Tag: the unite group

  • A chat with Callum, our Operations Director

    A chat with Callum, our Operations Director

    callum mtt
    Callum, our Operations Director

    Next up in our meet the team series we introduce Callum, our Operations Manager. We recently had a chat with him to find out a bit more about what he does within the Unite Group…

    Growing up, what did you want to be?

    Growing up, I always wanted to be an astronaut!

    What is your role at The Unite Group and how did you end up where you are now?

    My role here at The Unite Group is as the Operations Director. This role involves managing the help desk, coordinating the projects, employee well-being and technical support on all things telecommunications related. Being at Unite with Paul from the start, I came into this role as the company grew and we gained 2 more directors. This felt the best suitable role for me to really utilise my skillset and experience (I’ve been in this industry for 20 years!)

    What does a typical day look like at The Unite Group?

    My typical day consists of lots of coffee, emails, and coordinating the engineers and helpdesk guys as well as planning projects. So my days are often very busy!

    What is your most and least favourite part of the job?

    My favourite part of the job has got to be seeing projects complete smoothly, it’s always great to see when we are able to help our customers seamlessly. Also seeing customer issues being fixed and getting great feedback about our team is always great!

    My least favourite part of the job however has to be delays due to unforeseen issues and the lack of available hardware to complete work as it is still an ongoing problem. These issues take matters out of our hands and can make it a bit harder for us to fix our customer’s problems. However, here at The Unite Group, we will always do our utmost to ensure our customers are back online and working without any problems as soon as possible.

    What is your greatest achievement?

    My greatest achievement has got to be landing a plane for the first time when learning to fly. I was in the RAF from 1989 through to 2000, I wasn’t a pilot in the RAF I just fancied giving it a go, great fun taking off after getting the go-ahead from the tower, not much happens in the sky but landing is scary and a massive relief once you are down.

    What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

    Never give up and stay positive.

    Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?

    In 10 years time I’d like to hope I’ll be in the same role but with a reduced working week and more free time to enjoy life and chill out more, might even take up golf!

    How do you unwind outside of work?

    Outside of work, I enjoy socialising with my friends. You can also often find me playing random sports (badly) and listening to music. I love to attend concerts when I can. Currently, outside of work, you will find me training for the Great North Run. I am taking part alongside Paul & Ben raising money for a fantastic local charity Grace House! This will be my 10th time doing the run and I hope to beat Ben (A chat with Ben, one of our Senior Service Engineers) again this year 😊. If you’d like to sponsor us, it would definitely help us make it round, please find our fundraising page here. Cycling the Great North Bike Ride again and also cycling to Edinburgh later this year following the coast and castle and pubs route.

    If you want to see how Callum and The Unite Group can help you with your business technology needs, contact us on, 0191 466 1050.

  • Patient Partner and how it can benefit your Practice

    Patient Partner and how it can benefit your Practice

    Patient Partner is a brand-new service that we are offering at The Unite Group.

    Since the pandemic, telephone appointments in medical practices have been the norm.

    Despite telephone appointments improving patient access, call traffic and waiting times have increased massively.

    Patients are being triaged and assessed over the phone and it is likely that this will continue to stay.

    Patient Partner streamlines the processes over the phone and allows telephone appointments to continue with ease.

    The new service removes the middleman and allows patients to book appointments with their medical practice without having to speak to a member of staff.

    Voice 365 Technology

    Using Voice 365 technology, Patient Partner acts as a virtual receptionist and works for those who are already registered with the practice.

    There are routine appointments such as smear tests and asthma reviews can be booked using Patient Partner.

    With this system the patients will be able to choose from a menu that is automatically read out to them.

    The Triage module leads patients through a list of options which creates an appointment with the correct clinician.

    On booking an appointment, the patient is required to record a message which details why they need an appointment.

    This feature will then allow the clinicians to prioritise calls that are deemed as urgent. 

    Patients can also access external services when utilising the self-referral mode.

    Appointment menus can be seasonal, adding flu jabs to the menu in the winter months.

    Patients can also order repeat prescriptions and reveal test results.

    Patient Partner is a low-cost and simple service which improves patient access to practice services.

    To access Patient Partner, patients need their date of birth, telephone number and PIN number.

    The practice has the ability to decide what time of day they offer specific services, creating structure for the medical practice.

    Patient Partner is a 24-hour service, allowing patients to call and make appointments at any time.

    A benefit of Patient Partner is that the virtual receptionist can alleviate staff pressure.

    Call traffic is reduced massively, helping those who need to speak to a member of staff, get through to reception sooner.

    Patient Partner is currently available in 11 languages to help meet the needs of the patients registered at your practice.

