Peaking at 5.1 million in January 2021, there are still millions of staff across the UK that find themselves on the Government’s Furlough scheme. Currently being phased out, the system is set to come to an end in September 2021, at which point millions of workers will have to pick up where they left off. Office spaces are likely to…

Whether you call it flexible, remote, or hybrid working, there’s no denying that before 2020, it just wasn’t a realistic option for so many office staff across the UK.  Not due to an absence of technology – the infrastructure for home working isn’t new – rather a workplace culture that didn’t believe teams were able to communicate effectively over distance,…

Having navigated an entire year of home schooling, zoom classes and self-isolation, it’s safe to say that schools are by now becoming well versed in dealing with change. However, as we approach the end of the summer holidays and schools from across the country prepare to welcome pupils back to classrooms once more, the ever-changing nature of a global pandemic…

Trying to compare the cost of your home telephone system or mobile phone deal is a minefield all on its own.  Throw in the complexities of a business communications system and the extended playing field of providers at commercial level and it can be almost impossible to ascertain whether you’re paying too much for your business calls. In most cases,…

With the full easing of COVID-19 restrictions on 19th July came an official end to the governments’ ‘work from home’ directive.  With a vast swathe of office staff working predominantly from home since the start of the first lockdown in March 2020, many businesses have seen the benefits of flexibility first-hand: happier, more engaged staff, healthier work life balances and…

Pretty much all businesses take their telephone communications systems for granted.  Sometimes seen as a necessary evil, the office phone system doesn’t have the same sex appeal as the constantly evolving tech bubble of mobile phones, other devices and shiny new computers. Consequently, upgrading a phone system at regular intervals or even properly evaluating the current set up tends to…

If we’ve learnt anything from the challenges faces by surgeries throughout the Coronavirus pandemic it’s that having a robust, versatile, modern communications system is more than just a luxury.  It’s an absolute necessity in maintaining the very best patient care as well as taking care of heavily burdened staff during a national emergency.  We found that those surgeries who had…

The past 12 months have been hectic; there’s been highs, many lows and a lot of change. Things have often been done or carried out as an emergency response to events happening around us. However, with the vaccine rollout in full swing and the roadmap out of lockdown hitting its targets thus far, now may be the time to access…

If you go back just a few short years, many businesses would have been resistant to the idea of employees working predominantly from home. Fears that employees would feel disconnected from the company’s values, separated from colleagues and be less productive were understandable in a world where the majority of us commuted to work and carried it out in the…

Over the last 12 months, schools have really had to roll with the punches when it comes to adapting their working practices. This has meant embracing huge changes in the way they communicate with colleagues, parents and pupils, often using new technology to continue to teach and meet parental demands. Many schools may have already introduced a VoIP system to…

As we humans have battled with the changes the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown at us, so have pets across the world.  Over the past year a surge in pet ownership, combined with spending more time at home with our furry loved ones has meant that veterinary surgeries throughout the UK are dealing with more and more calls from concerned owners,…

2020 was the year the country proved it could work remotely. With so many businesses big and small realising the benefits and the not insignificant cost savings of working more flexibly, it’s looking like 2021 will be the year thousands of companies further evolve and perfect their home working practices and processes to embrace this new normal. A key part…

With many schools across England looking set to join our neighbours in Wales and Scotland by starting to reopen in March, is your school ready?  With two weeks to go, it’s likely that you’ll start to see a surge in calls from parents trying to get to grips with yet another new normal. The increase in call volume is likely…

Whether trying to manage staff absence through sickness or self-isolation, staying on top of the rollout of free school meals to children and young people in the community, monitoring pupil levels in school on a daily basis or communicating effectively with parents and pupils trying to learn and educate at home, there is no doubt that the Coronavirus pandemic is…

Even without the unique challenges of 2020’s global pandemic, call volumes to GP surgeries inevitably ramp during the winter months with the onset of a large number of seasonal illnesses. Of course, this year that volume is reaching unprecedented levels with heightened sickness in the community as well as increased staff absence due to Covid infection, self-isolation or shielding.  So…

