Category Archives: News & Coverage

6th August 2018

Why risk it? Trust Sesui with your communications

According to Cloud Industry Forum research, 82% of public sector organisations have adopted cloud services, up from 38% in 2010*. It’s a move that makes good business sense for the public sector, as it’s a smart way to workaround legacy IT systems. But it does come with a health warning. Public sector organisations need to choose their partners carefully. Cloud computing relies on a network of remote, distributed, virtual servers connected on the Internet to store, manage, access and process data as well as run applications. Cloud providers do it all for you, rather than your organisation needing to run these services in-house. But it means you need to trust your valuable data to a third party and their virtual machines, so of course, there’s risk involved. And we need no reminder of what can happen when our public sector is left exposed.

Not even 18 months ago the WannaCry ransomware attack left the NHS vulnerable, affecting 80 out of 236 trusts, as well as a further 603 primary care and other NHS organisations. It resulted in 6,900 cancelled patient appointments. And all because infected organisations didn’t manage their firewalls. NHS Digital found that most of those affected had unsupported or unpatched Windows operating systems. It sounds so simple doesn’t it? But we’re talking about organisations under huge stress and time pressure. Some things are bound to fall to the wayside, right? Wrong. Risk is something we all face every day. But in the public sector especially, why leave yourself exposed?

As more and more public sector organisations move into the cloud our message is a simple one. Don’t take a chance on an unvetted provider. We are the UK Cloud Service Provider of the Year. We own the UK’s Best Cloud Telephony Product. And we’re very proudly a Queen’s Award winner for Enterprise in Innovation. That’s what you’ll find when you Google our name. But behind the scene we’re doing even more.

Just this month we were awarded our Cyber Essentials certification – a government-backed scheme that helps organisations shore up their IT systems against cyber attacks. For three months, our team has been checking and double checking that our client-facing environment would pass extensive vulnerability testing by CREST – a leader in the field of Cyber Security. Cyber Essentials reassures our customers that we take cyber security seriously. It tells you that we have secure Internet connections, devices and software, that we have controlled access to our data, that we’re protected from viruses and other malware, and that our devices are kept up-to-date.

This certification comes hot on the heels of our successful G-Cloud application. The G-Cloud Framework was set up in 2013 to provide a digital marketplace to promote carefully vetted cloud providers within the public sector. It means public sector organisations can now purchase our software in a faster and more cost effective way, than entering into an individual procurement contract, with the added reassurance that we’re a company they can trust. And you should trust us. We’ve been doing this a long time.
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18th July 2018

OK, I’m thinking of something orange and small…

Got your attention? Great. Read on…

15 years ago Sesui cloud communications was born. In the same year, Finding Nemo was top of the box office, Schwarzenegger became the Governator and we were all falling over ourselves to own a Nokia 3200. On reflection, just two of these things still seem like a good idea. Finding Nemo is still a fantastic film and Sesui is still making vital connections – and getting noticed for it.

We’ve all read the sobering statistics – only 30% of businesses survive the 10-year mark. There are any number of reasons why these businesses slowly fizzle out, but as most tech leaders would agree, the one factor that keeps us awake at night is the idea of being out-competed. That’s why Manveer leads our technology team to innovate our product Sesui Call Manager and then innovate some more. And why Lee’s continually working with our clients to innovate its application. How can we do things differently? How can we challenge the status quo?

The upshot of all of this is that we’re winning new business. And when we do, we come up with new and exciting applications for our solutions. And when we do that, every one of our clients benefit from what we’ve learned. We’ve started telling these stories and it’s no coincidence that we’ve also started winning awards.

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10th July 2018

What’s your Game Plan for Football Fever?

Could it be… just maybe… that football’s coming home? Well if it is, come Thursday, UK employers might just find their employees staying home too. According to the red tops, “MILLIONS” of fans could be calling in sick with barely disguised Footy Fever, costing UK employers a small fortune. Hangovers, late arrivals or simply never arriving at all, are all on the cards. But rather than handing out yellow cards, there is another way to manage absenteeism or last minute roster changes in your business. Flexible working is the answer to handling late starters, earlier finishers, shift swappers, and those most successful negotiators who’ve pledged to make up missed time, sometime after hours.