    This is another benefit, as it helps breakdown language barriers for those whose first language isn’t English.

    How can we help?

    There are a number of benefits to using Patient Partner in your practice.

    And if this is something that would benefit your practice, then The Unite Group can help.

    Starting with a free consultation, we can walk you through the process and discuss the tool in depth.

    We can schedule an easy installation with little disruption to your working day.

    If you would like to learn more book your free consultation here, call us on 0191 466 1050 or email us on info@theunitegroup.co.uk.

  • Lloyd vs. Google: Have you got your Cookie Policy?

    Lloyd vs. Google: Have you got your Cookie Policy?

    Have you got your cookie policy? Google are currently under the microscope; this is because Richard Lloyd has made a legal claim against Google in relation to the ‘Safari Workaround’.

    The Safari Workaround allowed Google to bypass default privacy settings in iPhones. This then allowed Google to track browser-generated information to sell for advertising purposes.

    The facts of the case are as follows:

    “The respondent (Lloyd) has issued a claim alleging that the appellant (‘Google’) has breached its duties as a data controller under the DPA to over 4m Apple iPhone users during a period of some months in 2011- 2012, when Google was able to collect and use their browser generated information. The respondent sued on his own behalf and also on behalf of a class of other residents in England and Wales whose data was collected in this way. He applied for permission to serve the claim out of the jurisdiction. Google opposed the application on the grounds that (i) the pleaded facts did not disclose any basis for claiming compensation under the DPA. And (ii) the court should not, in any event, permit the claim to continue as a representative action.“

    The on-going legal battle has highlighted the importance of GDPR and Cookie policies on the internet.

    Meaning that if you’re a business owner, this case is something you should be aware of and comply with accordingly.

    What can you do?

    As a business owner, you are responsible for the data. This for example includes the data that you collect, store, and use when your website is visited.

    Your website should have a Privacy Policy and a Cookie Policy. This policy must explain what details are collected and where you store them.

    Users should have the option to accept or decline your Cookie Policy when entering your website.

    The Cookie Policy should also contain information on how users can opt out of cookies or change their cookie settings.

    You must check that you are compliant with the current GDPR/DPA 2018 guidelines.

    A Cookie Policy deals with the use of cookies on your site. Whereas a Privacy Policy is a general document regarding all the data processes on your website.

    Privacy and Cookie policies are mandatory. If you do not have one of the policies on your website you can refer directly to the ICO to amend this.

    If this is something you are struggling with why not get in touch with Social+ (part of The Unite Group) They can help ensure that your website is fully compliant with these guidelines.

    How can we help?

    Social+ offers website maintenance as part of their services. Their team would be more than happy to take you through the requirements step by step.

    If this is something that you would want to hear more about give us a call. 0191 466 1050 or email on hello@social-plus.media.

  • Hole in Two: The Unite Group plays golf for charities in June

    Hole in Two: The Unite Group plays golf for charities in June

    Here at The Unite Group, we do our best to give back to local charities. It is amazing to see them making a positive difference in people’s lives every day.

    What better way to raise money than to have one of our Directors, Paul, play a few rounds of golf!

    Grace House North East

    On the 11th June, Paul attended the Grace House North East golf day at Ramside Golf Club.

    On the day Paul was joined by Ross Tomkins, Andrew Biggs, and Phil Wood making up Team Unite.

    Grace House North East offers a range of specialist services to support not just children and young people who have complex disabilities, but their whole families too.

    The charity offers counseling and support to families and short breaks for children. They work to help them develop their independence skills and most importantly, to have fun.

    The annual golf day raised an amazing total of £10,336 therefore Paul is looking forward to returning next year!

    Business Beats Cancer Marathon

    On the 29th of June, Paul is going to be to attempt the challenge of completing four rounds of golf in one day! This is will be to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

    The golf marathon is going to be completed by Paul and his fellow members of the FORE Business Network.

    The golfers taking part include Paul Sykes, Kevin Maddison, Gavin Forster and John Taylor.

    Starting off the day, the first round will begin at 5:00am! They are aiming to finish the 4 rounds by 9pm!

    The event is being supported by the lovely Michelle Hussain of Parklands Gold Club. She is very kindly providing the use of the golf course free of charge.

    Michelle’s generosity will allow the funds that are raised to be as high as possible. This means even more money for the charity.

    The Business Beats Cancer Golf Marathon will challenge the golfers, as they will walk 25 miles each on the day!

    The funds will contribute to the charities that are developing cancer treatments and making them readily available for patients.

    Cancer Research UK supports more than 250 clinical trials across the UK.

    The ground-breaking research has saved thousands of lives in the UK and all over the world.