As 2020 progressed and the Coronavirus pandemic deepened, more and more staff were required to work from home regardless of industry, sector, geographical location or size.  Throughout the year businesses demonstrated that by modernising working practices and embracing modern technology to its fullest extent, they were able to quickly and easily move to a flexible working arrangement without loss of…

In an unprecedented year, businesses have faced innumerable challenges to adapt how they work, sometimes simply to survive.  One thing that has become clear is that early adopters of new technology and working practices have been able to weather the Coronavirus pandemic better than those who’ve had to play catch up. The key to communication success when it comes to…

Whenever they’re getting started, small businesses need all the help they can get to survive. As many as eight out of ten small businesses fail within the first 18 months. In 2020, a year where global economies have been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic, it’s an even tougher environment out there for most small businesses. While there are government schemes…

During a normal winter, staffing levels are always erratic in the winter months, with the usual winter bugs like flu and colds going around. 2020 looks to be even worse, with people showing coronavirus symptoms potentially having to self-isolate for days while waiting for their test results to come back. December is also a popular time for staff to use…

Businesses of all sizes face communication issues from time to time. The challenge facing small and medium companies are often greater as they just don’t have the resources necessary to completely tackle the problem. Not having the right resources in place has only aggravated the risk from potential communication problems. These issues can range from customers being unable to easily…

Businesses of all sizes face communication issues from time to time. The challenge facing small and medium companies are often greater as they just don’t have the resources necessary to completely tackle the problem. Not having the right resources in place has only aggravated the risk from potential communication problems. These issues can range from customers being unable to easily…

The Covid-19 global pandemic has made us reassess a huge number of things both in our personal lives and across society. One thing it has definitely highlighted is how feasible it is for many of us to work from home more often, if not permanently. With the second lockdown and a potentially difficult winter ahead, working from home looks like…

The lead up to Christmas is normally a great time of year for many of us, with food, gifts and retail therapy. That means that November and December are among the busiest months for so many of the UK’s biggest sectors, particularly retail and hospitality. A second lockdown may have thrown original plans into chaos, but come what may, many…

Towards the end of September, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson instructed people to return to working from home as and where possible, sending thousands of people back from their offices to remote working again. Not coming into the workplace every day and working from home can be jarring for many, with the transition to working at home for the next…

There’s a lot of scaremongering going on in the press since Boris Johnson announced the latest round of COVID-19 measures, including the new three tier lockdown system. In many of his recent speeches, the Prime Minister said the UK was in for a tough winter because of the implications of Coronavirus. There could be added stresses on our healthcare system…

If you run a business and want to make things work as smoothly as possible during these unusual and unprecedented times, you’ll need technology that lives up to your needs and systems that are robust enough to deal with changing work conditions. Having a phone system that meets your needs is important, particularly at a time when more and more…

BT is planning to “switch off” the UK’s entire traditional phone line network by 2025, which means switching over from a standard phone system to a phone system running over the internet is inevitable. Now might not seem like the ideal time to have to update your phone system, with the Coronavirus pandemic having widespread effects on the community. However,…

In any business, the ability to communicate with clients and customers is essential to your success. Having a phone system that meets your needs is crucial to ensuring those good lines of communication — especially in a shifting working landscape where more and more people than ever are working from home. With the uncertainty due to the Coronavirus pandemic and…

Is the Coronavirus pandemic forcing you to change the way your business is working? It might not seem like it, but now might be the perfect time to make the switch over from your traditional phone systems to something new. One of the big future-proof options is VoIP. But what exactly is VoIP, you ask? Here’s our beginner’s guide to…

Did you know that BT is planning to “switch off” the UK’s entire traditional phone line network by 2025? Five years might sound like a long time, but the reality is that if you rely on traditional phone lines for your business, the switch off means you’ll probably need to change your telephony to internet-capable phones by 2025. With the…

