Hosted IP can help with compliance
The call recording directive is looming and financial institutions will have to adhere to new laws
Mike Webb: Companies may not want to go to the expense of building an -in-house function
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has said that by March 2009 all firms involved in financial services must have
implemented a robust platform that records telephone conversations. Not only large financial institutions will be affected; companies of all sizes must comply.
This presents a sales opportunity to the channel as most companies, we think, have yet to choose a solution and will require consultancy on implementation.
The FSA stipulated that all UK-regulated financial services companies must keep detailed tamper-proof records of all their telephone conversations relating to client orders and transactions in the equities, derivatives and bond markets and retain the files for at least six months.
Companies operating in financial services are investigating call recording solutions. In this economic climate, firms may not want to go to the expense of building an in-house recording function or embark on a project that will require high initial investments. Instead, they will probably want to lower risk and control projects costs. So an IP-hosted call
recording solution is an attractive option.
IP-hosted call recording solutions can be integrated into telecommunications set-ups, offered as a standalone service or as an add-on to hosted-IP services. And they can be altered to meet businesses’ needs and programmed to offer total,
selective or transaction-based recording.
Adoption of hosted IP solutions has risen in recent years, as the worries about their quality and resilience were addressed.
A report by Infonetics Research has estimated that the business customer share of worldwide hosted VoIP service revenue will rise. The market research company anticipated an increase from 26 per cent of the market in 2007 to 41 per cent in 2011.
Customer incentives for the adoption of hosted IP telephony must be explained at the point of tender. Incentives include avoiding the peak in expenditure associated with the set-up of a fixed-line project, precisely what SMEs want to avoid .
Furthermore, hosted IP services help users avoid high-risk implementations. A pre-packaged solution can replace legacy systems and facilitate the start-up of satellite operations. This is a benefit to the reseller as a hands-free approach allows the company to focus on customer service.
Selling managed service contracts helps the reseller increase the overall value proposition to customers. The service
contract also increases customer contact opportunities, allowing the reseller to encourage loyalty.
Mike Webb is chief executive at Newbury-based hosted-IP services provider iHub, which offers mobile, traditional and unified solutions.