Ostratto - Blog | Ostratto #professional

Case Study: Supporting High Quality Care

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 12:34:02 +0000

BBcare10 is a care provider based in Gloucestershire, UK, specialising in bespoke support for young people and adults with complex care needs. With demand increasing for their highly sought-after care service, the aging technical systems and tools implemented at BBcare10 were inhibiting growth and limiting service capacity.

The initial meeting with BBcare10 was regarding a new, optimised website to be in-line with planned marketing efforts. Amongst the website design service it became clear other technical limitations existed in the business such as unreliable email systems, the use of mobile phone numbers as the main business enquiry numbers, the cumbersome use of paper shift-rotas and the general inability to easily onboard new staff.

BBcare10 at the time of initial enquiry were a team of 4. To date, we've seen them grow to a team of 18 - and actively recruiting.

The Task

With the demand growing for BBcare10's high-quality care service, existing systems were causing instability and limiting growth.

To meet the demands of required service, BBcare10's systems needed an overhaul. Systems implemented needed to be simple to maintain, reliable and scalable to meet the onboarding expectation.

Simple

As the team was expected to grow exponentially, it was crucial that any systems implemented were intuitive and didn't require substantial training before use.

Maintained

With team members being spread across the country and mostly mobile, it was key that any implemented solutions required little maintenance. Downtime means that patient care is harder to provide, which could negatively affect service quality.

Reliable

With one of the main pain-points of the current system being that communication methods were unreliable, it was imperative that systems were available at all times with shift patterns operating 24/7, all days of the year.

Scalable

Although one of our guiding principles anyway, it was a certain requirement that everything implemented was ready to scale with the expected business growth at BBcare10.

Secure by Design

It was also vital that systems were secure by design. With sensitive client records being involved - all data needed to be strictly access-controlled and on a 'zero-trust' basis. All solutions were implemented with this at the forefront of importance.

Products Featured

Leveraging our wide range of products and services, we implemented the correct tools to achieve the objective.

Website Design

Website Design services provided the business website, where staff as well as customers can access information.

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Google Workspace

Google Workspace acting as the 'glue', was vital to ensuring communication across the business was efficient.

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Zoho People

Zoho People, the feature-rich cloud-based HR system, provided the full staff onboarding process.

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Vonage

Vonage enabled the business enquiry channel by providing a local landline number that diverts to multiple mobile devices.

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Professional Services

Designing, implementing and maintaining the solution to requirements was all completed in-house by Ostratto.

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Implementation

The entire approach was then designed around these requirements, plus a few extras that would enhance the solution.

Simple

By utilising Google Workspace, users were able to work, communicate and manage all in one place. Gmail being a 99.99% reliable email system meant that confidence was restored in customer communication. With Google accounts then utilised to authenticate across other systems at BBcare10, users were faster to onboard with only one account required to work.

Following initial workshop training completed with the team, future users were guided by each other. With Google Workspace already being natively intuitive, additional support requirements were minimal.

Maintained

Going one step further with the Google eco-system, Chromebooks were then deployed to all team members so that they could complete their shift notes out in the field, using a digital form securely accessible on the company website. Chromebooks being virus-free, regularly updated and managed centrally from Google Workspace meant the maintenance and security requirements were met with ease.

With the business website and HR system being hosted in a cloud-environment, security and feature improvements could be implemented with no downtime.

Reliable

A focus on using cloud-based systems resulted in ultra-reliable business systems that are centrally managed and updated on-the-fly with no downtime or scheduled maintenance to date.

Gone were the days of being uncertain whether an important email had been sent or recieved by it's recipient and gone were the days of team members being unable to effectively communicate with each other.

Scalable

As all systems were designed around Google Workspace, new user onboarding was possible within minutes. A new user would be deployed on Google Workspace and immediately they were able to log on to all business systems as well as utilise a BBcare10 Chromebook.

By utilising onboarding features within Zoho People, all required documents were automatically requested during the onboarding process, vastly improving time and resources and enabling business scalability.

Secure

With sensitive patient information being held within the business, it was key that data was audit-controlled and contained in a secure environment. With Google Drive being access-controlled, fully audit-tracked and highly available, it was a natural choice for data storage.

Chromebooks could be deployed for users quickly as well as easily moved between team members by simply logging into BBcare10 Google accounts. When a user logs out of a Chromebook, all local data is erased, ensuring important data is only ever held securely in Google Drive where audit control can be ensured.

Result

With the business county-wide at 18 team members and growing, BBcare10 now cares for over 30 regular service users providing over 320 shifts per month. Their technology investment has provided a drastic return which can be seen clearly in their ability to serve such a high demand whilst delivering exceptional care services.

The implementation of the correct systems and tools has resulted in BBcare10 vastly improving efficiency, communication, service capacity and onboarding times, ultimately enabling business growth.

Although initially only contacted for website design services, BBcare10 and Ostratto now work together on an ongoing basis to constantly improve systems and processes across the business.

Efficiency Improved

Staff Onboarding Streamlined

Service Capacity Increased

At Ostratto, we're fundamentally customer-success focused. This means instead of designing solutions based on our expectations, we focus on customer requirements and needs to ensure their success. In turn, we find success in shared success as our customers' trusted technical consultancy partner whom they can rely upon.

We solve complex business problems with cutting-edge technology, whilst keeping everything simple for our customers. Be sure to check out other examples of how we have helped businesses make their work, less work.

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Case Study: Smarter Auditing

Sat, 16 Jul 2022 09:49:41 +0000

Mistral Technical Services Ltd are a multi-discipline Consultancy/Management company based in Gloucestershire, UK. They provide solutions to clients across a wide range of sectors including manufacturing, retail and care.

The consequences of a poorly serviced retail estate for a national supermarket can be devastating: operational downtime, health and saftey issues, fines and - most feared of all - damage to the national brand. After decades of mergers, acquisitions and rapid estate growth, one of Mistral Technical Services' retail clients raised the need for an ambitious store audit involving over 400 stores.

