Organisation

Turbocharge Your Business Operations with a Fibre Internet Line

Posted on 26 June 202527 November 2025 by Vivienne Fouche

How Fibre Internet can give your business – and your employees – a massive boost

Does the Internet at your company’s premises tend to lag or go down more often than not – so your employees are often forced to spend time doing nothing, or else are flocking to the coffee facilities (and then taking ages to get back to work)?

Perhaps your document saving and archiving is an on-premises administrative hassle, or else your on-prem PBX system is the weakest link when the power goes out.

If any of these scenarios sound familiar, then it could be that your organisation’s productivity would benefit massively from a Fibre Internet boost. Business operations today need fast, reliable Internet for everything from their business communication to customer service, and Vox Fibre to the Business is guaranteed to offer you the fastest speeds and most reliable service possible for your Internet connectivity.

The Extensive Benefits of Fibre-Based Internet

Vox offers scalable options with tailored value-adds to suit your business needs. Our Fibre to the Business (FTTB) offerings include Business Fibre, for broadband solutions at excellent prices; Premium Business Fibre, where you get more ‘bang for your buck’ with added value and an improved service; and Dedicated Fibre if your business requires uncontended connectivity and top priority service level agreements (SLAs).

The benefits of a Fibre Optic Internet service for your business include the following:

Faster uploads and downloads: Fibre connections use Fibre Optic cables to transmit data at incredibly fast speeds, by using light pulses, meaning faster uploads and downloads for file sharing and other data-intensive tasks.
Reduction in downtime: Breaks in your company’s Internet service have a negative impact on all operations, including the critical elements of internal and external communication. Setting up a Failover option will help your organisation to remain ready for any challenges, by providing a secondary connection to your company’s Internet via diverse routes and/ or technologies.
Improved productivity: With limited downtime and faster Internet speeds, your employees can download faster, collaborate better, and increase their overall productivity. Reduced lag and latency also improve online video conferencing. Your employees can save on time out of the office by having more online meetings with quality video or VoIP calls, instead of having to meet face-to-face or over a PBX conference phone.
Cloud services and data backup: Fibre Optic Internet connectivity means better access to cloud-based services for storage and backup, as well as other collaboration tools. You can quickly and efficiently access any stored data for seamless business operations.
Increased security: Fibre Optic cables are extremely secure, giving you peace of mind that your sensitive data is better protected.
Cost savings: By eliminating speed issues, increasing the reliability of your Internet, and improving business productivity, you’ll save costs over time. In addition, cloud-based storage options, as well as the implementation of VoIP telecommunications, will save even more in the longer term.
Scalability: With FTTB, you can easily increase your Internet capabilities as the business expands.

Employer of the Year?

As 2025 enters the second half of the year, why not investigate getting a Fibre Connection for your organisation? This way, you can make sure your business is always online with a reliable connection, and with incredibly high data transmission speeds, your employees can easily upload and download files and stay connected with each other, and your customers, at all times.

In addition, VoIP calls can cut your phone costs significantly, both locally and internationally. It all works together to help make the way you do business even better – and efficiently-run organisations tend to have more productive employees. In turn, employees who are enabled with higher business functionality also tend to be happier and more positive at work – nobody likes having to do their job with less effective products and solutions.

And with a bit more ready cash at your disposal, you could even earn some more ‘Employer of the Year’ brownie points with an improved brand of coffee in the kitchen facilities, when it’s finally time for those well-deserved breaks.

Convinced yet? We’d love to hear from you if you’re ready to make the move to Business Fibre.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Business Fibre Internet?
Business Fibre Internet is a commercial-grade Fibre connection with SLAs, priority support and optional uncontended bandwidth (Dedicated Fibre). It’s built for uptime, security and scalability.

What is Dedicated Fibre and why would my business need it?
Dedicated Fibre offers uncontended, 1:1 bandwidth with stronger SLAs, and is ideal for data centres, high-transaction businesses, or organisations running latency-sensitive applications and large-scale cloud services.

How does Failover Internet work with Fibre?
Failover provides a secondary connection over a different route or technology to automatically keep your network online during primary-link outages. It’s recommended for businesses that cannot tolerate downtime.

Can Fibre reduce our phone costs?
Yes. Using VoIP over Fibre can significantly cut local and international call costs, and improves call quality compared with older PSTN or contended mobile links.

Will Fibre help our cloud backup and collaboration?
Absolutely. Fibre’s high throughput and low latency enable faster backups, seamless access to cloud-based tools and better real-time collaboration for distributed teams.

Is Your Business Wi-Fi Due for an Upgrade?

