No matter their size, all businesses can face difficulties over Christmas. Businesses, especially those in the retail sector, face an unprecedented level of demand - more so than at any other time of year as people scrabble to finish off their festive shopping. Last year, research by Simply Business revealed that a third of business owners make more than 20% of their annual revenue over the holidays. Many businesses face financial pressure around this time of year - according to a YouGov survey, 60% of people in the UK are planning to spend less than usual this Christmas.
While it might be the busiest time of the year for some businesses, others slow down. Some businesses will also face the difficultdecision of whether to close completely over the Christmas period. If they do, then they risk missing out on sales, enquiries, and new business. If they don’t close, and have a skeleton team working in the office, then they’ll have to deal with having fewer resources, and managing both their time and their clients’ expectations.
Luckily, technology can help businesses to overcome all these challenges and more. And, at FluidOne, we offer a range of services and solutions that help businesses be more flexible, more scalable and ensure they stay connected. Below, we’ve rounded up a few solutions that can see you through the Christmas period and into the New Year.
Many organisations have made the move to SD-WAN in recent years. Put simply, an SD-WAN is an overlay of your entire network, and gives you more control and flexibility, while also improving connectivity. Websites can face increased demand in the weeks running up to Christmas, as potential customers either finish their Christmas shopping or businesses try to make last minute deals before the year ends. Just last month, for example, the Tesco website crashed as more than 290,000 people tried to secure a delivery slot for their Christmas shopping. With the help of an SD-WAN, however, you can easily control your bandwidth, even increasing it as demand soars. SD-WAN can even be used to send traffic down the best possible routes through your network if there’s increased traffic, reducing the chance of your website slowing down or even crashing. We work with best-of-breed SD-WAN vendors to ensure your network gets the best connectivity possible, including Cisco Meraki and Fortinet.
Research has shown that the number of cyber attacks increases dramatically over Christmas, as people and businesses let their guard down. Last December, the cybersecurity company Darktrace discovered a 30% increase in the number of ransomware around the world, compared to the monthly average. Not only are there more attacks, but they’re also more likely to be successful. If a company is closed for Christmas, there could be no one left to man the cyber defences. People should take care to not get too swept up in the festivities, as cyber criminals won’t be taking any time off and could strike while you’re celebrating at the office Christmas party. A study by Cybereason revealed that 70% of those surveyed had been intoxicated while responding to a ransomware attack. Our cybersecurity partners, Cyber Security Associates, can offer you 24/7 support from their Security Operations Centre, ensuring you’re never caught off guard, no matter the time of year.
Even with the office closed over Christmas, you or other members of your team might still need to work or access important files, and FluidOne can make it easier for you to do so remotely. The modern workplace has changed dramatically in recent years, and we offer solutions to keep businesses connected, and help employees stay in touch whether they’re working in the office, at home or on the move. Cloud computing can help remote workers access any data whenever they want or need it, but it can also help to reduce your overall costs - and be more sustainable. From laptops and computers to tablets and smartphones, there are many ways people can get their work done, but that can also open your network up to more security risks. We offer mobile security for all of your team’s devices - we can even get them configured, secured and deployed in the space of 24 hours.
Your customers can’t be forgotten over Christmas - according to Freshdesk, customer service queries usually increase by 75% over the Christmas period. 43% of people expect 24/7 customer support, and while that might be difficult to do on Christmas day, it’s important to ensure that customers get a response that’s as prompt as possible. At FluidOne, we’re proud to offer an unrivalled quality of service. We’ve always put our customers first, and our Net Promoter Score (NPS) shows that - in November, we achieved an excellent NPS of 78. Since May 2018, our NPS score has been consistently high (well above industry averages), which shows our testament to our customers.
Over the last few years, we’ve transformed Dash, our customer portal, and implemented rigorous quality measures across our Support and Service Delivery departments. As well as monitor our customers’ feedback, our Executive team regularly meet with customers and partners to understand their feedback and discuss how to make our customers’ experience even better!
Not only do we provide our customers with excellent service, but we care about helping them to offer their own customers the best experience possible, with a range of solutions. By turning to UCaaS or CCaaS solutions, you can provide a better quality of service for your customers, improving the way you communicate with both your team and your clients. With UCaaS, all your communications tools can be accessed in one place, from phone calls and text messages to video calls and instant messages - making it easier to keep track of what your customers need. CCaaS, meanwhile, allows you to set up a cloud-based contact centre, which can be scaled up and down depending on customer demand. Both UCaaS and CCaas are cloud-based, giving your team more flexibility and helping them to support your clients - even if the office is closed.