Don’t be caught ball watching
Whether you’re a small business or large enterprise, Sesui Flexible Working Solutions gives your employees the freedom to work anywhere, at anytime – with your core business hours always covered. Our award-winning software puts your communications systems into the cloud so that your employees can deliver the same level of service or productivity from home. Every voice or video call, email and text message comes through your own secure, virtual contact centre, accessed through any device. Your team have full control to hold and transfer calls or take part in three-way conversations, as well as the ability to integrate customer contact back into your CRM system, or to remotely access your customer directory. And it all happens as though they were sat at the desk across the corridor. And when Fan Flu strikes (and it will), you can pull in and connect a remote workforce to make up the shortfall.

Boss the game
As for your managers, our Sesui Supervisor service helps them to manage the team as though they were all in the same building. The real time statistics give them sight of the big picture with up to the second live reports so they can not only better support your agents or employees working remotely, but they can quickly manage customer call flows. The management reports mean you can see what’s happening with your team on an hourly, daily or weekly basis. No surprises and definitely no shirking of responsibility!

It’s time to park the bus
And the upshot of all of this, is that you can actually start to run your business in a more 24/7 way, providing access to specialist agents or employees outside regular office hours and without needing to tie them down to an office or call centre. This sort of on-demand culture is where the world is headed… what better time to get started.

So as we build up to full fever pitch, balance your productivity with patriotism and give us a call 03445 600 600. We’re Sesui. We make vital connections. And importantly… Woah England’s going all the way!

22nd May 2018

Sesui named Best Cloud Service Provider

Oxford-based Sesui, creator of award-winning cloud communications software, was last night awarded Best Cloud Service Provider at the UK Cloud Awards.

The news follows a number of recent commendations for the business, including the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation in 2016 and Computing’s ‘Cloud Telephony Product of the Year’ in 2017 for Sesui Call Manager. And it builds further momentum for the business, ahead of next month’s Oxfordshire Business Awards, where Sesui’s shortlisted for the CIS Technology Excellence Award.

Sesui connects people to organisations when it’s critical they get through. Its team of problem solvers specialise in untangling communications systems and putting them into the cloud for organisations that provide a vital service, including those in healthcare, travel, manufacturing and the voluntary sector.

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15th March 2018

Let’s talk about UNICORNS…

Yes, that’s correct… unicorns.

Or better still… mermaids and centaurs. Or for that matter, omniagents. Yes, omniagents; the most mythical creature of all. That one contact centre agent with the linguistic ability to be a gifted email writer, snappy Tweeter, capable call agent and vibrant video agent – all at the same time. You’d be correct in thinking they’re not just rare; they’re fictitious. And I’m afraid we’d have to agree.

Omnichannel has been a buzzword for a few years now, but in asking agents to do it all, we’re asking for the impossible – omniagents. We’re seeking unicorns. The reality is that contact centres need to evolve into customer experience hubs where no one agent is expected to do it all. Instead, specialised agents work together sharing data and insights, often remotely, to provide a more personalised 24-7 customer experience.

Here are our top five tips to ensure you’re not relying on a mythical workforce to deliver your omnichannel strategy:

1. Know your customers
2. Know your business
3. Know your agents
4. Be flexible
5. See the big picture

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8th March 2018

Let’s talk about the S word…

SNOW.
Or more appropriately, SNOWMAGEDDON.

Did you have to apologise to your customers, or were you prepared for The Beast from the East? How many snow days did your employees need to take because the weather was bad, public transport wasn’t working or it just took forever to get in? Or like us, did you choose to close the office? Now, for a moment, consider how that affected your organisation?

Many of the big Banks tried to manage customer expectations around waiting times by sending SMS’ explaining how The Beast From The East was affecting their resourcing levels. They had the safety of their colleagues at heart. And they weren’t the only ones. Countless organisations were in the same boat, costing the UK economy an estimated £1bn. But did they even need to be in the boat at all?

If you’re running a manufacturing plant, or you can’t get your High Street shop open, or the delivery guys just can’t get through, chances are you are in the boat. Sorry. But in vast parts of the service sector and in contact centres… a little flexibility goes a long way.

