Welcome to the Merge Communications BLOG

What communications tools do you need to run a small business these days?

Used to be all you needed to drive your business was a phone line and off you went.

Then not that long ago the business world discovered that it was possible to conference multiple telephone lines together and audio conferencing was born.

And boy did New Zealand embrace audio conferencing!

With our geography it became an accepted tool for doing business – able to connect established customers, suppliers and business partners together as required without the inconvenience of travel.

Then in the 1990’s video conferencing emerged to complement audio conferencing.

And while video conferencing has taken a little while to take off, it is now an established and accepted business tool, made more accessible to small businesses by lower cost, modern and Internet based technologies

But what now for audio and videoconferencing in an increasingly broadband and Internet connected world?

We’re entering into a high speed and connected world where we will no longer just telephone call – we will video, instant message, exchange files and share desktops.

And the prediction is that segregation of media in conferencing will soon become a thing of the past.

Converged services are emerging already that will support any combination of voice, video, instant messaging, file exchange and desktop sharing in a multi-party conference.

The opportunity for productivity gain and improved communication effectiveness from this capability is immense …

Industry analysts predict that once the opportunities for gain from these types of services are realised, the uptake of these services will be massive and rapid.

At Merge we have already embarked on this journey and have a communications platform capable of delivering to this promise. Right now we are preparing conferencing capability for the voice, instant messaging and file transfer elements of this picture.

Of course this uses SIP as the core enabler and is totally based on open standards. If you are interested in trying out SIP based multiparty conferencing contact us via Merge’s website to express your interest.

Do you like motor sport?  Have you ever wanted to get out on a racetrack, even once, just to see?  If you’ve never had the chance to drive at racing speed around one of New Zealand’s motor racing tracks but always wanted to, here’s a promotion you will definitely be interested in.  Of course if you have and want to do it again it’s for you too!

We at Merge love motorsport so we’ve set up a special launch Track Day promotion.

Join up with Merge and go into the draw to take part in a Track Day at the international class Hampton Downs racing circuit just north of Hamilton.

We’re paying for use of the track, the fleet of 10 BMW cars, and a world class racing driver in Mike Eady to run the Track Day.

All you need to do is sign up and still be a paying customer when we do the draw in October and you could be suiting up and getting out on the track.

For a downloadable version of the Merge Track Day Flyer that you can print out and stick on your fridge click here

There was an article about HD voice in this week’s Dominion Post INFOTECH Weekly.  Cellphone calls less tinny with new voice tech.  Apparently the cellular companies are promising High Definition or HD Voice.  Some day, one day, maybe, if enough people ask for it. 

Merge has this NOW with its Free and Connect services.  At Merge we have been enjoying the benefits of HD voice for some time.  It really is as good as it is made out to be.  

Sign up to Merge and you are capable of HD voice immediately.  Persuade your customers and business partners to sign up to Merge and you too can experience voice conversations in HD voice.  Merge recommend the Blink SIP client for the best HD voice experience.  Try it, you will like it.

Welcome to the first real blog from Merge Communications.

The subject of our first blog, naturally, seeing as it’s what we sell, relates to network based SIP services.

So what is SIP you ask, why does it being network based have relevance, and what does it mean for small to medium businesses?

First up is SIP.

SIP is possibly one of the most important three letter acronyms in the telecommunications space today, and if it doesn’t mean much to you today it certainly will in the next few years.

SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol (not that you really wanted to know) and is an Internet protocol that underpins the delivery of integrated voice, video, instant messaging and presence services (and more recently file and desktop sharing) over broadband.

It is, as some industry observers have put it, destined to be the dial tone of the 21^st century, expected to have largely replaced the current public telephone network, or PSTN, within the next decade or so.

It is being adopted by telcos, network providers, ISPs, and equipment manufacturers throughout the world and appears to be the only serious game in town.

And what relevance does it have to New Zealand small to medium businesses?

In other markets further progressed in the uptake of SIP, small to medium business are finding that these enhanced media services are freeing them from the shackles of old world communications constraints and allowing them to do business in a whole new way – having a single integrated communications service which allows them to choose which media service they use depending on need.

It is putting affordable enterprise tools in the hands of small to medium business, and allowing them to function more effectively and efficiently in an increasingly communications intensive business world.

And this is where the network based services come in!

While many small to medium businesses, when they realise what advantages SIP offers them, would love to purchase a SIP system, they often find the cost prohibitive.

Not only do you have to purchase equipment and systems, you need to house it in your premises and maintain it, and as your company grows or shrinks, find that significant capital outlay may be necessary to scale the system to meet your changing needs.

Network-based SIP services address this in many ways.

• little or no initial capital outlay is required (use your capital in developing your business instead)
• grow and shrink your communication services to meet your changing business requirements without needing additional equipment or systems (or significant capital expenditure)
• connect to and use your SIP service from any suitable broadband connection, not just from your office (you can take your communications service home or on the road with you)
• free up the space you would have otherwise used to house your equipment and system
• remove the need to keep investing in your system to keep it up-to-date
• remove the need for high cost technical support or maintenance personnel – your SIP service provider maintains the service within the base service cost

So if you see advantage to yourself in network based SIP services, give us a call, we’d be happy to discuss your needs.

Merge Communications is proud to announce the public launch of our new website.