Sunday, February 22, 2009

Used Office Furniture Is A Hit

By Jerry McGuiness

There are many different types of office furniture available for the consumer today. The varying types can cause a purchaser quite a headache if they do not have a set ideal in mind before setting out to create the perfect office. A concise list of the types and uses of office furniture is needed for the professional with not a lot of time for research.

Depending upon the need of the purchaser, the style of desk is the beginning of the decision making for the perfect office. The rest of the office accessories fall into place after the desk has been chosen. The different styles of desk are modern/contemporary, modular, or simple.

Having become less artistic and more functional, the modern/contemporary desk is designed for space saving rather than visual pleasure. With many sections for convenience, the modular desk is a handy workplace. Still elegant and professional, the simple desk is just a desk with no frills.

If there is a tremendous amount of work to be done, the modular desk is the best choice because it has all the essentials in one spot. Cabinets and filing drawers are attached in various spots on the modular desk. The convenience of these desks does not interfere with the professional and stylish appearance.

A simple desk would be efficient for an office space that is for discussing further operations or signing paychecks. There are no frills or additional parts for a simple desk. Purchased separately, the necessary accessories are chosen by the purchaser.

However, if the professional needs a workspace where the employee would feel his or her authority, the modern/contemporary style would be best. This type of desk is sometimes larger and seemingly more powerful than other desks. This desk also has attached accessories, such as cabinets, but not as many nor is it as showy as the modular desk.

All types of desks are made of a wide variety of materials. The more expensive desks are made of maple, cherry, oak, or another solid wood. Materials like melamine laminate surfaces and aluminum make the lighter, cheaper desks.

For a desk that is sturdier for long-term use, choose a wooden desk. If used within the proper specifications designed for them, the desks made of the lighter material, like cubicles, can also be sturdy. As long as they are used properly, any desk will last through the tests of time.

The purchase of accessories depends upon which type of desk was chosen. Though the modular desk is self-sufficient, there is one accessory that is needed: the office chair. Extra cabinets and storage units are necessary when purchasing any other type of desk.

If the office chair purchased does not promote a stress-free body, the work suffers. The key to better productivity is the fundamentals of comfort, or ergonomics. The ergonomics of a chair define which one should be purchased.

Office furniture and its many different aspects create a complicated selection for the consumer. A simpler decision is made by knowing what is available and what is needed. Choosing the correct furniture to suit the office depends upon what type of office the consumer has or wants. - 15790

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Capped Calls, Voip Phone Systems & LCR

By Chris Johnson

BT the UK's largest telecoms provider is dangling the carrotof caopped calls as a means of persuading customers to enter into 1 or 2 year agreements. I have written this article to find out if 'call capping' actually benefits the average business.

The problem with trying to decide if BT's deals are good or bad is the difficulty in obtaining information - BT's website does not seem to give call rates up easiliy - their pricelist points visitors to 58 mult-page documents hence, information is not made easy to find. The helpless search utility provided also proved equally challenging at delivering any form of reasonable data - email contact also proved tough hence calling was best way.

Armed with call rates call rates for BT & a few other telecoms prividers, I had to to establish the average call length - BT were not forthcomming with this information. Luckily for me Telecost performed this task in 2002 - they studied the phone records of 100 companies around the UK in various industry sectors. In total some 2 million records were analysed - of course some time has gone by and without a bigger study it is difficult to be certain - but here are the results:

Average length of call to a mobile (07 numbers) - 110 seconds.

Average duration of national call (01 number) - 112 seconds.

Average length of call to landline (02 numbers) - 121 seconds.

Assuming that an average UK call length is 2 minutes then:

A 2 Minute call at BT standard rate to mobile would cost 45p and to landline would cost 15p (inc call setup fee).

A 2 minute mobile call using BT's 'Business Plan' is 25p (capped) and a 2 minute landline call is 8p on a 1 year contract.

A 2 minute call on BT's 'Oneplan' to mobile is 20p(capped) and to landline is 5p(capped) on a 2 year contract with 2 extra BT services required.

A 2 minute call using Westlake LCR to mobile is 18p and to landline 2.5p on a one year contract.

A 2 minute mobile call using Midland LCR to mobile is 16p and a 2 minute landline call is 1.8p on a 1 year contract with a minimum call spend requirement.

A 2 minute call through Gradwell Business VOIP to mobile would cost 20p and a 2 minute call to landline would be free (on all inclusive tarif else the call would cost 2.5p) on a 3 month contract.

Based on the above information above being correct the conclusion therefore is:- if your business makes average length calls then LCR or VOIP providers offer the best call savings. If your bunsiness makes long phone calls on a regular basis then BT will be the better choice, but then...

The most efficient way to route business calls is to use a telephone system such as Asterisk which is able to route calls via the most efficient methods: ie. route all national calls through VOIP hence take advantage of free calls and unlimited outbound trunks. Route mobile calls through GSM gateways to take advantage of free calls to staff mobiles & lowest possible mobile call rates(1.45 -4.5p/min). It is also a good idea to have a few BT lines on Oneplan to route long calls. This method also allows gives the user the benefit of mutiple failovers.

This is guide to help UK companies make a more informed decision about their comms - the information above was obtained on Sept 08 hence e&oe. - 15790

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