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1st March 2018

Jai Medical to add 5,000 extra patient appointments a year thanks to the cloud

We’ve been banging the drum for our healthcare campaign that explores how cloud communications is helping GPs and clinicians to work remotely, whilst joining up primary care providers to deliver integrated care. Based on our research with UK doctors, as well as input from GPs, our clients and experts from across the NHS (including NHS England), the campaign included:

• A Special Report exploring flexible working through the cloud
• A vodcast roundtable and 1-2-1 interviews
• Coverage of our research across key media
• Endorsements from experts in the field including Dr Simon Abrams, Chair of Urgent Health UK and Mr Ian Sharp, CEO of Digital Health Enterprise Zone

A key story to emerge from the campaign is our work with Jai Medical Centre in the last decade. The brief from Jai Medical was to:
1. Help its five surgeries join up more effectively as “one team” with the installation of 50 VoIP phones across 5 sites
2. Empower its GPs to work remotely, offering patients extended hours
3. Help it answer patient calls even faster, striving to meet rigorous QR8 targets set for out-of-hours and emergency providers
You can read the full case study here. But if you’re short on time, here’s how the story goes… Continue reading →

20th February 2018

Our Special Report – what the experts say…

Our Special Report on ‘Flexible Working for a 24/7 NHS’ is flying off the virtual shelf thanks to endorsements from across UK healthcare, as well as coverage in the press.

You can download your copy for free at www.sesui.com/healthcare where the experts lend their view on how remote working through the cloud could help tackle pressures on GPs and clinicians. There are real world examples from GP practices, 111 providers, and GP-led federations on how the cloud is empowering their clinical workforce to manage the load.

Dr Simon Abrams, Chair of Urgent Health UK said: “I recommend colleagues across primary and urgent care spend some time exploring the report findings. It resonated with my views on how technology can make a difference in the NHS, especially now when we need it most. The report goes into detail on how cloud technology can help urgent care providers meet the NHS Five Year View for integrated urgent care. I found its focus on home working and the governance of secure connections, as well as access to records and voice recordings, admirable. And the thinking around designing systems that match the national and international changes to the way ordinary people connect with new technology is something we should all be considering.”

While Mr Ian Sharp, CEO of the Digital Health Enterprise (DHEZ) added: “We believe that we’ve only just scratched the surface when it comes to digital health innovations. To that point it’s been inspiring to read Sesui’s Special Report into ‘Flexible working for a 24/7 NHS’ and to explore how cloud communications can bring about an important step-change in managing pressures across the system. It’s a must read for any clinician wanting to take back control and deliver even better patient care. We’re certainly recommending the report to our network of health professionals, researchers and businesses so that together we can bring about real and lasting change in the NHS.”

Over in the press, Digital Health Age and Digital Health picked up on our research that shows 43% of doctors said remote working would ultimately allow them to spend longer with their patients, while 48% said being able to take patient calls outside of the office would lead to more personalised care. See the report for the full results or take a peek at our infographic for the headlines.

16th February 2018

Tune into Sesui’s Video Library

And that’s a wrap! Our video library has now launched, with a 10-minute roundtable where experts from across the NHS, joined ITN reporter Emma Walden to explore how to tackle the chronic GP shortage and motivate talented doctors to stay in the NHS. The answer? Flexible working through the cloud.

Tune into www.sesui.com/videos to see Dr Simon Abrams, GP and Chair of Urgent Health UK; Dr Taz Aldawoud, GP and creator of the new DocAbode® platform; Dr Sam Shah, Director of Digital Development at NHS England; and our very own MD Lee Bryant.

We’ve also uploaded in-depth 1-2-1 interviews where the experts provide their unique insights into the pressures on A&E and across the system, and how to change patient behaviour to enable greater uptake of a 24/7 digital health service.

So fix yourself a cuppa and tune into our video library. And if you want the long read, head over to www.sesui.com/healthcare to download our special report on this very subject.

17th January 2018

Guest blog from Dr Simon Abrams on cloud technology for integrated urgent care

I recently met with a number of senior NHS and business figures to discuss how cloud technology should be part of the solution to tackling NHS pressures, offering greater gains in communication between clinicians and the patients, and between clinicians and other health and social care professionals. Such technology is one of the essential pillars for the necessary and effective integration of health and social care services. You can watch the full roundtable discussion by clicking here.

The reason for our discussion was the launch of a Special Report produced by Sesui cloud communications – ‘Flexible working for a 24/7 NHS’. Having read this report, I recommend colleagues across primary and urgent care spend some time exploring its findings. It resonated with my views on how technology can make a difference in the NHS, especially now when we need it most. The report goes into detail on how cloud technology contributes to how urgent care providers can meet the NHS Five Year View for integrated urgent care. I found its focus on home working and the governance of secure connections, access to records and voice recording admirable. And the thinking around designing systems that match the national and international changes to the way ordinary people connect with new technology is something we should all be considering.

Continue reading →