The audit would provide crucial data on problem areas, suppliers and stores so that the client can improve their servicing efforts and ultimately bring all stores in line. Mistral had a large part to play with the role of supplying the valuable data over a 2 year span in a format that was live and actionable with priority assigned to more pressing issues.

The Task

To achieve a higher standard of service, the end client required detailed information on how servicing was being carried out, as well as how problem-areas that were requiring more frequent service (and more cost), could be best managed.

Mistral Technical Services Ltd was engaged to implement an auditing solution which would involve Mistral's auditors visiting the 400+ sites to complete audits on all technical retail components; to name a few, air-conditioning, lighting and refridgeration.

The data gathered through these audits then needed to be presented in an informational way so that the supermarket giant could take action and improve their servicing processes.

Live

Data needed to be live and active. This is so that actions that could be considered 'critical' (safety issues) can be carried out before an incident occurs. Waiting for a pool of data to be presented after 2 years wouldn't be sufficient and/or useful.

Accessible

The data provided by the audits needed to be accessible for stakeholders across the country and in a format that was informative and easily understood.

Actionable

Presenting the data in an actionable form was a key requirement. With over 400 stores being audited twice in a two year period, raw data would be massively labour-intensive to analyse and create actions upon.

Accurate

To produce useful, actionable information, the underlying data needed to be accurate and relevant, whilst still being simple to gather for the auditor in the field.

Products Featured

Leveraging our wide range of products and services, we implemented the correct tools to achieve the objective.

Managed Devices

Deploying iOS devices in the field across the country was only possible after ensuring security and manageability.

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Google Workspace

Google Workspace acting as the 'glue', was vital to ensuring communication across the business was efficient.

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iAuditor

iAuditor, a cloud-based auditing solution, enabled the auditing teams to complete their inspections from anywhere.

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Vonage

Vonage enabled the auditors to call ahead to the stores from a landline number without sharing their mobile numbers.

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Ostratto Support

The auditors in the field can feel confident in knowing they are technically supported at all times.

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Professional Services

Designing, implementing and maintaining the solution to requirements was all completed in-house by Ostratto.

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Implementation

The entire approach was then designed around these requirements, plus a few extras that would enhance the solution.

Live

By adopting a cloud-based auditing solution, iAuditor, auditors use an app on their issued mobile devices to complete the audits. Sets of pre-defined questions provide multiple choice options, with the ability to add notes and photos as required.

The data is then instantly available online with automations triggered when the answer to a question is deemed an immediate risk.

Actionable

To date, over 2,100 audits have been completed, resulting in more than 17,400 items flagged as issues.

Forming useful information from this amount of data involved creating specific dashboards and report outputs which highlighted key areas the end client is focused on.

Each audit also produces a written report automatically, for distribution to the relavant business areas.

Secure

With potentially-sensitive data being collected across over 400 stores, it was absolutey vital that all information was accessed securely, whilst still retaining the mobility that the solution required.

Utilising Google Workspace, all users accessing the data and auditing systems are authenticated at every endpoint. All of the team at Mistral use Google Workspace for their productivity needs already, so using their account to access the auditing solution is intuitive and seamless.

Combined with the requirement to use a company-issued device to complete the audits, the entire solution is inherently secure, yet simple.

Accessible

Stakeholders were issued their own logins, as well as a managed mobile device, so that they can review the live, incoming information as necessary.

Automated, live graphs and reports were created based on key data so that stakeholders would only see the information that mattered. I.e. Stores in the South West using a common refridgeration supplier were experiencing more fault call-outs than stores using a different supplier.

Accurate

Mistral Technical Services Ltd, with their extensive knowledge in the technical areas, were able to produce bespoke audit templates with mostly a 'yes/no + take a picture' response. This meant that each question was simple to respond to, and all responses included an image for reference.

Approaching the templates with a simple choice response meant that auditors could complete the audits efficiently, whilst the answers they chose held specific weighting in the overall audit score which would produce a highly accurate report.

Manageable

Building on top of the secure user management offered by Google Workspace, all auditors are also issued a managed mobile device.

The managed devices are geographically tracked, apps and features are managed and restricted centrally, and security measures such as strong passwords are enforced. The devices are consistently monitored for non-compliance with automatic alerts being sent to Ostratto Support for investigation.

By managing the devices centrally, all stakeholders can be confident using them in the field so that more time and resource can be spent on achieving the overarching objective(s).

Result

At the time of writing, 2,694 audits have been completed with 20,171 items flagged for review across 421 stores. A confirmed value of over £500,000 has already been recognised as a cost saving due to proactive identification of failing refrigeration systems resulting in minimal stock loss. The information provided by this cutting-edge auditing solution has resulted in massive service overhauls within the end client's operations, improving efficiency and reducing costs significantly by taking a proactive approach to service issues.

Although initially only contracted for two years, the auditing service is now into it's fourth year of operation due to it's incredible success. The service is now deemed a vital part of the end client's service plan with no intention of ceasing Mistral's input or the solution implemented by Ostratto.

End-Client Cost Reduction

Efficiency Improved

Contract Extended Indefinitely

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Supercharging your Business with VOIP

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 12:03:00 +0000

Instead of using traditional phone lines, a VoIP phone system uses the Internet Protocol to make and receive calls. With the growth of broadband, VoIP has emerged as the clear choice for phone service for both individuals and companies.

VoIP stands for voice-over-internet protocol. It is a technology that enables internet-connected devices to make and receive phone calls over the internet. Many organisations choose VoIP, especially when dealing with a high number of conversations and data storage.

How does it work?

Now you know we like to keep it simple here at Ostratto, so, if you aren't too interested in how the sausage is made you can skip to the next section.

Voice over IP is a technology that turns your voice into a digital signal, compresses it, and delivers it over the internet. To function, VoIP often requires an internet connection. Aside from that, the VoIP functionality is contingent on the quality and speed of the internet connection. This implies that VoIP phones perform best when such internet connection is fast and consistent. When both the caller and the recipient are using VoIP equipment, the call signals go fully digitally, with no signal translation.

How VoIP operates is dependent on the devices and extensions used to make these sorts of calls. It is critical to understand how they are employed and how they enhance voice quality and communication performance.

