Ayudar were contracted to conduct an audit of the current telecommunications at the four branches of a Chartered Surveyors company operating across Central England and to suggest a roadmap for future developments.

The audit identified £200 savings by adjusting BT discount schemes however, a review of tariffs from 20 major carriers provided savings of £7,500 (over 30%) by moving to an alternative carrier to BT.

The company made extensive use of freephone 0800 numbering where savings of £2,400 per year were achieved by renegotiating contracts. Advice was also given on the use of 0845 and 0870 services for promotional purposes.

Line utilization problems were identified with incoming calls being met with an engaged signal at busy periods with the number of incoming lines limited by old telephone equipment. By re-configuring telephone lines the customer was able to install two new IP enabled PBX’s and saved £150 into the process. This improved incoming and outgoing call availability during peak periods.

Ayudar carried out a mobile tender exercise including all the major networks. Moving to Vodafone would have saved the customer £2,000 p.a. however they decided to stay with the existing supplier O2 with £1,600 p.a. saving (18%) achieved by renegotiation of contracts.

As part of the audit, a review was carried out of the data network and connectivity, Ayudar advised on various options including ADSL. Subsequent implementations gave savings of £2,500 p.a.

In addition to cost savings Ayudar suggested a method of using the latest developments in SMS technology to reduce costs and provide an enhanced service to customers.

Total savings achieved by the customer were £14,650 a year and Ayudar is now contracted to provide ongoing support.

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