The economy has taken a huge hit since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. Lockdown effectively meant that businesses — and life as we know it — ground to a halt for weeks and weeks. Some businesses have been devastated by the financial crisis, while others have managed to navigate the turbulence, while having to radically change the way they…

For many businesses big and small alike, the coronavirus lockdown imposed by the government has forced new ways of working and looking at the day-to-day work environment. Some have made the most of a bad situation; some pubs have done takeaway food or beer in an effort to keep their locals fed and watered, independent retailers have started offering delivery…

Working remotely and working from home is a trend that has been steadily growing for years. It’s become increasingly popular as a way of fitting work around lifestyle, with the removal of a daily commute thought to make things particularly convenient for many people. In 2020, during the height of the coronavirus crisis, it’s becoming standard practice more and more…

The past few months have been difficult for many businesses across the South West – whether through a loss of trade during the lockdown or through the complexity of having staff members working remotely when they’ve previously always been in your office. During this period, we’ve moved a number of businesses over to our VoIP solutions. The reason for this…

At a time when track and trace, social distancing and returning to school are being talked about on a daily or even hourly basis, having an understanding of where (and in what number) people are on your school campus has never been as important. We’re able to off schools the Inventry system, which is trusted by more than 7,000 establishments…

When times are changing quickly, you need to be flexible in your response. The word ‘unprecedented’ has been mentioned a lot over the past two or three months and for schools there can be no better word to encapsulate the new world you’ve had to react and adapt to. With your teachers and support staff working remotely, we know that…

Since March 23rd, the UK has taken the drastic step of ordering a lockdown, with people being told to stay at home unless it’s absolutely necessary to leave. It’s all due to the spread of Covid-19, more commonly known as the Coronavirus. Millions of people across the world are living in similar lockdown conditions; adjusting to the measures for the…

Since the UK went into lockdown in March, most of us have been sticking to the rules well and self-isolating as much as possible. That means a lot of people in their homes, looking for ways to stay busy, stay entertained and stay connected to the outside world. More than ever before, we’re leaning on our home broadband connection for…

The spread of Covid-19, known more commonly as the Coronavirus, has seen widespread repercussions across the globe. Italy has seen Europe’s biggest outbreak, leading the Italians to go into a country-wide lockdown, restricting travel and public gatherings. Thankfully, the UK has managed to keep a comparative lid on the virus so far. Initially the “contain stage” for as long as…

There have been a number of schools across the country that have already had to close due to potential Coronavirus outbreaks. For many schools it’s not yet a threat, but the thought of it is a concern while schools are open, so they’ll need to keep on top of any medical issues at any given moment. The InVentry electronic sign…

The news is being dominated by the worldwide spread of Covid-19, known more widely as the Coronavirus. The UK has responded to the threat robustly so far, with the response to the virus still in the containment stage, but the situation is still worrying. Restricting mass gatherings, closing workplaces and schools are currently not on the Government’s agenda, but Scotland’s…

When he became Prime Minister last July, Boris Johnson made a pledge that nobody would have to wait more than three weeks to see their GP, but since then 11 million patients have endured waits longer than three weeks. Demand for NHS services is rising all the time, but more often than not, surgeries are finding themselves stretched in every…

If you’re in business, you’ll constantly have an eye on costs; sometimes a penny saved is a penny earned and that’s been particularly important for many businesses of all sizes in recent times. In the retail sector, sales failed to rise for a record fifth month in a row in December, with household spending in high street shops and online…

The recent Storms Brendan, Ciara and Dennis managed to cause chaos up and down the country, with gales of more than 75mph and heavy rainfall hitting the UK, leading to widespread flooding and affecting travel and power across the country. Numerous counties across the nation also saw thousands of properties lose power as the high winds downed trees and power…

The thought of your local school going into lockdown is an absolutely terrifying thought, yet it’s happened twice in the UK this month. Castlecombe Primary School in Bromley was placed on lockdown as police investigated sightings of a man in the vicinity with a gun, while a similar scenario played out at Wiltsthorpe School in Derbyshire earlier this month, when…