Credit: Unsplash

Pros and Cons of Voice over IP

Pros

Remote work friendly. Employees can work from any location thanks to VoIP. They can connect in from any computer, use any IP phone, and telecommute instead of creating a new satellite offices and adopting costs such as paying rent and utilities.
Cost. Calls using VoIP are often packaged in bundles providing unlimited (and sometimes internationally) minutes. With no physical PBX equipment costs and often no physical handset costs, the entry cost is minimal. Perfect for small businesses.
Quality. VoIP uses wideband codecs, which have a larger audio bit depths and so provide better voice quality. Narrowband codecs are used in traditional phone line networks, which generally result in lower-quality calls.
Feature-rich. VoIP, with its sophisticated capabilities like auto attendant and call transferring, allows even a one-person team to present the appearance of a larger organisation.
Availability. One distinguished aspect of a cloud-based VoIP service is the advanced availability offered by the cloud. Not only can you generally expect the likes of 99.999% uptime, redundancy features such as emergency forwarding to mobile phone numbers are often baked-in. This means users missing calls becomes a problem of the past.

Cons

Internet-dependant. The quality and dependability of your sound will be determined by your internet connection and network settings. You must rely on an internet service for VoIP communication, whereas traditional PBX systems use the PBX network. Should the internet connection go down in an office or satellite location, calls cannot be received by users. Data service is required on the go too.
Recurring cost. For as long as a cloud-based VoIP system is required, a monthly or annual cost will always need to be paid, and this is usually user-based licencing. As the business grows, so do the costs of the phone system whereas traditional systems can expand at a lower cost. That being said, many VoIP vendors have overcome this by offering volume pricing. And over the long run all businesses will see a cost saving.
Latency and jitter can be an issue. Jitter and latency are other call quality issues you may experience with your cloud-based phone calls. It’s just a natural function of wireless networks. Between your internal network, ISP, and VoIP service provider there are many servers in between which data needs to travel through. Jitter can result in choppy audio or calls that are delayed or dropped. The variance in ping responses that measures jitter. Latency can result in callers experiencing a brief delay or echo in a conversation. In most cases, it’s not noticeable, but in severe circumstances, it can be problematic.

Features that can be expected

And onto how cloud-based VoIP can really do bits for your business. Here's a list of common features you will see advertised within phone system feature-sets.

Auto-attendant/receptionist. An automated attendant is a top feature for companies. Using call routing rules, this functionality answers all incoming calls and forwards them to the appropriate extension.
Call Queuing. A call queuing tool will assist you in queuing your customers’ phone calls. You can often also set up notifications to remind your callers your callers of their turn and the wait time.
Call Recording/Monitoring. These two great features can empower your business by checking the consistency of your customer service on calls and limiting the deterioration of your company’s efficiency. They can also be used in a legal setting as evidence of claims.
Voicemail/call forwarding. Because often smaller businesses can't be available all hours of a day, there will be times when a call can't be answered. Call forwarding is a common corporate telephony tool that ensures that your customers’ calls are never missed. Inbound calls can be diverted to another extension, phone number, or a voicemail function.
Conferencing. Conference calls are ideal for remote teams because they allow them to collaborate even when they are physically apart. Some managers and owners may organise this sort of call on a frequent basis, whether it's keeping teams updated or checking in with customers.
Data analytics. VoIP Data Analytics are a sophisticated data report framework, generally included with most VoIP phone systems. It is useful for businesses that deal with a variety of outgoing and incoming clients calls on a regular basis. Informations such as missed calls and overall wait times help improve customer service quality.
Business Tool Integrations. In our opinion, one of the top VoIP benefits is the ability to connect data with external business tools such as ticketing systems or email, keeping conversation records consolidated and teams connected. These integrations are very useful for remote teams. Many modern business phone networks integrate with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) programmes such as Zoho CRM. This guarantees that all transcripts of interactions are connected, forming a wealth of information. Sales app integration is a one-of-a-kind solution that enables users to automate their sales funnel, get closer to prospects, and complete more transactions. Sweet!

Is VoIP necessary?

For years, businesses have been debating whether or not to move to cloud-based VoIP. Some businesses made the changeover in the early days of technology, while others waited until prices dropped and quality, dependability, and availability of knowledge were ironed out.

Now, as these aspects have been ironed out, BT have announced they will be switching off the PTSN network in 2025. This means that not only is cloud-based VoIP the logical choice for businesses, it will soon be the only choice.

Price of VoIP

In general, with cloud-based VoIP, you can expect costs between £10 and £20 per 'seat' per month. A seat is essentially a user of the system.

Often suppliers offer monthly or annual payment options and generally expect a commitment of at least a year, with discounts provided on longer term contracts.

In Summary

Voice over IP is a fantastic and obvious method to run your business telephone communications. The significance of VoIP in telecommuting cannot be overstated. The current state of affairs necessitates a more advanced and adaptable work culture which means many business owners are concerned about their employees’ ability to work efficiently from home.

To make the best selection, you should first comprehend the benefits of VoIP, then examine the features and functionalities you require, and last compare all of your options until you find one that meets the bill. This is where we come in.

We offer a range of telephony options from different vendors, meaning we can suggest the most suitable option for businesses from an unbiased position.

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5 Reasons Everyone Should Have the RingCentral G Suite Add-on

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 11:19:39 +0000

When it comes to tech companies that have had a large impact on how we work smart, it’s hard to dispute that Google has been a strong contender. In the 22 years since the company was founded, Google has changed how people (and businesses) use the Internet in countless ways.

A suite of powerful tools that includes Gmail (email), shared calendars, documents, and other functions, Google’s offerings for business, collectively called G Suite, have had a massive upward trajectory. In the 4.5 years since November 2015 (back when G Suite was still called Google Apps for Work), paid user base has tripled to 6 million paid accounts. There’s a good chance you and other businesses your company does business with are among them.

But as with any tool you’re using to support collaboration and productivity, you may wonder if there are ways you can use it better in order to make communications more efficient.

