We know it’s trivia – but it’s also a bit of fun! A big thank you to all those people who contributed with pictures of old style communications rooms In our quest for the classic ‘early days’ of voice recording this is the best example so far. Our historical analysts went into overdrive on this one and suggestions put forward were; an early example of a Mauritanian call centre, the Chad Camel Futures Market and the control room for the Senegal flying squad. However, living in the politically correct world of today, we decided that some of these might be deemed inappropriate and so erring on the side of caution all were rejected. Our oldest and wisest techie (if grey hair is anything to go by) William Hall seems to think they are Philips VLS-6’s (6 channels per machine) and best guess of usage is Air Traffic Control. We think we know where these units are located but would rather not say. The reason being that it’s a long, tiring flight to Entebbe and we feel the last thing you need to worry about just before landing is the state of the control centre. For more information call 0800 458 2988 or email [email protected] Written by: Business Systems UK
Blog 19 August, 2026 WhatsApp Compliance in Financial Services WhatsApp compliance in financial services: why a ban is no longer enough For years, the standard answer to WhatsApp in regulated firms was simple: ban it. Write a policy prohibiting business communication on personal messaging apps, ask staff to sign it, and move on. That approach has now failed publicly, repeatedly and expensively. In 2024,
Blog 18 August, 2026 MiFID II Call Recording Requirements in 2026 MiFID II call recording in 2026: from sampled playback to full surveillance When the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II came into force in 2018, most firms treated the recording obligation as a technology procurement exercise. Buy a recording platform, switch it on for the trading floor, tick the box. Nearly a decade on, recording
Blog 22 July, 2026 The Cost of Attrition: Why Workforce Engagement Management is a Self-Funding Strategy Contact centre attrition remains one of the most expensive challenges facing customer support leaders. CX Today reports annual turnover rates of 35-45% remain common across the industry, with each departure costing between £10,000 and £15,000 in recruitment, onboarding and lost productivity. For a 200-seat operation, that equates to roughly £700,000-£1.35 million in annual attrition costs
Blog 30 April, 2026 Customer Experience Tools: How to Choose (and Implement) the Right CX Platform for Your Business Choosing the right customer experience platform is a major decision for many businesses. The platform you choose shapes how customers interact with your business across every channel, determines what insights you can extract from those customer interactions, and influences whether or not your teams can deliver consistently excellent service. Yet many organisations approach this decision
Blog 16 April, 2026 Conversational AI in UK Contact Centres: Moving Beyond Basic Chatbots Many contact centres in the UK have implemented chatbot technology in some form or another, but with varying degrees of success. Recent industry research reveals that nearly 70% of customers become frustrated with chatbots and prefer speaking to human agents, and abandonment rates for basic chatbot interactions continue to remain stubbornly high. The problem isn’t
Blog 10 April, 2026 Proactive Customer Service: How Contact Centres Can Use Proactive AI to Anticipate Customer Needs The traditional model of customer service is almost entirely reactive: a customer discovers a problem, contacts your organisation, and waits for a solution. This approach places the burden squarely on the customer, requiring them to identify issues, navigate your contact channels, and often endure multiple interactions before their problem is solved. Proactive customer service powered
Blog 29 January, 2026 Microsoft Teams Recording Without the Risk: A Practical Guide for Regulated Organisations Microsoft Teams has become the backbone of collaboration across financial services, insurance, the public sector and other regulated industries. Trading conversations, client discussions, internal decisions and approvals are now happening daily across voice, video, chat and shared files. That shift brings opportunity, but it also introduces risk. For organisations operating under regulations such as FCA,
Blog 5 December, 2025 The clock is ticking: Why end-of-life recording systems are a critical compliance risk Outdated recording technology isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a ticking time bomb for regulated firms. For financial services and other heavily regulated industries, end-of-life (EoL) voice recording systems can create dangerous blind spots. When vendors withdraw support, these unsupported platforms become vulnerable, exposing your firm to major compliance penalties under frameworks like MiFID II, FCA,