Google the term “POTS”. It stands for “Plain Old Telephone System” – the analogue, fixed wireline system that was telephony in the 20th century.
But telephony has changed – and so have we. Our roots may be in POTS (bad pun) but we are so much more than a telephone company. Yes, we supply what can be regarded as “telephone” (read ‘voice communications’) systems – PBXs (hosted and on-site); mobile phones; Least Cost Routing (LCR); VoIP (Voice over IP) systems and so on.
But we have become a full-spectrum communications company, delivering an end-to-end solution that enables our customers to communicate with their customers and stakeholders in the most efficient, cost-effective and integrated way possible, using a wide variety of technologies.
What do I mean by this? Let me explain by using some examples of work we have undertaken for various customers over the past few month.
We checked the entire MPLS data network at one of our customers and found it badly needed to be overhauled. Having completed the project, our customer had considerably more bandwidth than before – at a much reduced cost.
Another customer is also experiencing increased bandwidth at a lower cost – and with greater reliability of their phones as well as their data connectivity. After evaluating their needs, we installed a Neotel voice and data system to replace their existing Telkom system. Despite the fact that they no longer used Telkom for their telephone needs, we were able to ensure that they kept existing telephone numbers. A win-win situation all round.
And then there’s the customer who asked us to evaluate a proposal they had received from their office automation (printer/copier/fax/scanner) supplier to upgrade their existing equipment. We were shocked at what we found – and so were they. The supplier had inflated the capital cost of the equipment being offered by a massive 200 percent – and disguised this by supplying the company with what appeared to be a reasonable monthly “rental”.
Having accurately assessed the customer’s office automation requirements, Du Pont was able to supply the company with a fully integrated office automation solution – at half the cost quoted by their long-time supplier.
So – what kind of a business is Du Pont Telecom? The short answer is… far, far more than a telecom company.
Please don’t hesitate to email me on graemevictor@dpt.co.za with your comments and suggestions.
Till next time,
Graeme Victor