Opinion Pieces

Opinion Pieces by Vox Orion. ox Telecom Limited is the leading alternative, independent telecom operator, providing voice and data services to the Southern African market

Telephone management systems can cut call costs by up to 35%

01st May 2007

After salaries, telecommunications costs are often the biggest expense for a business. But companies with an eye on the bottom line are implementing telephone management systems with reporting tools that can help control and manage the telephone call activities over a PBX.

High time for fixed line number portability

01st May 2007

With mobile number portability now entrenched in the South African telecoms market, the time has come for the introduction of the same flexibility in the fixed line arena. That’s according to Jacques du Toit, managing director of Orion Telecom, who says the introduction of fixed line number portability is long overdue.

Migration to IP telephony will streamline contact centre operations

26th Mar 2007

Anyone in telecoms knows that the adoption of IP telephony in South African contact centres has been slow for the simple reason that the process of IP telephony adoption is an expensive one. That’s according to Jacques du Toit, director of Orion Telecom, who maintains that, despite the cost, business needs to look at the longer term benefits of the technology.

Bandwidth will determine future of the IP-based contact centre in SA

11th Aug 2006

There is ongoing change underway in the way customers want to contact the companies they do business with. Telephone communications are being augmented by web-based chat, e-mail, SMS and voice and video over IP.

Integration of SMS in the call centre gives the bullet to shotgun marketing

03rd Aug 2006

More than 30 years ago the call centre was born, its main purpose to help improve customer service. In its infancy, the call centre consisted of a few telephones on desks, with calls routed through the main switchboard. This rudimentary system has evolved into today’s sophisticated customer contact centre, thanks largely to the advances made in telecommunications technology in the 1990s.

The risky business of converging voice and data on one network

01st Jun 2006

Companies will cut costs by merging voice and data because they will have only one infrastructure to manage and maintain. Or so the sales pitch goes.

Looks like VoIP, but is it really?

16th May 2006

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is enjoying a significant amount of hype in the marketplace. However, cautions JACQUES DU TOIT, sales and marketing director at Orion Telecom, not all South African companies that buy VoIP are in fact receiving it.