Posted on 21 May 202521 May 2025 by Craig Blignaut

A better Wi-Fi environment brings increased productivity to your employees and your organisation

Business Wi-Fi provides your employees with their gateway to the Internet, including operations in the Cloud. This requires stability and reliability – and as your business grows, your Wi-Fi needs may change. What worked for your organisation yesterday may not be sufficient in the future as your company’s Wi-Fi requirements increase.

Perhaps your organisation’s infrastructure was installed a few years ago, but as cost-effectively as possible – it may have been that the Wi-Fi requirement then wasn’t as much of a focus point as it has since become. Now, your organisation is growing and the need for improved Wi-Fi services is apparent.

Let’s have a look at why your business Wi-Fi may be due for an upgrade – and the steps you can take to implement this.

A Better Wi-Fi Environment Brings Increased Productivity

Wi-Fi has been around for the past 25 to 30 years and has evolved significantly during that time. With vastly more applications and computer programs available today, a much higher throughput is required to maximise the experience of the users in your organisations.

The days of having a single room with Wi-Fi access in it within the entire premises, or a dedicated area across the particular floor in the building, are long gone. People today expect Wi-Fi access in every environment that they move into. Your corporate solution therefore needs to work properly and enable productivity – you don’t want your employees being forced to spend five to 10 minutes trying to connect. Conversely, a better Wi-Fi environment brings increased productivity.

With a clear requirement for functionally excellent Wi-Fi access throughout the organisation, it may be time to invest in better, enterprise-level equipment, and an organisation that can assist you in managing and planning the Wi-Fi design as efficiently as possible.

Advantages of Upgrading Your Business Wi-Fi Network

Vox provides managed Wi-Fi services for businesses. This enables remote software and firmware updates, and reduced technician call-outs, through remote troubleshooting and fault remediation.

One of our services is offering audits on existing Wi-Fi, because with legacy old equipment, security becomes a risk. We also know that not every business is looking for brand-new Wi-Fi in a new building from scratch. Very often, we find that we’re taking over the legacy Wi-Fi previously used by the company, and we may be able to upgrade the existing assets or infrastructure.

The advantages of upgrading your business Wi-Fi network include the following:

Increased speed and bandwidth;
Improved connection reliability;
Improved security and privacy; and
Easier setup and management.

Security alone is a particularly serious issue, as network threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated. At Vox, we are keenly aware of the need to carry out regular software updates on our network equipment, such as access points and switches, as is necessary with all technology.

An access point can become a security risk if no one is managing it: for example, the manufacturer could find security vulnerabilities with certain equipment, and if it doesn’t get a security patch or update, the access point becomes vulnerable.

Overcoming Wi-Fi Challenges Presented by Infrastructure

The construction materials used in buildings, such as concrete, glass, brick and metal, can interfere with Wi-Fi signals and obstruct them in different ways, especially in larger or older buildings with thick walls. To counteract this challenge, Vox uses specialised software to create virtual models of your office space.

This software considers the different structural properties of the various building materials, allowing you to predict how Wi-Fi signals will travel and where obstacles might cause issues.

This virtual planning considers such factors as signal strength as well as how to determine the best access point and placement for access points and switches, to optimise network performance and capacity in areas where it’s needed most.

Vox Managed Wi-Fi Solutions

Our business Wi-Fi offerings are designed to optimise your Wi-Fi coverage, extend range and expand networking possibilities, enhancing the user experience and providing seamless, reliable connectivity for all devices, as follows:

Solve network issues and limit service centre interaction, reducing technical call outs. Network analytics provides information such as alarms, incidents and client experience information, including time to connect to the access points.
Radio Frequency (RF) design and planning: Our RF heatmap design software enables correct planning, scoping and implementation to improve overall Wi-Fi experience for both users and organisations.
Enterprise Equipment: Vox partners with enterprise grade equipment vendors, such as Ruckus Networks, to provide robust equipment from access points to managed switches and management cloud platforms, offering enhanced Wi-Fi connections and capacity for concurrent user devices.

Bespoke Managed Wi-Fi Solutions with Vox

The benefits of managed Wi-Fi solutions ensure, for example, that your organisation carries out regular, planned security updates in the same way as for our phones and computers. Vox offers any organisation a bespoke Wi-Fi solution according to their particular requirements.

We also understand the requirements of speed versus capacity. For example, your organisation might have a boardroom that is required to facilitate a meeting with 100 people in it once a week, and otherwise is seldom used. At Vox, we understand how to cater to the capacity that may be only required from time to time.

A managed Wi-Fi solution also offers convenience, as our Service Centre is able to remotely troubleshoot and improve network performance using cloud-based administrative tools. This ensures that more connected devices can enjoy uninterrupted Wi-Fi in your business.

It all speaks to ongoing connectivity, which in turn speaks to improved productivity.

Is your business Wi-Fi due for an upgrade? Feel free to reach out to us on 087 805 5050 or via email on corporatesales@voxtelecom.co.za and begin a discussion.

