They’re one of the biggest telecom companies in the world, but what do they actually provide? Let’s find out!
Who are BT and how did they become so big?

BT is an incredibly long-lived telecommunications company. In fact, they’re the world’s oldest, having been part of the original boom in telegraphs in the 1840’s! Since then, they’ve gone through many, many different incarnations, in their evolution into one of the big players in the communications world. but to understand their evolution, you need to know the full story, from birth, right through to their immenseness (yes, I made up that word, but it sounds more emphatic then ‘they’re big’…) today.

Beginning life in the 19th Century, they first rocked onto the scene as the Electric Telegraph Company, which through various means (taking over control during a perceived ‘time of chaos’. Hey, it can’t be stealing if it’s the government doing it…) the company came into possession of the British Government, and specifically, it came under the control of the Post Office. That set the scene for developing the first telecoms network in the UK, for phones becoming widespread, for BT’s eventual separation from the Post Office, and their journey into the world of communications, with its convergent technologies, where things like BT broadband and BT Mobile could finally be realised.
BT in the world of today

So, who are BT today? And what do they offer? Well, first of all, it’s eminently clear they’ve gone way beyond a mere phone company, with fingers in lots of “comms pies”, ranging from broadband to TV, from landline phones to mobile phones. First up, though, they do still maintain a landline service, and in all likelihood, they always will, for at least as long as people want it, anyway (which, again, they most likely always will). Not only that, but the entire infrastructure of the phone network (unless you’re on cable) was put in place, and is maintained by BT.

Then, of course, you have BT broadband, better known as BT Total Broadband. With a range of different options to suit everyone, they provide one of the fastest and most dynamic broadband services in the UK, a fact reflected in the fact that they easily have more subscribers than anyone else! Then, there’s BT Vision, their IPTV system. What’s IPTV? Well, simple, it’s a set-top box that will let you get Freeview, but which also connects to the internet for getting extra content, and on-demand TV. Finally, there’s BT Mobile, their mobile phone wing, providing a range of tariffs and packages, designed to be as easy to understand as their landline phone service. And that, in essence, is where BT is, after evolving for over 160 years. Given that they’re still evolving, it’ll be fun to see where they are in another 160 years!

Technorati Tags: Broadband, Changing, Faces, From, Mobile, Telegraphs

Once upon a time, movie night meant traveling to the local video rental store and surveying the aisles in hopes of finding the newest release in stock. Today, the combination of rental DVD delivery services like Netflix and movies on demand from your cable or satellite provider has created an entirely new and relaxing way to enjoy movie nights. The rental store is now literally at your fingertips. Netflix delivers DVDs by mail to subscribers via a rental queue created online. The greatest part of these new rental services is that there are no late fees. Subscribers pay a monthly fee for Netflix or a per-movie fee for on-demand services; back-end operations are handled by the provider. There is no more worrying about if the movie is in stock.

Telecom expense management (TEM) has evolved in a similar fashion. Enterprises that once used premise-based TEM software to handle telecom and IT expense management are now seeing tremendous advantages in utilizing Software as a Service (SaaS). By using on-demand TEM software, companies no longer have to be concerned with loading vendor billing data or dealing with the complex changes of vendor data formats. In the past this was a common cause of failures within premise-based TEM software solutions because it prevented companies from viewing data at the highest level of billing detail. With an on-demand TEM solution, companies can see their data loaded within 24 hours of it being received by the TEM vendor. Companies can then dedicate their full resources to analyzing their billing data rather than managing it. This stress-free solution allows companies to sharpen their focus on revenue-generating activities.

The Opening Credits – Implementation

Most Hollywood summer blockbusters feature action right at the start of the movie, immediately captivating the audience. In the same way, using SaaS for a TEM solution provides rapid implementation times, yielding a much faster ROI. Traditionally, companies with a premise-based software solution lacked necessary telecom expense management experience. Their TEM initiatives were prone to errors from the start – errors that were compounded throughout the course of the TEM program. Just like a summer movie that lacks innovative special effects or a great storyline, their TEM initiatives were doomed to fail from the very beginning. These premise-based TEM software solutions failed to deliver significant ROI after companies made a substantial investment.

The combination of expert knowledge and far less complex software installation can mean smoother transitions and a decrease in the need for troubleshooting. Furthermore, because there is less need for client participation from a technical standpoint during implementation, SaaS TEM providers can offer a project timeframe with a good degree of accuracy and configure the system specific to each company’s dedicated hierarchy. This benefits both clients and service providers by removing uncertainty in the deployment schedule.

In addition, scalability is never an issue. Companies do not have to purchase additional servers or hardware to increase the amount of data that is stored. More importantly, companies do not have to be concerned with developing new processes to handle new data feeds. That is handled by the vendor on the back end and is transparent to end users, allowing them to focus on analyzing data, disputing costs, or running reports.

