged to fax inquiries because the partner did not have time to take calls, slowing down response time dramatically and greatly reducing personal interaction.
• Paperwork was becoming a real headache.
• More devices, such as a second fax machine and a dedicated PC and modem for Internet access, were being purchased.
• Telephone messages were recorded on paper and left on desks or with a secretary.
• A senior partner was spending more of his time on computer troubleshooting than client matters.

Each of these issues needed to be addressed for the practice to improve its efficiency and restore the reputation that had helped it grow in the first place. After evaluating the Voxent BusinessGuardian System, the partners decided it was just what their firm needed.

The benefits were felt immediately:

• Clients could e-mail or fax information to the partners and know that it received immediate attention - no more waiting for faxes or missed calls.
• Faxes were sent directly from the PC, and e-mails replaced fax and paper-based messages.
• The BusinessGuardian's single device reduced the number of telephone lines and the associated rentals. Also, a single maintenance contract replaced five separate contracts.
• Partners received messages no matter where they were - a simple call to the office put them on-line to voice, data and fax messages.
• The BusinessGuardian solution has also enabled the firm to use a computer-based database that automatically links into the telephone system. Now, when a client calls, their number and details are automatically displayed on the PC giving the partners instant access to the caller's records.

Everyone in the practice has benefited from the changes. There is less paperwork sitting around the office. The ability to control fax, e-mail and voice messages directly from the PC has greatly improved efficiency. And Internet access on every PC has made additional material such as legal research and case references readily available.