Installing RingCentral’s G Suite Add-on is one way to accelerate the collaborative benefits you’re already gaining from using G Suite. Here are five ways the RingCentral G Suite Add-on will make your life easier.

The ultimate power couple.

1. Message or call colleagues directly from Gmail

Email has long been a primary communication tool within workplaces for many good reasons. To name a few, email creates a lasting record of what has been said, and can be sent from any connected device at any time. But email is not without limitation. In fact, email can be a source of hassle among businesses.

Emails are easily ignored. O ne survey found 60.8% of workers to be guilty of not responding to emails occasionally, often or always—and they’re rife with the potential for miscommunication due to lack of tone and context.

That’s why it's good practice to switch to a different medium of talking if you're not making progress after a bit of back and forth.

The RingCentral G Suite Add-on allows you to message or call colleagues directly from Gmail, making it easy to hop on a call or video chat without added coordination for those times when email conversation just isn’t cutting it.

2. Schedule meetings directly in Calendar

Scheduling meetings can be an absolute farce over email. First, you have to find an agreeable time, then create a calendar entry, and then figure out how to correctly export your meeting call-in details from your conferencing app to your invite. Get that last part wrong and you’ll also waste a ton of time when the meeting begins and everyone has trouble accessing it.

Installing the RingCentral G Suite Add-on eliminates this complexity altogether by allowing you to create a meeting, and fully populate your invite with details such as meeting ID and password, directly from Google Calendar with just a click. Sweet!

3. See your colleagues’ current status

In an office scenario, it’s easy to swing by someone’s desk for an impromptu chat when the need arises. When everyone’s working from home, it’s harder to gauge availability.

When your collaboration efforts require a deeper conversation—for example, an audio call or face-to-face video chat—you can lose powerful momentum simply trying to coordinate a time for that remote conversation to happen.

Though it may not be possible to use a closed door or other visual cues to determine the right time for on-the-fly chats in remote work scenarios, the RingCentral G Suite Add-on provides the next best thing: it allows you to instantly see when all of your RingCentral contacts are available, away, offline or in 'do not disturb' mode.

4. Start an email from a RingCentral contact card

The seamlessness of RingCentral and G Suite flows in two directions—and connecting the two also helps you to extend the usefulness of RingCentral. For example, sometimes email makes the most sense for communicating, such when you need to follow up with materials after a meeting. RingCentral’s G Suite Add-on simplifies this too by allowing you to send an email directly from a user’s RingCentral contact card.

5. View call history

While the number of options for communicating online is undoubtedly a boon for collaboration, it’s a nightmare for staying organised. Communicating across email, video, phone and SMS makes it difficult to remember what conversation occurred when, which can have impact on accountability (and efficiency!) RingCentral’s G Suite Add-on automatically creates a log of all your calls, making it easy to determine when that important conversation occurred.

Work Efficiently with RingCentral + G Suite

Collaboration tools are essential in the workplace—especially as more people work from home. But they also add complexity, as employees are forced to turn to multiple apps to meet their communication needs. RingCentral helps G Suite users get more out of their existing tools, and do so more efficiently, by connecting key functionalities so that users don’t have to change apps to communicate.

With the RingCentral app, the G Suite add-on creates a single record of information, combining team messaging, video conferencing, and cloud phone into a single platform for all workplace collaboration. As with all RingCentral apps and integrations, the G Suite add-on is free for all users.

You just need RingCentral and Google's G Suite to get started - both of which we can help you get started with today.

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Written in collaboration with RingCentral©.

COVID-19: Our Favourite Remote-working Tools

Sun, 12 Apr 2020 13:02:41 +0000

Whether your business had already implemented remote-working ideologies or it's all very new to your business, it's definitely been a general-culture shock to the working world. Businesses that never thought they could work from home are now embracing wonderful and sometimes whacky ways to get their work done remotely, sometimes whilst even compromising security (yes Zoom we are talking about you).

Our partners are generally well equipped already. More than 80% of what Ostratto helps our partners' businesses with, resides on cloud technology. That's smart business solutions that are accessible from anywhere at anytime.

For the businesses that we don't yet have a relationship with, firstly; welcome(!) and secondly; this article is for you. It's a quick run through of our favourite tools that will help you conduct your business from pretty much anywhere.

We'll firstly break it down a bit into some sub-categories of the products we offer today. Select to jump to the sections:

Communication Collaboration Productivity

Looks uncomfortable. Credit: unsplash

Communication

Communication during these tricky times is absolutely vital. It's the difference between a happy and productive worker and a very unhappy unmotivated one. Here's some of our favourite communication tools.

Google Meet

Video meetings for your business. Meet takes the headaches out of joining a video call at work. Just set up a meeting and share a link. No worrying about whether teammates, clients, or customers have the right accounts or plug-ins. With a fast, lightweight interface and smart participant management, 100 + person video calls are a breeze.

Meet is perfect for keeping connected with your team and your customers from one product, and it comes included in the G Suite package as standard.

Google Chat

A messaging platform built for teams. Hangouts Chat makes it easy for teams to stay in contact with instant messaging. From direct messages to group conversations, Chat helps teams collaborate easily and efficiently. With dedicated, virtual rooms to house projects over time — plus threaded conversations — Chat makes it simple to track progress and follow up tasks. Chat currently supports 28 languages and each room can support up to 8,000 members.

RingCentral

RingCentral is our preferred cloud phone solution. Get an all-inclusive business phone system with online meetings, messaging, and more. Integrated perfectly into your business systems, you can expect big business benefits without the high cost and complexity. Your teams will have all the accessibility they need to seamlessly communicate and collaborate from anywhere, becoming more productive, effective, and efficient as a result. You can host video meetings with up to 1000 participants too - which is pretty cool.

We love it because it's super reliable and it provides a one-stop shop for all business communications.

Zoho Campaigns

Email marketing software that drives sales. Create, send, and track email campaigns that help you build a strong customer base. From beautiful email templates to an easy-to-use editor, and automation tools to real-time analytics, Zoho Campaigns has it covered.

We use this to keep in touch with all of our partners with ease, updating them on the current situation and also providing regular tips on staying productive.