Preventing Bootlegs – Data and Security in an SaaS Environment

We all know of Hollywood’s struggle to prevent bootlegs, an effort that entails deploying powerful encryption to deter pirating. In much the same way, organizations in the past were reluctant to have data stored offsite for fear of a security breach. With the advent of IPSec VPNs, this roadblock has been removed.

IPSec VPNs offer an extremely high level of data encryption, coupled with hardened data centers that offer economies of scale. Vendors routinely back up data and send it to an offsite disaster recovery facility. Uptime and disaster recovery services are built into SLAs, ensuring that the client can be up and running quickly and that the vendor adheres to the highest level of security standards. While it is understandable that organizations want control, the reputation and feasibility of SaaS depend on treating data with extreme sensitivity.

The Production – Maintenance

With an SaaS solution, any problems that do occur can normally be fixed faster because of the centralized nature of the service. Software-based solutions frequently require an onsite visit, which naturally delays any troubleshooting attempt. SaaS solutions circumvent this delay and reduce downtime. Moreover, SaaS solutions generally have 24×7 monitoring and management, meaning maintenance issues can be quickly and efficiently addressed because the majority of equipment is centrally located. To achieve the same service speed with a software-based solution would require a set of expert technicians onsite, and the resulting cost would most likely be prohibitive.

System upgrades can be managed more easily with an SaaS solution than with a software-based solution. The TEM vendor manages the upgrade and rolls it out when ready, making the transition pain-free. Furthermore, with an SaaS solution, operational expenditures are fixed and predictable, which in turn aids in planning cash flow. With software-based solutions, operational expenditures can spike unpredictably when issues occur.

Data Analysis – The True Blockbuster

The bottom line is that, in the world of telecom expense management, SaaS solutions allow businesses to concentrate on revenue-generating activities and areas of their business that they do well. In areas where their knowledge is limited – such as TEM — businesses can turn over the responsibility to vendors who have real expertise. Once an organization has implemented an on-demand TEM solution, they instantly gain enhanced visibility to their telecom spend and are up and running in a matter of weeks versus six to 12 months. This enables companies to begin analyzing their data to make more informed purchasing decisions and identify areas where more cost-effective services can be utilized. By using an on-demand solution, organizations are no longer struggling with loading data and maintaining systems, but instead spending time on true telecom cost control by drilling deep into data they never had access to before.

Just as Netflix and on-demand movies have changed the way we rent films, SaaS for TEM has pulled back the curtain for a next-generation TEM solution. TEM vendors can utilize their expertise in processing electronic data to provide companies with a truly comprehensive TEM solution that presents data accurately in a secure, easy-to-use interface. While software-based solutions provide companies with the comfort level of perceived control, a TEM environment offers true control, with the ability to analyze detailed data that can generate consistent savings. And that makes for the classic happy Hollywood ending.

Technorati Tags: Demand, Expense, Experience, From, It's, Management, Movies, Telecom, Whole

A large number of mobile phone dealers have started giving offers along with the mobile phones to attract the customers. Have you ever been observed these offers? If not, just try to find out a variety of mobile phone deals being offered by the online mobile phone retailers.

If you want to buy your choicest mobile phone then you should go for online mobile phone retailers as they offer attractive deals on all latest handsets like Nokia mobile phones, LG mobile phones, Samsung mobile phones and Motorola mobile phones. As people started traveling from one place to another place, one country to another country, the communication becomes essential to them in order to stay in touch with their family, friends and relatives. And this has taken a new turn with the influx of innovative and competitive mobile phone deals.

The leading mobile network operators such as 3, Orange, Virgin, Vodafone and T-mobile have started giving some great mobile phone deals. Mobile phone users would get more options in order to select their preferred cell phone. They can also get their preferred mobile phone with some attractive deals if they choose the right mobile phone network. They will get different mobile phone offer with different mobile networks. Contract mobile phone deals bind you to a particular network operator for a specified time that may generally extend to 12, 18 or 24 months.

Mobile phone deals come with exclusive gifts to lure the mobile phone users to the hilt. The gifts are given on the behalf of the online mobile phone dealers. These gifts can be as exclusive as gaming consoles, which are the most popular kind of gifts in the mobile phone market. Thus the mobile phone offers are quite tempting, alluring and perky and they add on to the mobile phone deal. The mobile phone deals are thus quite significant in the mobile phone market of UK. The deal would include calling incentives like free calling minutes, discounted talk time to a particular destination, free text messages and so on. The mobile phone deals are thus, quite impressive in its own manner. The whole deal is accompanied by the mobile phone of your choice, which comes absolutely free with the whole deal.

If you are looking for a great mobile phone deals then I can assure that Smobilephone is the right place for you that offers some attractive mobile phone deals for the mobile phone users in the UK.

Technorati Tags: Attractive, Deals, From, Mobile, Phone, Smobilephone