When selecting a new voice recording solution most companies will follow a ‘due diligence’ process. This will generally cover areas such as specification, suitability, price, manufacturer pedigree and support credentials, etc.
Meshed into this will be the manufacturer’s policy for end-of-life. Whilst not top of the list when purchasing the latest and greatest product offering it is important to remember that most manufacturers will want to keep you running as close to the latest release as possible. This trend of ‘software maintenance’ has slowly filtered its way into the voice recording arena with all major manufacturers now sporting their own offerings. Supported versions generally run at N – 1 or N – 2 (where N is the latest major release). Whilst maintaining this upgrade policy makes good sense it does beg the question, ‘What happens to the equipment I may need to retain for the playback of historic audio (archived calls) when I finally replace my solution?’.
With many organisations looking to keep their voice recordings for 2 years or more (and 7 is no longer uncommon) the support question suddenly becomes a bigger issue. The manufacturer will not maintain old versions that are end-of-life and are unlikely to offer T+M (Time & Materials). How do you ensure that the retrieval of your old recordings (and any associated hardware and software) are maintained? The answer is you must add this important question to your selection criteria when adopting a new voice recording solution. You will be amazed at the number of companies that overlook this point.
Business Systems offers an innovative alternative to this problem by offering ‘beyond end-of-life support’ for many of its existing customers and has been doing so for many years. We are able to continue supporting the product long after the manufacturers support has ceased and with our extensive spare parts holding, engineering excellence and lifetime approach to our customers you can be confident in your decision and your ability to playback old calls!
For further information contact us now or call 0800 458 2988.
