You may have noticed on more than one occasion that Lairds offers a service known as Home or Business Networking. This term is broad to cover the full extent of Networking we can provide. However,  we appreciate that it may leave some people unsure of what is it we are actually talking about, and how it applies to them. Read on to learn about Voice Over IP and if it can help you or your business.

One specific networking job we are currently undertaking, is at a large estate home that acts as a bed and breakfast. They got in touch with us because they were having internet trouble and they wanted to know if we could help.

As you can imagine, this estate was an old building, and part of the value, both to the property, and to their ability to attracts guests, is to keep the interior and  exterior in an original and authentic aesthetic. But customers also expect the basic comforts of their own home such as a well established network for WiFi and phone signal. Before coming to Lairds, these clients had been struggling to achieve this. What’s more is that the phone system the clients were using to take bookings was old fashioned, and failing. With a faulty set-up they were potentially missing out on bookings and therefore losing business.

Therefore, Lairds are installing Voice Over IP. And this is a specific area of networking that Lairds can provide solutions to almost any home or business. Voice Over IP is a digital telephone that works over your broadband network. With this you can combine your telephone capabilities with the ability to direct message, video conference and voicemail.

Our clients now own an updated communications system which has a cloud for storing any voicemails, messages or information that they need to efficiently run their business. Another great feature is that they can operate their system, wherever they are connected online. All they need is their login details and they can access everything, wherever they are.

This system also includes scalability, so that it can expand along with their business, whether that be by adding new members to their team, or adding extra phones.

Is Voice Over IP for you?

This project is being completed for clients who run a large business, and live in a remote and rural area. The issues they faced, however, are concurrent in many places. For instance, when I was a student living in Partick, Glasgow, my flat was on a main road, surrounded by small flats, business such as retail and cafes, and even a police station right next door (as you can imagine, we had some wild parties). However, even in this busy and urban area, the phone lines were over 100 years old! This meant that we had to go for a specific WiFi company because they didn’t run through the phone lines, or we’d have to suffer huge slowdowns in our internet speeds at 5pm when everyone got in from work and connected to the WiFi.

Now, we were students, and if need be, we had a state of the art, 12-storey library. However, if you work from home, or own a business on a high street like this, can you afford your technology slowing and speeding at the mercy of all your neighbours?

With Voice Over IP, you’ll be on a modern system that understands just how much we use technology, compared to when your home had one landline as a method of communication. You’ll be able to ensure your system can reach everyone you need to reach. You’ll also have peace of mind that no customers aren’t getting through.

What Lairds Do

The tech team will carry out a survey on your premise. This is to determine the best way to set-up your Voice Over IP.  For large buildings, or large operations, Lairds install cabling and internet access points. These make your internet secure and robust, and ensure your system runs day in and day out.

This cabling is installed with minimal disruption with extra care to keep all installed technology neat, and discreet. Cables can be ran underneath floorboards, or in walls, so there is nothing showing.

Once all the cabling and access points have been installed, then its a quick set-up and you’re ready to go. Lairds will test the entire system and maintain an open dialogue so you’re in the loop on every step of the job, and of course, we’ll make sure you know how to use your kit!

After we’ve tidied and packed away and left, we are just one call away should any issues arise. Our maintenance contracts mean, you’ll never be left in the lurch if anything unforeseen happens.

See also Network Security and Cyber Security