Collaboration

Even the most communicative team still need ways of collaborating effectively. If your team is still saying 'are you done with that spreadsheet as I need to make edits', then this category is for you. It's 2020 and things have changed now, you old-timer you.

Google Docs

Create and edit documents directly in your browser – no dedicated software required. Several people can work at the same time, and every change is saved automatically. Work on a single document with team members or people outside your company. See edits as others type, communicate through built-in chat and ask questions by including comments.

It really is powerful word editing, made simple and accessible with the power of the cloud. It comes with even the most basic version of G Suite.

Google Sheets

Collaborative, smart, secure spreadsheets for fast-moving organisations. Sheets was designed with the needs of agile organisations in mind. As Sheets is cloud-based, it enables you to collaborate with anyone, anytime, anywhere. It's built on top of Google’s infrastructure, which gives you the freedom to create, while helping to keep your information secure.

Again, no software to install and super simple to use.

Google Slides

Slides is Google's offering of a presentation tool. It allows you to create and edit polished presentations in your browser – no software required. Several people can work at the same time so that everyone always has the latest version. It helps you to make your ideas shine with a variety of presentation themes, hundreds of fonts, embedded video, animations, and more. All included in G Suite.

Productivity

Productivity is often the measure of a successful migration to remote-working strategies. With recent developments in the technical industry it's still very possible to maintain a very high level of productivity. We've covered a few excellent communication products and we've also covered a selection of smart collaboration software.

G Suite

G Suite - our bread and butter. It provides all the tools a business needs to do business, in an extremely affordable package. An integrated suite of secure, cloud-native collaboration and productivity apps powered by Google AI. Includes Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, Meet and more, all in the same place accessible with the same login.

We use G Suite for our business email, communications and productivity needs. The prices start at £4.60 per user/month and there's no contract, so it's really ideal for new businesses who don't want to commit to anything serious in the early days.

What I think is pretty cool is that the likes of Netflix and Colgate are using exactly the same product as a start-up business of one user. It really is modern-day cloud computing, allowing the little guys play with the big guys with no capital required. Awesome!

Zoho Projects

When we do any commissioning work such as website design or a system setup, one of our most used products is Projects. It lets us track all ongoing tasks so that an overall project progress can be seen - and shared with clients if necessary. It can help you plan your work, track it efficiently, and collaborate with your team wherever they are.

The main features we use are the tasks, the activities, issues (at times a great tool to nudge clients if we're waiting on them) and also the integration with Google Drive so that we can share files securely within the project space without needing to upload anything.

A great tool for teams that still need to be working on projects from different places.

Zoho Bookings

We've noticed a large increase in online classes since the lockdown here in the UK. Classes for exercise and yoga type activities the most prevalent. Should you be needing to host this sort of event, you need a solid way of offering booking for your 'students' - Bookings has you covered. It syncs your calendars while letting students/customers self-schedule and pay for appointments. The user interface is completely customisable to fit your brand and there is an email function that sends emails to your customers automatically reminding them when an appointment is due.

This one is for personal trainers, coaches teachers, trainers and just about anybody else that needs a way to manage classes easily.

So there you have it. They are our favourite tools because they are cost-effective, smart and they are generally awesome. They all also meet our principles.

If you need any help with working remotely during these very difficult times please just reach out. We will be happy to assist and if we can help your business in any way at no cost, we absolutely will.

Stay safe.

Help me work smarter

Jargon Busting: SEO

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 08:25:55 +0000

SEO. It's complex stuff. Google as an example change their algorithms almost every day, tweaking the technology so that users of the service get to the pages they need without having to work hard for it. There is much to learn - we are still from masters of it.

The following glossary should at least give you a running start. It covers the most common words, acronyms, and phrases you may come across. As ever, if you have any questions please reach out.

301 Redirects

Redirection is the process of forwarding one URL to a different URL. A redirect is a way to send both users and search engines to a different URL from the one they originally requested. The three most commonly used redirects are 301, 302, and Meta Refresh.

Backlinks

Backlinks (also known as 'inbound links', 'incoming links' or 'one way links') are links from one website to a page on another website. Google and other major search engines consider backlinks 'votes' for a specific page. Pages with a high number of backlinks tend to have high organic search engine rankings.

404 Error Pages

The website hosting server will typically generate a "404 Not Found" web page when a user attempts to follow a broken or dead link; hence the 404 error is one of the most recognizable errors encountered on the World Wide Web.

Schema Markup

Schema.org (often called Schema) is a semantic vocabulary of tags (or microdata) that you can add to you the HTML of your website to improve the way search engines read and represent your page in SERPs.

Domain Authority

Domain Authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). A Domain Authority score ranges from one to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a greater ability to rank.

Page Authority

Page Authority (PA) is a score developed by Moz that predicts how well a specific page will rank on search engine result pages (SERP). Page Authority scores range from one to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a greater ability to rank.

Anchor Text

Anchor Text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. In modern browsers, it is often blue and/or underlined, such as this link to the Ostratto homepage.

Alt Text

Alt text (alternative text), also known as "alt attributes", “alt descriptions", or technically incorrectly as "alt tags,” are used within an HTML code to describe the appearance and function of an image on a page.

Canonical Tags

A canonical tag (aka "rel canonical") is a way of telling search engines that a specific URL represents the master copy of a page. Using the canonical tag prevents problems caused by identical or "duplicate" content appearing on multiple URLs. Practically speaking, the canonical tag tells search engines which version of a URL you want to appear in search results.

Link Equity

Link equity, once colloquially referred to as "link juice," is a search engine ranking factor based on the idea that certain links pass value and authority from one page to another. This value is dependent on a number of factors, such as the linking page's authority, topical relevance, HTTP status, and more.

Alt Text

Canonical Tags

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Jargon Busting: VoIP

Wed, 05 Feb 2020 21:25:19 +0000

If you do look to update your communications system, you’ll be faced with a mountain of jargon. Telecoms is a technical field, and as such it has its own lexicon. You might even have spotted a few technical terms in this guide already. To make sure you know where you stand, let’s define and explain as many as we can.