If you’re a family owned or small business in the South West, then you’re certainly not alone. In fact, more than 90% of businesses fall into that category across the West Country. But what does that really mean to you as a family member or a business owner? In reality it almost always means that you have a lot on…

When you think of targets set in schools, you think of students aiming for top grades, or teachers trying to keep a class above a certain average score in exams. But just like any other organisation, your school will likely be constantly striving for better in terms of making things more efficient, improving communication with parents and making life a…

The start of any new year is a great time to reflect, plan and respond. What can you be doing better? What could you be introducing that would increase the productivity of your staff? How about improving the experience each of your patients has when they visit or contact your surgery? These are questions that many doctors, vets and dental…

Christmas is a fantastic time of year for most of us, with all the food, presents and precious time with loved ones. For many of us it’s very busy too; hospitality and tourism businesses are swamped by people wanting some festive fun, doctors’ surgeries are busy with people suffering winter ailments, while eCommerce businesses can struggle to keep up with…

As a business you’ll want to be as productive as possible. A large part of that will be making sure that your staff members have the processes, procedures and systems in place in order to make that goal a reality.  When it comes to communication your phone system is at the heart of it all; it allows you to communicate…

If you’re running a business, do you ever find your phone system frustrating and no longer capable of giving you what you need from it? Is it hampering your interactions with customers? Whilst changing your phone system can seem like something of a chore and always stay at the bottom of the to-do list, the benefits a VoIP system (where…

If you’re currently running a small business, then you’re bound to have plenty on your plate. It’s therefore easy to understand why updating your phone system may feel like another task or decision at the end of a very long list. However, whilst on the face of it, taking the plunge and getting it sorted may seem like a drain…

Both GP and veterinary surgeries are facing the same pressures and looking to achieve similar goals — reducing costs, increasing efficiency and improving communications with patients. Yet this might seem like an insurmountable problem when surgery teams are put under strain during the busiest hours of the day. The rising and aging UK population is putting health services under strain,…

As a small business owner, you’ll have plenty to think about when it comes to your phone system. How much will it cost? Are your call charges growing month after month? What will it cost to bring in a new employee and an additional phone line? And that’s just for a start! The best answer to many of these questions…

If you own or run a surgery and you’re not currently using a VoIP phone system, there are a whole host of benefits you could be missing out on that can easily improve your communication with patients, reduce costs and increase efficiency. Let’s take a look at four ways a VoIP system could take your communication to the next level.…

We’ve been working with schools across the South West for more than 20 years.  If you’re currently considering if a VoIP phone system could be the right solution for your campus, here are a few of the benefits from which your school could gain…. Addressing your campus layout Every school or university will be unique, however one thing that is…

Looking for a telephone system for your business that gives you everything you need at the fraction of the cost? Here’s everything you need to know about VoIP phone systems in a nutshell… Can it really cut costs? If you’re currently using traditional phone lines to run your business, then you could instantly cut costs with a VoIP system.  How…

Local business launches new CCTV service for schools and businesses in the West Country A South West–based communications company is now offering a brand new CCTV service to local organisations looking to maximise their security and efficiency. Equations Voice and Data, with offices in Devon and Somerset, has been providing telephone systems and technology to businesses, schools, medical practices and…

There were more than 175,000 burglaries across the UK last year. That’s a staggering 19 every hour of the day and more than 400 every time the clock passes midnight. One of the key questions you should be asking as a school or business is: how would you cope if you were to fall victim of crime (particularly when Scotland…

A leading telephone systems provider is encouraging schools and other education institutions across the region to review their ability to communicate if their campus were to go into lockdown. Equations Voice and Data, based in Devon and Somerset, have been working with a number of schools from across the country in the wake of five incidents so far this year…

Last month, Exeter University when into lockdown when a student began threatening others with a handgun. The University’s strict emergency protocols were actioned, with the building put into immediate lockdown and firearms officers and a police dog called to the scene. Students, some of whom were in exams, had to be evacuated from the building as well as several other…