    Cancer Research UK is a very important charity and The Unite Group are happy to be supporting them this month.

    We hope to raise as much money as possible to allow these charities to continue the amazing work that they are doing.

    If you would like to donate any money to the Business Beats Cancer Golf Marathon, then you can click on the link here.

  • Hosted telephony and the BT Switch off explained…

    Hosted telephony and the BT Switch off explained…

    BT has recently announced that they are switching all their customers from PTSN and ISDN services to a fully digital network, as Openreach are discontinuing the old phone analogue lines by 2025.

    This therefore concerns all small to medium-sized businesses, and even affects home services too. If you are a business, this affects everything that uses old phone networks including alarm and door entry systems.

    By switching to digital phone services, you are able to make calls from any device in any location, using the same phone number.

    This allows you to be able to link business applications and systems with video chat, calls and collaboration – which is a necessity in the workplace since the pandemic.

    The technical term for this digital phone service is hosted telephony.

    Hosted Telephony means that your phone system is hosted in the cloud. This is instead of physically in your office.

    The installation process is simple, there are no physical cables to install and connect. All that is required is an internet connection.

    Hosted Telephony provides a flexible and reliable way to manage your communications in the workplace.

    One of the benefits of hosted telephony is that once it is installed, it can be easily managed and tailored to your business. You will also have the option of adding extra features.

    Calls can be made and received across multiple devices including your phone and desktop.

    The flexibility of hosted telephony allows small and growing businesses to scale up. You also then don’t have phone numbers that are tied to one location.

    Advanced features of hosted telephony include SMS messaging, voicemail, Microsoft Integration, call recordings and more.

    Hosted Telephony also reduces maintenance and IT costs for your business.

    How can we help?

    At The Unite Group, we use Voice 365 to provide our customers with hosted cloud telephony service.

    Voice 365 provides a range of features including, call centre and remote working, receptionist software, call management, and more.

    We provide Voice 365 phones with no purchase cost. All of the payments are billed monthly, this allows you to spread out the cost for your business.

    If this is something you might be interested in learning more about, why not give us a call on 0191 466 1050. Or email us on info@theunitegroup.co.uk.

  • The Cloud – What is it and How will it Transform Hybrid Working?

    The Cloud – What is it and How will it Transform Hybrid Working?

    We always hear people talking about the cloud, iCloud, the ones in the sky – it can be somewhat confusing.

    Therefore, here at The Unite Group, our aim is to remove all the jargon and to make understanding technology simple.

    The cloud is essentially like a filing cabinet, with all your business’ files inside. Except there is no physical cabinet and everything is accessed via the internet.

    Therefore, it enables multiple users to access the same files and applications across a number of devices.

    Using a cloud computing service allows companies to stop making use of physical servers and allows them to migrate their data and files onto an online server that can be accessed from anywhere.

    As long as you have internet access, your company’s files and data will be readily available to be accessed from the cloud.

    By migrating your data to the cloud, hardware costs are reduced for small to medium sized companies. Therefore the need for these businesses to maintain and update their own servers is removed.

    Not only is the cloud so easily accessible, 94% of businesses report to have seen improved online security since they migrated to the cloud.

    Microsoft 365 is a widely used example of an app which allows you to store your files in the cloud.

    Likewise, Google Drive is an example of a cloud computing service. Consumers often use Google Drive to store their files, photos and more.

    So, now the question is how will it transform hybrid working?

    Well it already has. At one point, everyone except essential workers were working from home and computing services, like the cloud, were an essential.

    The past year the cloud has been vital to helping companies tackle one of their greatest challenges yet.

    Hybrid Working Life

    Office workers are now adjusting to a life of hybrid working models. Individuals may find that they spend two days in the office and three days at home.

    Due to employee expectations since the pandemic, we are very much expecting hybrid working to stay.

    But in order for this new working model to work both effectively and efficiently, businesses need a service like the cloud.

    Cloud computing services make alternating between remote working and office working a smooth and simple process.

    The main benefit being that the files and applications stored in the cloud can be accessed anywhere so long as there is a strong internet connection.

    How can The Unite Group help?

    Here at The Unite Group, we can migrate your data from your current mail server to the cloud. We can make sure that you take all your emails and contacts with you to avoid disruption.

    Our specialist service allows collaborative working from any location to be immediately available for you and your business.

    If you choose to migrate your data with the Unite Group, we will do all the hard work for you.

    We will create and implement a seamless migration plan with little disruption to your working day.

    If migrating to the cloud sounds like something you and your business would be interested in. Get in touch and contact The Unite Group today on 0191 466 1050 or email us on info@theunitegroup.co.uk.