Driving His Future within the IT Arena and Beyond

Posted on 11 March 202520 February 2026 by Vivienne Fouche

People of Vox: Spotlight on Lunga Hoho

At Vox, we believe our employees are the beating heart of our company, with merit and value built into all our available positions. In this edition of People of Vox, we meet Lunga Hoho, who works in the IT Department as a Desktop Support Technician. When you meet Lunga, you realise very quickly that he’s a ‘People’s Person’, through and through!

Lunga, who works at Vox Head Office in Joburg, but helps people remotely around the country, is one of the Vox IT support team members who’s there to help people at the drop of a hat when their computers are misbehaving. At the same time, he’s also highly skilled at putting the smiles back onto faces that were (at best) wearing a frown, and (at worst) spewing choice words into the surrounding atmosphere.

As you get to know Lunga, it also becomes apparent that he has an admirable self-driving philosophy (you’ll see why that’s a great pun a bit later in the article), which spurs him on to new challenges all the time. Lunga has been at Vox for around eight years now and has had an interesting career with us so far!

This, together with his People-Person outlook on life, meant he was top of mind when we were looking for the first person to interview for our new ‘People of Vox’ series of blog articles, in which we bring you the stories behind some of our less-well-known heroes.

Valuing His Culture

Lunga values his Xhosa heritage

Lunga (short for Lungako) was born and raised in a small town in the Eastern Cape, where his Xhosa background became an integral part of shaping his personality and outlook on life. “What I truly appreciate about my culture,” he notes, “is its rich heritage with strong traditions, and its emphasis on love and respect for people.”

Both of his parents, as well as his sister, are schoolteachers. While he stands apart from his family members in pursuing a career outside the education arena, he shares their philosophy of being a life-long learner.

“Like the rest of my family”, he says, “I’ve always been around books and education, and I understand and appreciate its value. My mother says that ‘Inside every teacher is a school’ and her outlook has always inspired me to try to extend myself as much as I can.”

Crafting A Career Path

Lunga joined Vox in mid-March 2017 on a 12-month contract basis, as part of an internship programme, where he worked as a Stores Assistant. Later that same year, on 1 August 2017, he became a driver for the company.

Lunga Vox car 1 | Vox | Driving His Future within the IT Arena and Beyond — Driving into his future with Vox!

He outlines: “I was so happy because this was now a permanent position! I was a driver for about two years and then became a service engineer for Qwerti (then known as MIT Services) in August 2019, where I remained until 2023, when I finally joined the IT Support Team as a Desktop Technician, which is my current role.”

Learning and studying formed an integral part of Lunga’s journey from becoming a driver for the company to being part of the IT team. This studying took place through both internal and external courses. He first became interested in becoming part of an IT support team when he was a driver visiting Vox clients.

“I started studying by registering myself on Vox Academy – because Vox Partners with Microsoft – and began my initial learning that way. Through these early courses, I became aware of more possibilities, both internally and externally, and I got to a point where I was knowledgeable enough to apply to become a service engineer for Qwerti (MIT Services), and then, as I mentioned, into my present position.

“I would like to add that throughout my career at Vox, I’ve been so fortunate in working for great line managers, who always supported and encouraged me, including taking the next steps into the next position or opportunity. I want to be an inspiration for any new interns going forward, because I’ve had so many people within the organisation who have made time to help me on my own journey.”

A Natural Fit in the IT Department

Lunga says he feels blessed by the opportunity to become part of the IT Support Team, which plays such an important role within Vox.

Lunga working 1 | Vox | Driving His Future within the IT Arena and Beyond — The serious business of work

He notes: “We protect the company’s data, secure its network, and seek ways to develop and improve our systems and IT infrastructure. I report to Sipho Sibanyoni, for whom I have great respect and admiration as an excellent manager, and my job is to ensure that Vox employees have all their technical needs met, thus allowing them to perform their duties. This includes being able to access the necessary shared folders on the server, getting onto the VPN, accessing printers and other office devices, encrypting confidential information and managing network traffic.

“Everyone who contacts me seeking help – from across various Vox branches around the country – is a vital cog in the company, and so I cultivate a positive attitude towards my clients and performing my duties. I’m always happy when I can solve someone’s tech problem and leave them happier than when I first went on the call to help them – it’s always wonderful when you are part of a solution, and this is one of the reasons why I love my job so much.”

Lunga reiterates that, partly because of his cultural background, he feels a deep love for humanity. He adds: “The best moments for me at Vox have been my encounters with people – those moments when I assist someone are really what makes my heart tick. I don’t think about the computer as much as I think about the person behind the screen.”