In this fast-moving digital age, we find ourselves upgrading our company mobiles and IT equipment on a fairly regular basis as technology become increasingly powerful and advanced. But when was the last time you thought about updating your telephone system? For large organisations spread across sites both domestically and globally, the need for a robust and effective phone system has…

Our healthcare and veterinary care systems are under increasing pressure as the UK population and the percentage of pet owners both continue to grow rapidly. At more than 66 million, the UK population is already at an all-time high, and is projected to grow to nearly 73 million by 2041. Theresa May has just pledged an extra 5,000 GPs to…

In this ‘always on’ digital age, our personal and business lives are becoming increasingly inextricable as the line between the two becomes more and more blurred. We can check work emails on our personal mobiles and manage our business’ social media through our personal accounts, whilst also remaining fully contactable by friends and family throughout the working day. The rise…

So exam season is in full swing and we’re racing towards the end of yet another school year already. Scary, isn’t it, how quickly time goes? Students and teachers will no doubt be looking forward to some well-earned rest over the Summer holidays; but for head teachers, the work doesn’t stop there. The school year-end and Summer holidays is a…

In today’s ‘always connected’ culture, your ability to remain in continuous contact with your clients, when and wherever, requires a communications system that provides an open, direct line to your business. Whether you’re in the accounting, legal, estate agency, advertising or consultancy business, your professional services firm needs to be easily available to your clients in order to stay ahead…

As a school, how does the idea of potentially saving money on your phone system as well as your daily calls and rental charges sound? How about actually getting a system that really works for your own unique set of circumstances and improving communication at the same time? Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? In reality, it’s really…

As the Easter bank holiday period approaches, you’ll hopefully be looking forward to putting your feet up for a well-earned rest (if only for a couple of days!). However, if you work for a veterinary or doctors surgery then you’ll likely have the headache of how best to communicate a wide range of information to your patients; updated opening hours…

How do you currently make and take your calls? If it’s through a standard phone line rather than an internet-based solution such as ‘VoIP’ then you need to be aware of a looming deadline! That’s because BT is planning to ‘hang up’ all ISDN and PSTN phone lines by 2025. ‘2025!’ we hear you say! No rush at all then?…

Last week, four schools in the South London (Croydon) area went into lockdown following reports and sightings of a man in the surrounding area armed with a gun.  They remained in lockdown during 10 hours of police negotiations. Whilst this is a situation we hope never happens again, how well equipped would you be to effectively communicate during a period…

Electricity – it’s something we all rely on day after day. But what would happen to your business, school or organisation if it were to be without power for a period of time? No phones, no calls, no communication. How would that affect your organisation? What would the impact be? If these are questions that you’ve never asked before then…

There are now 9.2 million people working in the UK with dependent children. Not sound like that many? That’s almost one in every four people of working age, so the chances are that no matter what line of business you’re in or how large or small your organisation may be, you’re highly likely to work with a parent. With parenting…

As a country we love to talk about the weather but there’s one thing that sends a shiver down the spine of any commuter across the UK and that’s signs of snow! Just a couple of inches is enough to leave some parts of the country inaccessible and decimate any chance of making it to work until temperatures warm and…

Does your business or organisation have employees across multiple sites? Perhaps you have people working from home or salespeople that are frequently on the road or away from their desks? If this sounds familiar to your working life, then you’ll likely be met by and familiar with some of the common problems faced when people aren’t in the same place…

If you don’t know how your phone system or employees are performing, how can you make improvements to your current service levels or identify any issues and quickly address them? Ultimately great decisions are based on good information. You need it to understand what’s currently happening in order to improve it in the future. This is exactly what our NEC…

We live in a world where we’re always connected. If we’re not at the desk we’re available on our mobile. But in a modern world shouldn’t the two be seamlessly connected? Doesn’t it seem a little out of date to have a desktop number and a mobile number? In reality this situation can also pose a couple of very common…