The following glossary covers the most common words, acronyms, and phrases you may come across. It is related both to VoIP and to the traditional alternatives which it can replace. As ever, if you have any questions please reach out.

Bandwidth

The capacity of a network to transmit data from one point to another in a given time period. It is often measured in 1000 bits per second (kbps). The higher the amount of available bandwidth, the more VoIP calls a network can support. If your internet connection has very limited bandwidth, the quality of a call will be lower.

Codecs

Codecs can be either hardware devices or software-based processes. They’re used to compress, encode and decompress data. In the case of VoIP, codecs convert audio voice signals into digital data packets. They then compress the data for transmission and re-convert it at the ‘other end’ of a call.

DSL

DSL stands for ‘Digital Subscriber Line’. It refers to the traditional phone technology that lets a broadband connection be carried over existing phone lines. All the while still allowing analogue phone signals to travel along the same copper lines.

IVR

IVR or Interactive Voice Response is a feature of traditional telephony. It’s the interactive service that lets callers use menus and handles call transfers. Think ‘press one for the accounts department’ etc.

Latency

The time taken for the transmission of data. The higher the latency, the greater the delay between the start of a transmission and data being received at the other end. High latency can be an issue for VoIP. Voice delay is noticeable with a latency above around 150 milliseconds. Considerably more than that and a conversation will be difficult.

PBX

PBX stands for Private Branch Exchange. It’s the name given to a private telephone network used within a business or organisation. It’s your PBX which lets you press a button on a desk phone to reach someone else in your office.

RTP

The Real Time Transport Protocol. An internet protocol that often transmits the data packets related to VoIP calls. It also carries audio or video streams for other forms of multimedia communication. Secure Real Time Transport Protocol – The encrypted (and so, secure) variant of the RTP.

SIP Trunking

A way of delivering voice communication over the internet. It’s in many ways an alternative to VoIP. It typically involves connecting a PBX to the internet. This gives added control to a user but does require a fair bit more equipment to get up and running than a VoIP phone system.

Softphone

The name given to software or apps used to make VoIP calls. In the case that you use your computer or tablet and not a VoIP phone. Most ‘softphones’ have an interface that looks like a phone handset when it appears on your screen. It will have a keypad, display and be workable via touchscreen or computer keyboard.

Get Started with VoIP

What is VoIP?

Wed, 05 Feb 2020 20:22:16 +0000

We've recently covered why having a landline number is good for business and we did tout VoIP as being the way forward. VoIP is one of those technologies that you've maybe been hearing and reading about for many years now. It’s gotten to the point that you rarely see a discussion of how VoIP works or even what it is anymore. So let’s take a step back, walk through the basics, and answer the question: how does VoIP work and what can it do for your business?

What is it?

VoIP is Voice Over Internet Protocol, or in more common terms: phone service over the Internet.

If you have a reasonable quality Internet connection you can get phone service delivered through your Internet connection instead of from your local phone company. This opens up quite a few possibilities for your new or existing business and trust us, it's actually nowhere near as technical as it might sound and nowadays it's very cost-effective. A comprehensive discussion of the technical details of VoIP can get very complicated, so here’s an explanation for us non-techies.

VoIP takes a standard analog phone call - the type most homes and businesses still make today over the public phone network, and converts that analog call into digital packets. Then, rather than traveling over the standard phone network, those packets are transmitted across the internet to the other parties on the call. Voice packets of a VoIP calls travel over the internet just like any other type of digital data, such as an email message or a file being uploaded to your Google Drive.

Now, for the common user, a VoIP phone system is mostly indistinguishable from a usual phone system however they are in-fact fundamentally different in the way they operate 'behind-the-scenes'.

What does it do?

VoIP systems provide users an escape from being tied to a desk because their office phone numbers will no longer be limited to any particular phone. For example, most modern VoIP providers offer an app enabling users to make business calls on their desktop, laptop or mobile device using nothing but an internet connection, a microphone and speaker setup or headset, and the app itself. Calls you make or receive from anywhere, too, will use the same number. That ensures you present a professional image to clients or customers wherever you speak to them from.

A modern VoIP systems will grow as fast as your business can - this is referred to as scalability. With traditional telephony, expanding a business's system can be a major undertaking - cables to run potentially, more networking equipment required and new phone devices. Things can be much simpler with VoIP. A system can be expanded to include new workstations or phones with ease and new features can be added with a 'flick of a switch'.

In other words, a VoIP system can act as a full-scale cloud communications platform, allowing your team to easily manage calls and other communications features, including auto attendants with recorded greetings, advanced call routing and forwarding services, virtual voicemail, and even online faxing.

Businesses can drastically reduce costs in a variety of areas. Initial hardware and setup expenses are often much lower. Call charges, too, can be a lot lower. That’s in addition to the added accessibility and agility which a VoIP system provides.

Left: your callers, right: your devices. Thanks RingCentral!

How does it work?

Now bare with me here, it could get rocky. I'll cover the principles and then if there's any bits you aren't sure on just drop me a line and I can explain further.

With a regular phone call, a specific physical path is provided by a phone company. That path goes between yourself and the number that you call. That system also utilises the traditional telephony infrastructure, which means the network of phone lines crossing the country - usually provided by BT in our country.

With VoIP, calls are transmitted differently. The audio at your end of a call (your voice) is converted into digital packets. It's easiest to think of them as being like envelopes of data. In the same way as traditional envelopes contain what you've written.

The conversion of audio voice signals into digital packets is handled by what is known as 'codecs'. Codecs can be either hardware devices or software-based processes. They compress the voice signals and then encode them as digital data. To continue our analogy, they take what you say and pop it into the digital envelopes.

The data packets are then transmitted via IP. This can be either across a Local Area Network (LAN, like in your home or office) or online (over the world wide web). They're often transmitted via the Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP). Or, if not, via the Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol. The latter is simply an encrypted version of the former. This stage of the process is like a postman picking up your envelopes and taking them to the destination.

The data packets reach their destination almost instantly. They then need to be decoded and decompressed. This is handled by codecs. They take the digital data and convert it back to audio signals. The recipient of your call heard your voice as they would down a normal phone line. The codecs at their end of the transmission open the envelopes for them to read.