Exploring New Horizons

But it’s not just IT and people that makes Lunga tick – he also enjoys travel, studies and sports. He clarifies: “I enjoy seeking knowledge and studying in general, and just finding out how to better myself. This year, I’ve enrolled at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) to study Communications, which has always interested me. I’m so excited about investing in myself further – there’s always room to learn more!”

As for the travel, Lunga adds: “At the end of the day, we are here to collect as many good memories as we possibly can, and I have some great travel aspirations. For example, in the future I would like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and visit the Great Pyramid of Egypt, to add to my previous travels to Botswana, Mauritius, Mozambique and the Mozambican Islands, as well as within South Africa itself. Further afield, I’d also like to visit Dagestan, in Russia, because one of my sports heroes, in Mixed Martial Arts, comes from there.”

Lunga cruise | Vox | Driving His Future within the IT Arena and Beyond — Just cruising!

Staying with sports, Lunga is usually one of the first to raise his hand when Vox, as a sponsor of the Golden Lions, is able to make free tickets available to staff members. More seriously, he clarifies: “My ultimate goal is to leave the world a little better than I found it. Working for Vox, because of its people-friendly and transparent, accessible culture, reminds me that behind all the professionalism I experience, I’m always dealing with human beings.

“I really enjoy working for a company that, besides being so innovative, also encourages such a great open-door policy, for employees as well as customers,” he concludes.

Vox Hosting with the Mosting

Posted on 21 January 2025 by Vivienne Fouche

Providing a solution to meet your business requirements

Customer loyalty today demands digital options. If your business doesn’t have an attractive and well-functioning website, your potential customers will shop elsewhere.

South Africa’s online retail sector showed a significant increase in the past few years, growing by almost 30 percent (29 percent) between 2022 and 2023. Having reached the R71 billion mark in 2023, online sales are now anticipated to break the R100 billion barrier by 2026 – which is just around the corner.

And so, with South Africa’s online sales soaring, there’s never been a better time to make sure your business has a functioning website. Even with a bricks-and-mortar operation, it’s essential to back it up with an online option as well.

If you’re keen to upgrade your company’s online presence quickly and effectively – or even kickstart one if you haven’t got a website already – Vox offers several different hosting experiences with solutions to meet your business’s unique requirements, no matter your budget.

Domain and Web Hosting: The Right Address and Functioning Operations

In the physical world, you need an address so your customers can find you, and you need premises from which to operate. These two terms represent different things in terms of getting your website infrastructure up and running.

Start with an address: Domain hosting is a service that allows you to choose and register a unique online name for your website and brand, in other words your web address.
Make sure your premises are fit for purpose: Behind the address lies the property from which your business operates. Web hosting is essentially what stores all your site’s information and files. It’s usually a server, or space on a server.
Let your customers come inside: When someone uses your domain to access your website, signals are sent to the server, which then opens up your live site for the customer – the online version of ‘going into your shop’.

With Vox Web Hosting, you rent space on our server and host your website contents through us. We offer multiple platforms to choose from, including WordPress, Linux and Windows. Vox Web Hosting includes a free .co.za domain.

Backed by Vox Expertise

As well as being able to choose from multiple platforms and have a free domain, Vox Web Hosting also offers the following benefits:

Extensive network coverage: Vox Web Hosting has an established national and international backbone with over 13 local PoPs (Point of Purchase outlets) and footprints in all the Teraco Data Centre environments.
Security Team: All servers sit behind Vox’s state-of-the-art firewall infrastructure, with virus management and security updates.
24/7 Expert Support: Our servers are locally hosted and managed around the clock by our engineering team for peace of mind.
Includes a Free SSL Certificate: If you’re going to run a prosperous website that is secure for your users and browsers, SSL certificates are an essential. Vox SSL Certificates keep your customers’ confidence by ensuring the safety of their data while they visit your website.

WordPress, Linux and Windows are some of the world’s most popular website hosting platforms today, and Vox Web Hosting is proud to bring you different options across each brand.

Shared Web Hosting: Linux and Windows

Shared hosting makes getting started online simpler and easier, saving you money, as well as taking the headache out of hosting.

With Vox shared Web Hosting, our customers experience a form of web hosting in which more than one website shares the resources of a single virtual or physical server, which means a stable but also low-cost solution.

Choose from Linux options as follows:

Linux Basic: 1GB of storage, 25 email addresses;
Linux Standard: 4GB of storage, 75 email addresses;
Linux Advanced: 20 GB of storage, 200 email addresses; and
Linux Ultimate: 30 GB of storage, 250 email addresses.

Alternatively, Vox Web Hosting also offers Windows options, as follows:

Windows Standard: 2GB of storage, 100 email addresses;
Windows Advanced: 4GB of storage, 200 email addresses; and
Windows Ultimate: 20GB of storage, 250 email addresses.

