How to choose the best telecoms provider: 4 top tips

As with most business running costs, your telecoms contracts are a moving feast and something you should reassess at every opportunity. 

83% of SMEs say their business would not be able to function without an effective telecoms setup

, while 34% say they lack the confidence to identify suitable technologies to benefit their organisation (Ofcom, 2016).

Your personal mobile phone serves as a good example.  Have you ever come to the end of your contract, gone to pick up your free upgrade and left paying less than your previous contract?  Not likely if you’ve walked away with a swanky new phone.

Much like the energy and insurance markets, it pays to foster a degree of skepticism with your renewal costs.

So, what should you consider when picking your business’ provider?

1. Technology. What are the physical pieces of kit that come as part of the deal?  Would you have to pay more for your actual hand sets?  Are there tablets thrown in there?  How much of your set-up can be hosted in the cloud?  If your staff need to be mobile, things can get a little more complicated.  Make sure you trust whichever supplier you choose to deliver the right training and guidance.  They should understand your business needs as a whole, not your telecoms needs in isolation.  A key trend in the telecoms industry at the moment is the Internet of Things.  What’s on the horizon for the provider you’re considering?  What can they offer you now to boost automation and efficiency?  The pace of change in the technology sector can leave luddites behind – do you think the provider you’re assessing is on the cutting edge of what’s available?
2. True value. Similar to our stance in our recent blog on waste collection, the cheapest might not always be the best.  Check out your proposed provider’s customer service reputation using this report.
3. Track record. How often has that company increased its prices over the last five years and what are the differences between their introductory rates and their standard rates?  GAS’ delivery partner, Crimzon Communications, has not raised prices for NINE YEARS.
4. The package. So, your new telecoms provider did you a great deal on uncapped internet speeds allowing everyone in the business to download a movie at the same time.  Great for any eventuality.  But will your 50 members of staff ever need to download that much data at once?  If not, you could save with a smaller or simpler package with no change in performance.

At Great Annual Savings Group we give businesses and their owners the power to control their running costs.  We’re proud to have generated millions of pounds of savings for our customers over the last year across our 12 areas of expertise.

If you’d like us to offer you some no-obligation details on how you could optimise or create your telecoms set up, email us today or call 0800 130 3514.