Category Archives: News & Coverage

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 →

15th January 2018

NHS experts recommend flexible working through the cloud to reduce NHS pressures

The “winter crisis” is once again front-page news. But for all the heart wrenching stories – the reams and reams of bad news – our hardworking NHS teams still get out of bed every day and head to work. Into that pressure cooker environment that’s at best described as “unprecedented”, at worst, like a “warzone”. We can’t all do what our NHS teams do, but we can all recognise them and show our appreciation. And that’s why hashtags like #thanksnhsstaff are gaining momentum. But even more than saying thanks, at Sesui we also want to be part of the solution.

We’ve spent the best part of 14 years working with teams across the NHS to explore how cloud technology can transform ways of working and ultimately provide a better patient journey. As part of this work, last Wednesday we were very fortunate to be joined by a number of senior NHS figures to discuss how the cloud could help alleviate current pressures and be a catalyst for real and lasting change. You can tune into the roundtable discussion hosted by former London Tonight report Emma Walden with NHS Director of Digital Development Dr Sam Shah, GP and founder of the DocAbode platform Dr Taz Aldawoud, Chair of Urgent Health UK Dr Simon Abrams, our very own MD Mr Lee Bryant at www.sesui.com/healthcare. We were also fortunate to have contributions on the day from CEO of Digital Health Enterprise Zone Mr Ian Sharp and advisor on urgent healthcare Mr Mark Cockerton.

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5th December 2017

Small Action, Big Difference in the BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal 

With 1 in 200* people in the UK either homeless or living in inadequate homes, these bitterly cold days and nights are having an equally bitter impact. It’s something that’s been front of our minds in our eighth year supporting the BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal with St Martin-in-the-Fields. The Appeal’s set up to help thousands of homeless people or those in danger of losing their homes. Every year we provide “the magic behind the scenes” as Tim Bissett, Director of St Martin-in-the-Fields puts it, running the virtual contact centre that people call to make a donation via one of the many celebrity and volunteer call handlers. This year, our team wanted to take our support even further, so we headed into London to help get even more calls answered. Here’s our MD Lee Bryant, Head of Marketing and Strategy Oli White and our Support Managers James Hookins and Craig Owens, helping some of the many thousands of people across the UK who phoned in to make a donation.

We’re so very proud to find that some 20% more calls were received and answered on Sunday (3rd December 2017) than last year’s Appeal, and the calls were answered quicker than ever before, with callers waiting half the time of previous years. Our focus is always on making vital connections – a lost call is a lost donation – and this year Sesui Cloud Call Manager helped reduce call abandonment by a third.

And the donations keep coming. For the first time, people can continue to give money throughout the night using our automated PCI compliant credit card facility. And on the first night of the Appeal, more money was donated using this method than the total amount raised during last year’s Appeal.

If you can spare some money this Christmas, then please do call 0800 082 82 84 (calls are free from landlines or mobiles) to help people leave behind life on the streets and get the support needed to turn their lives around. Click here to read more about the Appeal and the tremendous work that The Connection at St Martin’s and the Vicar’s Relief Fund teams do to help tackle homelessness. And a huge thank you to all of the very generous people we spoke with on Sunday and everyone else who continues to phone in. Your small action will make a big difference.

* Reported by Shetler, 8th November 2017 using FOI data

3rd December 2017

Radio 4 Christmas Appeal gets underway, supported by Sesui cloud communications

The BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal with St Martin-in-the-Fields launches today (Sunday 3rd December) to help thousands of homeless people or those in danger of losing their homes. Cloud communications provider Sesui will once again be working behind the scenes to ensure every call gets through.

As the festive season gets underway, latest figures show that almost 1 in 200 people in the UK are homeless or living in inadequate homes. Donations to the Appeal, now in its 91st year, are shared between The Connection at St Martin’s and the Vicar’s Relief Fund (VRF). The Connection, in London, helps people leave behind life on the streets through street outreach teams, a day and night centre and specialist services. The VRF offers a lifeline to help people into housing or to keep their home, right across the UK. In addition to shelter, last year’s record-breaking £2.85 million helped to get specialist support to those who needed it most.

“You don’t have to look very far to see homelessness. At the moment we’ll spend almost £10,000 a day trying to get people off the streets and back home or into accommodation where they’re warm and safe. But we can’t do it on our own,” said Mr Tim Bissett, Director of St-Martin-in-the-Fields.

Mr Bissett added: “For eight years Sesui has provided the magic behind the scenes making sure every call gets through. We’re a small team, and on top of our many online and postal donations, we’ll handle over 3,500 calls in just a number of days. The only possible way to manage all of this goodwill is through the cloud. Sesui’s virtual contact centre allows us to take up our posts, wherever we need to – be that London, Cornwall or Scotland – in order to get those calls answered.” Continue reading →