Premium WordPress Hosting

If you want to kick your website functionality up a notch, consider WordPress. Over the last two decades, WordPress has grown from being a simple blogging website to one of the world’s most used hosting platforms today.

Our premium WordPress offering delivers performance and scalability to your fingertips. It’s an excellent solution for customers who require better performance, uptime and scalability – although please note: it doesn’t come with email addresses built into the offering.

WordPress Starter is ideal for startups that require a professional WordPress website, offering 50GB storage and able to cater to up to 30,000 visitors monthly.
WordPress Innovator is perfect for growing businesses that need to scale and require speed and reliability, with 100 GB storage and ideal for up to 120,000 monthly visitors.
WordPress Fanatic is excellent for running an e-commerce website, with 150GB storage. It’s capable of catering to an unlimited number of visitors monthly.

Which Option to Choose?

Whether your business is already established or a startup about to take off, you need a strong online presence. From your website address to the online ‘premises’ behind it, Vox has the right option to help you with your online sales.

Shared hosting shares a single physical server with hundreds (if not thousands) of other websites, giving you a low-cost service. WordPress hosting is tweaked for high traffic websites, providing excellent performance and faster loading websites.

Contact us for more information and we can assist you with working out the option that’s best for your business. We can help you establish a business identity, give your organisation a professional look and feel, and build credibility on the web.

Join the sales revolution and be part of the drive to reach the one billion Rand online sales mark next year!

So, What’s the (Sweet) Deal with Vox Wireless Lite?

Posted on 20 November 20242 December 2024 by Craig Blignaut

Vox Wireless: Just as fast as Fibre, and more widely available

What do Coca Cola and Vox Wireless to the Business (WTTB) each have in common? Besides being leading brands in their arenas, that is.

The answer is in the word Light. Or Lite.

Coca Cola gave the world Coke Light, for those who wanted the same original sweet taste but with zero sugar. Vox Fixed Wireless to the business (WTTB) gives you two options, including Vox Wireless Lite – because we also believe in providing a fantastic product, but with choices available for different requirements.

Wireless Lite is especially good for start-ups and SMEs. It’s also on promotion right now.

Let’s see how well it could work for your business.

A Quick Technology Outline

Fixed Wireless can deliver a Fibre-like experience if the service provider gets it right with regards to capacity and area coverage. This, of course, goes without saying at Vox.

Vox Fixed Wireless is a high-quality, high-speed Fixed Wireless connection, using Microwave technology that can be deployed around South Africa, to ensure that your business is always connected. It’s an excellent alternative when Fibre cables aren’t laid in your area, or as a redundancy option if your Fibre goes down. It’s also a fantastic solution if you need to be connected in a hurry and can’t wait weeks for your Fibre installation.

Coca Cola never officially reveals its recipes, but here at Vox we believe in being transparent, so let’s take a look at how WTTB works.

It’s pretty simple.

A device is pointed at a tower, which services the area in which your business is situated.
The device provides a high-speed Internet connection using Microwave technology, whose access towers are served and connected to Fibre lines as the ‘backhaul’.
Because the station is close to and in view of the premises, a Fixed Wireless connection can deliver a very fast Internet experience with low latency.

Vox Wireless Lite

Vox Wireless Lite is one of two different Fixed Wireless offerings for businesses that we offer, with the other being Vox Wireless.

Vox Wireless Lite – Licensed is a more cost-effective service than Vox Wireless, without compromising on quality. This service is available as a Broadband Primary service but will also make an excellent Failover solution to cater for all your business needs.

We offer a Symmetrical service (same upload and download speeds) of 10 Mbps and 20Mbps, and an Asymmetrical service of 50Mbps and 100 Mbps.

Vox also offers Vox Wireless Lite – Unlicensed, in which different speed profiles are once again offered, but with this option, all speeds are Asymmetrical.

With Vox Wireless Lite, just like Coke Lite, we leave out one ingredient, so where the beverage is minus the sugar, we help you streamline your costs by leaving off the Voice offering that comes with Vox Wireless, which includes a Voice VLAN to streamline your VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) communication.

But don’t worry – if your business grows, you can add more ‘sugar’ later – it’s simple to change options.

Something for Every Business with Vox Fixed Wireless Options

The famous beverage company has a range of refreshing drinks available in several varieties and sizes to suit different lifestyle, and in the same way, Vox Wireless to the Business is able to cater to your different needs and speeds.

All Vox Wireless packages include data and line rental, and speeds can range from 5Mbps to 1Gbps – the flexibility and choice of packages is a real value-add, allowing you to match your speeds to your business needs.