If you own a hotel have you ever found it frustrating that your phone system can’t be seamlessly integrated with your room and property management system? Found it troublesome dealing with multiple technology suppliers; one for your phone, one for the hotel management system? If either of these sound like you then you’re going to love our specialist solution for…

It now seems a while since the furore of GDPR swept the nation back in May of this year, but the consequences of the updates made to the way businesses hold and manage data were far-reaching and compliance is now compulsory. So what exactly is GDPR? In case you missed it, GDPR stands for the ‘General Data Protection Regulation’ and…

Have you heard of the term ‘toll fraud’? If not then you’re certainly not alone, but what if we told you that 84% of businesses in the UK are vulnerable to an attack and that the average cost for the victims can be as much as £10,000 with nobody to claim against? Now that we have your attention, let’s explain…

Over the past 25 years we’ve worked with pretty much every type of professional services provider you can think of; insurance brokers, lawyers, accountants and independent financial suppliers to name just a few! We not only understand their needs when it comes to their phone system and communicating with their clients, but also their regulatory obligations in areas such as…

Every business is different; they face different challenges, serve different customers and deliver different products and services. That’ll come as no surprise to you as a business owner. However, there are some common challenges that many businesses face when it comes to communicating with their customers or suppliers. Whilst often hundreds or even thousands of emails will be sent each…

No matter whether you’re a dentist, a doctor or a vet, your phone system will be at the heart of how your surgery communicates with its patients. It should make it easy for them to get the information they want, to contact you in an emergency or to speak with the person they need as quickly and efficiently as possible.…

When it comes to phone systems for schools and education providers we really do know our onions; we’ve worked with hundreds across the South West and beyond for more than twenty-five years. Small campuses, large campuses, multi-site providers, you name it, we’ve helped them! With over two decades of specialism comes a lot of experience; we know what works and…

Whilst we hope it will never happen, have you thought about how you’d communicate with staff and pupils across your school if you needed to commence a lockdown protocol as the result of a terror or lone attack? Mass school shootings and acts of terrorism can often be things that you see on the television and think of as being…

Do you have people working remotely or on their own? If so then you’re certainly no longer in the minority – many organisations and businesses now embrace remote working as advances in technology and internet speeds make it an increasingly cost effective and attractive way of working. But if those employees were to become injured or embroiled in a dangerous…

VoIP telephony is becoming increasingly popular with many of the organisations with whom we work. No matter if you’re a school, a doctor’s surgery or any other form of organisation, this technology potentially offers a host of benefits including cost savings and increased flexibility and functionality. It is however a big decision to move away from a traditional system toward…

Does your organisation take high volumes of calls or have a lot of people on the phone at any given time? Could you benefit from better understanding when those calls are made, who’s taking them and from having that information at the fingertips at every point during the day? If the answer to those questions is a ‘yes’, then NEC’s…

If you think about your phone, the technology in your car or any other area of your life five years ago and compare it to the here and now, you’ll soon realise that when it comes to technology, things really do move quickly. We’ve been working with organisations on their phone systems for more than 20 years, so as you…

No matter the size of your organisation, or the line of business in which you work, turning to a VoIP phone system brings with it a wide range of benefits. From cost savings to flexibility and adaptability, these systems are becoming more and more popular – so how long can you ignore the positives of having a phone system that…

Do you have staff members working at different locations on different days? Perhaps you have people on the road or working from home? No matter where your colleagues are based, you’ll now be able to bring them all together to share, collaborate, message and communicate, all with one simple user-friendly app. What is this app and how does it work?…

It’s estimated that up to 84% of South West organisations could be vulnerable to a growing trend in ‘toll fraud’, which is when hackers gain unlawful access to your phone system and begin making calls to international or long distance numbers using your telephone lines. Toll fraud itself has been around for a while, with the Communications Fraud Control Association…

When it comes to technology times move quickly. As our mobile phones and computers get more powerful we often change them and upgrade accordingly, sometimes on a regular basis, but when was the last time you reviewed your telephone system or the costs associated with making and taking calls? For many business owners a review of their telephone provider can…