Away from the technicalities, the process of making a VoIP call doesn't have to be much different to a standard phone call. To make the calls, you can either use hardware or a software-based VoIP phone.

The former is very much like a traditional desk phone. It will look almost identical and can be used in all the same ways. That doesn't only mean making calls. Most VoIP phones also let you use voicemail, make internal calls, and call transfer tasks. If no one told you, you might not know you weren't using a regular phone.

Software-based VoIP phones are often called 'softphones'. They're apps or programs installed on a mobile device or computer. The interfaces of those apps or programs replace a traditional phone handset. They're often designed to look similar and can be used either via a touchscreen or keyboard. Calls through these phones typically use a headset and microphone.

A 'softphone' curtesy of RingCentral

Getting started with VoIP

So...that’s everything you need to know about VoIP (for now).

All of that may have been enough to convince you that VoIP is the way to go. If so, you’ll be wondering how to switch to the more modern system. Well here's another advantage - it’s super easy to do so. Your first step is always to contact a trustworthy provider who can talk you through the rest of the process. That's where we come in.

I hope it's been an interesting read and it hopefully wasn't too technical - again, if any of it was, just drop me a line and I can explain with some pretty pictures maybe.

Get Started with VOIP

DIY Website Design

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 14:37:07 +0000

Not so long ago, there would have been no question of hiring a pro to get website up and running for your business. It was only the quirky folk with severe acne and an energy drink drip-feed that could produce a website on the internet and it was often an expensive ordeal.

Thanks to the rise of online tools like website builders, it has become much easier for the non-techies among us to build a more-than-decent website. Just because you can, though, doesn’t always mean you should. It’s a decision worth weighing carefully, since for some projects a professional cannot be replaced by a tool.

Now I know what you are thinking. "Lew isn't this post going to be a tad biased since you offer website design as a service?" YES. It will be shamelessly biased. That being said, you can only hire a web design company if you can actually afford to. If you don’t have the money yet to hire someone, then designing your own website may be the only option for now. In many cases, having a basic website with helpful content is better than having no website at all.

Anyways, let's get to it - a few points to bear in mind during the design of your website.

Design

Design is not something you can pick up in an afternoon. (Maybe a few afternoons?) Without an understanding of design, you could get it wrong. Your competitors on the other hand, might choose to hire a professional web designer and avoid the mistakes.

It's about:

User experience
How it looks
How it makes people feel
How it makes people act
The character of your business
Your message to the world

You could end up saving yourself a lot of time and hassle by getting a professional to help you create something that looks well-designed and established.

SEO Knowledge

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an ever changing landscape. It's the constant battle to keep your website being found on search engines and most importantly to keep you above your competitor listings when potential customers search for your services. Search engines change their rules all the time and what worked last month might not work this month.

We've been helping clients with SEO for years and still (like a lot of aspects in this industry), we are learning more efficient ways to get the best result. SEO requires constant listening, watching and testing to see what’s changed with Google and the other search engines.

Some key technologies in the world of SEO:

These are the basic fundamentals of SEO and so if they look alien, either get reading or get in touch with a web designer. We plan to release an article soon with a quick overview of these technologies, so keep an eye out for that.

You are not your customer

You live and breathe your business everyday and it’s fair to say you know your customers. We like to think we’re the same.

The problem is that when you’re so involved with running the business, it’s sometimes difficult to see things from your customers’ perspective. It’s difficult to imagine what it might look like seeing your website for the first time, by a prospect for example. This is known as 'the curse of knowledge'.

That’s where a professional designer can help. They can see the things you’ve missed because they are looking from a different direction. Here are a few common mistakes caused due to this 'curse':

No prominent contact details
No clear call to action
No statement explaining succinctly what it is you do

Not every web designer will consider how your site will lead to more contact and sales because they may just be focused on creating a website for you. So admittedly this point you could look at as a possible benefit of creating your own website - you know what you want from it.

We are a little different. Here at Ostratto, your interests are our interests. Everything that comes out of our door is with our principles in mind, and they exist only to boost your business.

You might need help along the way

Building a website isn't a walk in the park. You might be able to pull something basic together with some guides and the power of YouTube but what happens if something goes wrong?

A web designer would take care of all this for you. You won’t need to fix anything or find answers to complex tech questions. We do everything for you. We've spent years educating ourselves on the technicalities of designing websites and have come across plenty of problems and solutions over that time. There’s not really any need for you to do the same.

However, that being said, here are some fantastic resources for web design tips:

The right tools for the job

Like any creative skill it requires a number of tools to ensure the job is done correctly. If you don’t have these tools and/or know how to use them, then you might not get the result you’re hoping for. Here are a list of tools we use to build successful websites:

Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Google Search Console
Google Analytics
G Suite
Rank Tracking Software
Competitor analysis software
Landing page software

These tools can be expensive but they are necessary. Especially if you want to create high impact websites for users that perform well in search engines.

It took us a few years to learn how to use these tools and even longer to use them effectively.

LOTS of time

Learning to build a website from scratch can take a long time, especially if you aren’t very technical. Even if you’re using some super-simple website design tool you may need to do a lot tweaking to get it right. Not to mention all the image editing and resizing to make it look good and load quickly. You will also need time moving forward to update the website often to keep it fresh and looking professional enough to show to the world.

Time is money and whilst you’re learning how to build a website, you’re not managing or marketing the business.

Time - you are going to need it.

Your competitors

Even if you do have the time to create your own website, there is a high chance your competitor has paid a pro. If they have paid for a professional website to be designed and you haven’t, the likelihood is that theirs will work better.

If you are trying to stand out then you’ll want to a high quality website that looks better than your competition.

My tuppence

I know it’s tempting to try and design a website yourself, even more tempting when drag and drop software now looks so easy. Considering the points I’ve covered above, think carefully whether or not you have the time, the skills and the patience to create a showstopping website. Quite a few of our current clients have asked us to build their website after they tried to do it themselves.

At some point you’re going to have to pay a professional. It’s up to you whether you do it now or later.