The main features and benefits of Fixed WTTB are as follows:

Quick to deploy in feasible areas: If your business has a remote site where no fixed-line connectivity is possible, Vox Fixed Wireless options are an ideal alternative. They are also generally quicker than Fibre to install.
Duplex Service enables you to transmit and receive data at the same time, giving you dual efficiency.
Managed Service 365/24/7 Support ensures that we’re there when your business needs us the most.
Scalable: It’s easy to upgrade your link to grow with your business.
Business continuity: Can be deployed as a primary or failover service to ensure you are always connected.

Depending on the area and requirement, Vox Wireless works with the following Wireless connectivity providers: Comsol, Easyweb, Kliq. MTN, Rapidnet, Tech5 and VO Connect.

Sweet Offerings to Refresh Your Business

Vox Wireless offers speeds comparable to Fibre, but is more widely available. With quick deployment and low latency, it’s geared to help your business stay connected. Whether you’re in the city centre or out in the country, Vox Wireless ensures your business stays connected, competitive, and ready to grow.

For high speeds and the most innovative, cutting-edge microwave technology on the market, you can’t go wrong with Fixed Wireless to the Business from Vox. Whether it’s Vox Wireless or Vox Wireless Lite, we’ve got you covered with great options.

And we think that’s a pretty sweet and refreshing deal.

Is the future of work remote, hybrid, or both?

Posted on 14 October 202414 October 2024 by Vivienne Fouche

Time to Leave Your Business Rental Lease – Or Not?

Employees are collectively one of an organisation’s most valuable assets, and if they’re motivated, your company is more likely to achieve its best possible results. It’s therefore good sense for management to check in periodically on what makes their employees happy – besides salary increases, of course.

According to the latest Cisco Global Hybrid Work Study, skilled South Africans prefer to work remotely at least some of the time, with almost 95 percent of the local respondents (from a global poll of 28,000 participants) wanting to work either in a hybrid or fully remote working model.

It therefore makes good sense to consider the possible benefits of remote or hybrid working arrangements, to both the organisation as well as the workforce. One of the employer advantages could include needing less office space, thereby freeing up significant rental or maintenance costs.

Remote But Not Removed

Employees who enjoy working remotely and are enabled to do so with the correct tools and infrastructure (a decent laptop and a fast and reliable internet connection are key) value a potentially better work-life balance. This includes not having to spend hours commuting every week, and so gaining back time while also reducing stress.

Productivity has been shown to spike because of reasons such as people getting more sleep, having fewer distractions from colleagues, and experiencing improved morale overall. With lengthy commutes out of the equation, attendance should also improve.

Video conferencing platforms such as Microsoft Teams allow geographically dispersed colleagues people to have virtual meetings, conduct presentations, and foster face-to-face interactions. This also allows organisations of all sizes to hire in top employees from a global talent pool, without being bound by location limitations (providing that differences in time zones are managed efficiently).

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that your organisation should immediately terminate its rental lease, or sell a corporate property investment at the first available opportunity – not everything about remote working is advantageous.

Isolation and Other Issues

Going to the office regularly can bring structure and routine to people’s lives, while in contrast, working remotely can be isolating and lonely for some. Managers might worry that their team members are not working as efficiently as they would be in the office, and conversely, some employees can struggle without face-to-face leadership input.

It can also be more challenging for remote employees to find and locate all the information they need. Additionally, remote working can bring decreased collaboration, with fewer opportunities for employees to talk to each other during breaks, thereby cementing workplace friendships and cooperation.

Enter the ‘middle ground’.

Saying ‘Hi’ to Hybrid

A hybrid workplace model mixes in-office and remote work to offer employees flexibility and support. In a hybrid workplace, employees typically enjoy more autonomy and better work-life balance – and are more engaged as a result. Employers benefit by building a more productive and stable workforce, with people more easily able to engage and learn from each other.

Unified digital workplace platforms make it easier for employees to access all their work-related data and applications, while also assisting with effective communications. For example, Microsoft Teams facilitates effective communications among skilled colleagues, no matter where they are based. As a Microsoft Operator Connect partner, Vox can assist your employees to make and receive phone calls directly within Teams, for both landline and mobile phones.

Another option is to have your employees using Vobi, from Vox – our mobile softphone app, that gives users the ability make and receive voice and video calls, including in app texting from their mobile phones using the Vox network. Designed for both home users and businesses, Vobi allows users to benefit from reduced call rates on video and voice calls across all networks. Vobi enables you to route your home phone and/or office phone calls to your mobile phone, ensuring you are always available.

Getting Real with Real Estate Issues

For employers, renting office space – or owning and maintaining it – can be very costly. Remote working can lower costs by reducing the amount of office equipment and space required, potentially allowing your organisation to move into smaller premises – or even forego a physical space entirely.

Instead, all employees could work remotely, and your company might simply hire meeting rooms or co-working space as and when needed.

If an office premises is owned by a company, selling it outright could put money back into the organisation.

