Switch is saving firm £10k

Jan 18 2008 By Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

IT’S GOOD TO talk, but not when it’s costing your business £10,000 more a year than it needs to.

That’s the saving Stockton-based national footwear retailer The Clinkard Group is looking to make by installing a broadband-based system, linking head office with 450 staff across the country.

With 22 Charles Clinkard high street outlets and an Intershoe wholesale division, internal communication was costing it a fortune.

“We had old telephones across the country, all on different systems,” said IT manager Roger West. So the company took the decision to switch to voice-over-IP calls.

The system, which supports 110 Mitel handsets that plug directly into the broadband network, were supplied by Tyneside company Executel in a deal worth £40,000.

“I’m looking at saving around £10,000 annually across the company,” said Mr West, who opted for the firm to buy the hardware and host the server itself, rather than pay ongoing rental costs.

Write down for the system is over eight to nine years, making a total saving of around £90,000.

“We looked at four or five providers, but Executel stood out because we could buy the system ourselves and avoid ongoing rentals.”