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· The GSM networks arrived along with brick handsets, 56K dial up modems gave us snail speed access to the internet and ISDN from Telkom promised to be the future of TDM communication. At this time telephony was regarded as a separate entity to data communications and was controlled by the major Telco manufacturers. They locked us into their product cycles, offered us shrink wrapped applications and charged exorbitant license fees. There were however a group of people led by Mark Spencer (the pioneer of Asterisk )who thought there may be another way. · Linux open source platforms had already started to blaze a trail through the proprietary based software industry and Asterisk was on its tail. As computer processing speeds increased, internet connection speeds became realistic and bandwidth pricing started to drop ,the ball was rolling. This was the birth of realistic carrier grade VOIP (voice over IP) or unified communication as we know it today. · In recent years the growth curve has been expediential. We now have an infrastructure that allows all media, voice, data and video to be treated as one medium, both on our local networks and the newly implemented undersea fiber SAT3/SAFE, Seacom & EASSy. This on an open source platform has fueled a revolution, despite the attempts by the threatened Telco's and software giants who endeavor to throw a spanner in the works, it continues. Companies who choose to ignore this revolution do so at their peril. THE PRESENT · Paul Colmer & Associates have realised that the days when all a business needed - and had to manage - was a few computers - An ISP account - a switchboard per branch, some landlines and a contract with a mobile network operator are over. · Today, the implementation and management of everything a business needs for its telecommunications requirements is often more complex, and potentially more expensive, than meeting its IT (data) needs. Businesses have to contend with an array of technologies that range from VoIP and Least Cost Routing to mobile voice and mobile data, CRM databases as well as a bewildering assortment of bundles and options offered by tier one and tier two network providers. Many of these are often structured in such a way that comparing features and prices is all but impossible. · All this makes it extremely difficult for the average business to know which technology to invest in, to compare service offerings and their costs and to choose the solution that best fits its requirements at the best price. In addition, with the rate at which changes are being made in the IT and telecoms sector - falling interconnect rates, the introduction of Geographic Number Portability (GNP), the real possibility of last (local loop) unbundling and more - businesses will find it even more difficult to ensure that they remain abreast of all developments. · Even acquiring a IP PBX, CRM or data network is not as simple a decision as it used to be. Should you rent it or buy it? Which system is best? Should you purchase a system for each branch or have a single, centralised system? Or should you opt for a virtual IP solution and outsource the whole thing to a IT / software or telecoms service provider? The growing complexity of the telecommunications sector is likely to result in more and more businesses outsourcing the management of their telecoms to consultants just as they do with their IT. This could make a tangible difference to improving the business’s productivity while boosting savings. · Paul Colmer & Associates assists its clients to choose the communication decision that best meets their needs and budget - and then helps them to unify it across their IT infrastructure and implement it within their businesses. · In addition, because we keep a close watch on developments in the market, we are ideally placed to identify where additional savings can be made. We can quickly pass on benefits that that may arise from, for example, a change in the way the network operators structure their packages and services. |
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THE HISTORY · Paul Colmer & Associates was formed in the UK in 1986 as a communication company primarily providing support services for banking institutions and the government and private sector hospitals. · In 1990 I relocated to South Africa and worked for a variety of communication companies. In 1991 I reformed Paul Colmer & Associates within our borders although at this stage it was largely dormant. These were strange times indeed, no cellular services, the internet existed but it was more of a thing that people talked about rather than had access to. Then slowly, very slowly things began to change. · It is a very different story today, Paul Colmer & Associates now offer state of the art unified communication solutions and a talent acquisition recruitment service. |