Where to From Here?

We believe the future of work for skilled employees will continue to embrace both hybrid models and fully remote opportunities, with these options being driven by modern technology, increased flexibility, cost savings, a desire for an improved work-life balance, and being able to hire people from a global talent pool.

The Covid-19 pandemic first turned people’s homes into their offices. Now, the aftermath can drive a movement in which unused offices can be turned into homes. Around the world, including in South Africa, property developers are looking at ways to turn empty office buildings into housing solutions. While not every empty office building is suitable for conversion, it offers interesting possibilities.

Africrest Prop Atlas Apollo Sunninghil 744x418 1 | Vox | Is the future of work remote, hybrid, or both? — The Atlas in Sunninghill, the largest office park conversion to a residential complex in SA, according to Africrest Properties.

And so, if your organisation is going to embrace a fully or partially remote solution, do you have a building to sell? It could be an added bonus.

Sustainability and Telecom Businesses: Why Green is the Way to Go

Posted on 2 August 2024 by Vivienne Fouche

Business Benefits for Organisations Aiming to Reduce their Carbon Footprint

We are living in interesting times.

A number of local events so far are all pointing to this year going down in history as being a big one. To name just a few, this includes the 2024 local national elections resulting in a Government of National Unity (GNU); the recent floods in parts of the country, including the Western and Eastern Cape areas and KZN; and an actual tornado in the Durban area.

This year’s local historic events also include the 2024 Springbok Home Fixtures Rugby series, which is truly juicy (and did you know that you could win double tickets with Vox?).

So it’s a big year for South Africans.

But if we circle back to those extreme weather incidents, it reminds us that the planet seems to be fighting back against humanity’s eco-unfriendly practices – and let’s face it, no one wants a tornado to hit one of those big rugby games.

Tornado near Tongaat, Durban, in June 2024 (Image courtesy of The Witness)

More seriously: the call to action for businesses and consumers alike must therefore be: Embrace Sustainability.

(And the same goes for the GNU also, of course, but that’s a ‘wilde-beast’ of a story all on its own.)

For the Planet – And Future Generations

Most people today agree that people – individuals, organisations, countries – MUST become more environmentally sustainable. We all rely on the Earth’s resources for the air that we breathe; water to drink; plants and animals for food; wood and metals for construction; and fuels, whether fossil or renewable, for energy resources.

If we use them up too fast, and if we burn energy unsustainably so that it over-heats the planet, these resources won’t be there fore future generations. We must bring our consumption in line with what our planet can support.

Spotlight On the Telecommunications Industry

The telecoms industry is vital for allowing our world to remain connected – but it also has a considerable negative impact on the environment.

Data centres on their own account for about one percent of the world’s electricity use, and the telecom industry overall produces about three to four percent of global CO2 emissions. To put this into perspective, it is twice as much as the civil aviation industry[1].

This is quite a significant amount to come from an industry that at first glance doesn’t seem to be directly associated with environmental concerns.

In addition, the telecoms sector also contributes to electronic waste through rapid device turnover, when outdated cell phones, modems and routers often end up in landfills, creating an additional environmental challenge.

With the growing concern over climate change, the telecoms sector is now embracing more sustainable practices, aiming to reduce its carbon footprint significantly.

Solutions to reduce carbon footprint in the telecommunications industry include the following:

Embracing renewable energy: In moving towards reduced carbon emissions, it makes sense to shift towards renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power to run data centres and network operations.
Smart energy management in operations: Energy consumption and in turn operational costs can be reduced by upgrading equipment to more energy-efficient models, optimising network operations, and implementing smart cooling systems in data centres.
Equipment sustainability: Manufacturers can design more durable devices that are easy to repair and upgrade, which will extend their lifespans.

Creating a circular economy: Programmes for the recovery and recycling of electronic equipment contribute to reducing electronic waste overall.
Eco-friendly infrastructure development: Adopting eco-friendly design and construction practices for new infrastructure sites includes using sustainable materials, minimising land use, and ensuring that new projects have a low environmental impact.

The carbon footprint of telecommunications presents significant environmental challenges, but there is hope. Through initiatives like renewable energy usage, equipment sustainability, and consumer and business awareness, real progress can be made in reducing its impact.

At the same time, extreme weather conditions such as flooding, storms, a lack of water, and wildfires have potentially disastrous consequences for telecommunications, causing damage to infrastructure and essential equipment, as well as business- and supply-chain interruption. If the world as a whole embraces sustainability issues, we can hope to reduce these natural disasters.

Business Benefits for Telcos in Going Green

As far back as 2022, multinational professional services experts Ernst and Young (EY) urged South African businesses to embrace sustainability issues voluntarily before they were made essentially compulsory for all. However, never mind being forced to embrace global trends: there are actually intrinsic business benefits for telcos around the world, including locally, in ‘going green’ anyway.