Get in touch with us today for a friendly, no pressure chat about what we can do for you. And if we think you don't need to pay for a website yet - we'll tell you.

Why every Business needs a Landline Number

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 08:39:09 +0000

When building a business, there are so many different things to take into account: funding, IT, office space, staff, marketing, accounts... It’s no wonder that simple things like telephone numbers can often be overlooked and most people settle for using their existing mobile phone. While it makes sense to use your mobile phone and it can be scary to make a change, owning a business in the 21st century may require an upgrade - adopting a non-geographic phone number for your business is key to presenting your venture as professional and trustworthy.

The alternative to personal cellphones and traditional landlines is called VoIP, or 'Voice over IP'.

Now, without getting too complicated, there a few different variations of VoIP, one that is installed in an office, and one that runs in the Cloud. The one that runs in the cloud is what we will be exploring in this article but they both offer the same benefits: they give your company a more professional feel and a competitive edge. Having an area-based number makes your business look established and trustworthy - the type of business other businesses want to work with.

If you’re looking into separating your personal phone from work, or you think your mobile number doesn't look professional enough, but you aren’t sure of your options, look no further.

The Traditional Way: Get a Separate Line

If you’ve decided to stop using your personal phone for your business, the traditional way to get a new number was to simply get a separate line.

That means contacting the phone company, asking them to run a new line to your house (which usually includes a setup fee), and then paying extra every month for the new line—you’ll pay £20-30 per month on the low end for a residential line and in the £60 range per month for a business line. This is still an option, but the problem is that now your business phone number is tied to your house or office location, and can only be answered if you’re physically there. Even if you’re able to get a cheap landline, this option lacks convenience.

Since it’s 2019 and more people have cell phones without even owning a landline, your second option is to simply get a second phone and carry that around with you. Tons of small business owners do this, carrying around two iPhones and constantly switching between them. This solution works, and allows you to answer the business phone line from anywhere, but it’s not the cheapest and it's not the most convenient. The cost of an expensive phone plus the money for the extra line adds up really fast—for instance, a £900 iPhone plus around £30 per month for an extra line ends up being over £1200 a year. Plus, to the outside world you still look like a one-man-band using a mobile number for the business.

The Better Way: VoIP
Now that we’re in the days of always-connected internet access from every device, you don’t need to use the traditional phone networks anymore. We can make phone calls over the internet that are not only cheaper and unlimited, but actually sound clearer than a traditional phone, so you can better understand what your customers are saying which in turn will provide a more efficient service.

An office-based VoIP can be provided via powered phones that sit on a desk, but Cloud-based VoIP can be used as an app on your current phone that allows you to place and receive calls from any existing phone, and all for a fraction of the cost. You can make and receive calls from a mobile, tablet or any PC that you log on to - all synchronised and all the same professional-looking number to the outside world.

Need more than one phone line for your business? It’s not a problem with VoIP, you just upgrade your plan and add extra users and numbers to your system.

And if you’re upgrading your business from a traditional landline or cell phone number, you can usually port your current number to the VoIP system so your existing contacts will be able to reach you without issue.

VoIP Has Huge Advantages Over Traditional Phones

The cost is the biggest reason that people choose to switch to VoIP, but it’s not the only thing to consider - there are also great features that will save you time and money, and simply aren’t possible with the traditional phone line options available for small businesses.

Large corporations have the budget to setup and maintain a complex PBX system with a receptionist and extensions for each desk. But you don’t need to bother with all that by using VoIP, which has those features and a lot more, built right in to a low monthly fee.

Call Forwarding can ring on all your devices, can ring on multiple phones at once, and you can set rules to forward calls only during certain hours.
Auto-Receptionists make your business sound more professional with prompts such as 'press 1 for sales' etc.
Automatic Call Recording can record all inbound and outbound calls.
Extensions let you use a single main number to reach everybody (with direct lines for each person).
Conferencing allows you to give your clients a number to call in so everybody can be on the same conference line easily.
Powerful Voicemail will send you emails with the voicemail, and can even transcribe them to text.
Non-geographic numbers allow you to pick whichever area code your business needs, without actually needing to be based in that area.
And dozens of other features and integrations into the rest of your business.

So, in short, cloud-based VoIP can give your business a national presence, helping you to appear well-established. They’re also portable – if you move offices and change phones, you won’t need to change your number – and they can be redirected onto different phone lines, for example your mobile, if needs be.

jons carpentry

jonscarpenty@yahoo.com

07891 789 178

- or -

Jon's Carpentry

enquiries@jons-carpentry.co.uk

0117 313 4800

Which one looks more legitimate and established to you?

Ostratto - Blog | Ostratto #professional

Case Study: Supporting High Quality Care

The Task

Simple

Maintained

Reliable

Scalable

Secure by Design

Products Featured

Website Design

Google Workspace

Zoho People

Vonage

Professional Services

Implementation

Simple

Maintained

Reliable

Scalable

Secure

Result

Efficiency Improved​​​

Staff Onboarding Streamlined​​

Service Capacity Increased​​

Case Study: Smarter Auditing

The Task

Live

Accessible

Actionable

Accurate

Products Featured

Managed Devices

Google Workspace

iAuditor

Vonage

Ostratto Support

Professional Services

Implementation

Live

Actionable

Secure

Accessible

Accurate

Manageable

Result

End-Client Cost Reduction​​

Efficiency Improved​​

Contract Extended Indefinitely​​

Supercharging your Business with VOIP

How does it work?

​​Pros and Cons of Voice over IP

Features that can be expected

Is VoIP necessary?

Price of VoIP

In Summary

5 Reasons Everyone Should Have the RingCentral G Suite Add-on

COVID-19: Our Favourite Remote-working Tools

Jargon Busting: SEO

Jargon Busting: VoIP

What is VoIP?

DIY Website Design

Why every Business needs a Landline Number

Efficiency Improved

Staff Onboarding Streamlined

Service Capacity Increased

End-Client Cost Reduction

Efficiency Improved

Contract Extended Indefinitely

Pros and Cons of Voice over IP