Energy cost reduction feeds into improved OPEX: In 2023 the GSMA, the global technology standards organisation for mobile operators from over 100 countries, published a report entitled: “Green is good for business: making the financial case in telecoms”.

According to the report, mobile telecom operators can potentially reduce operational expenses (OPEX) by 4% through a 20% reduction in energy costs, achieved by implementing power-saving technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), and lithium-ion batteries.

New customers: Additionally, the report notes that customers worldwide are willing to support telecom operators that invest in sustainability. The study reveals that 30 to 60 percent of telco subscribers surveyed in 16 countries would be willing to pay more for mobile airtime tariffs certified as carbon neutral.
Reputational wins: In a follow-up report entitled: “Green is good for business: the reputational in telecoms”, the GSMA notes: “The reputational impact of corporate green credentials and actions extends to brand perception and purchasing decisions. …Analysis of data from a recent GSMA Intelligence survey indicates that 60 percent of people, on average across 16 countries studied, consider climate or sustainability criteria an active part of product purchasing.”

The lesson is clear: by investing in sustainable practices and driving the adoption of digital solutions, telecom operators can contribute to their own financial success through reduced energy and operating costs, a potential increase in eco-friendly customers, and reputational and branding wins, while simultaneously supporting global sustainability efforts within the industry overall.

Proudly Green

The journey towards a smaller carbon footprint in the telecom industry is complex and requires a multi-faceted approach. This commitment benefits the environment and also sets a new standard for responsible business practices in the digital age.

Overall, reduced energy consumption, the adoption of renewable energy sources and the implementation of a carbon reduction strategy are the three vital elements that must work in tandem for a telco to be considered green.

Vox is always proud to work with telecommunications partners that are committed to environmental sustainability issues, for the overall benefit of the country and the planet in turn. After all, you just have to look at our own branding to know that our blood runs green (and gold).

[1] https://explore.intellias.com/hubfs/Whitepapers/Intellias_Sustainability_In_Telecom_Whitepaper.pdf page 4

No 1 in Teams: Unpacking Voice Solutions with Vox and Operator Connect

Posted on 2 July 20241 August 2024 by Vivienne Fouche

A quick and easy way to integrate Voice calling into Teams – no matter where your employees are working from

Using Microsoft Teams has proven itself as an excellent platform for calling, holding meetings and collaborating with colleagues working remotely or from office spaces in different parts of the country. Teams has been proven to keep effective communications going among skilled colleagues no matter where in the country – or the world – they might be based.

Did you know that in addition, with Microsoft Operator Connect, businesses can quickly and easily integrate Voice calling into Teams, saving on costs and enhancing communications and efficiencies further?

As a Microsoft Operator Connect partner, Vox hosts and manages the infrastructure required for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol, or calls made over the internet) as well as PSTN[1] calling (meaning calls made over landline), using Teams, powered by Microsoft Azure.

By enhancing the integration of Vox’s low-latency, quality-controlled Voice Network with Microsoft Teams, Operator Connect offers streamlined, fully-managed Vox Voice services and radically improved call quality. With Operator Connect, users can make, receive, transfer, forward and put a Voice call on hold from any location via a Teams-enabled computer or smart device.

Vox and Microsoft Operator Connect

Customers can connect their existing phone numbers to Microsoft Teams or obtain new numbers, manage their calling plans, and configure their call routing right from within Microsoft Teams. This is particularly helpful for the IT department – your technicians can quickly assign numbers without needing to go through external providers, and can manage everything from one place.

By subscribing to Operator Connect, Teams users get a telephone number on which they can make and receive calls. Users can call any phone number in the world and receive calls from anyone in turn, from their mobile phone or computer.

With Operator Connect, Teams replaces the company’s old handsets, and users make and receive phone calls directly within Teams.

Benefits of partnering with Vox and Operator Connect include:

Migrate your current Vox Voice services or port numbers from your existing operator quickly and easily (Geographic and Non-Geographic numbers).
Operator Connect is designed to be easy for the IT team to use from the Teams Admin Centre.
The solution is budget-friendly: One of the benefits of Operator Connect is that by enabling Voice calling directly from Microsoft Teams on PC or mobile phone, no other hardware is required.
Vox provides tech support and service level agreements (SLAs) for excellent trouble-shooting and ongoing reliability.
Significant savings: With either Unlimited or Post-Paid Voice packages to choose from, Vox will tailor a calling plan suited to your business needs.
Every customer receives the most secure and value-rich solution as default, with active 24/7/365 fraud monitoring and guaranteed 99.9% uptime, with punitive SLA clauses should we not deliver on our promise.
Quality of service: Your Microsoft Teams and Voice traffic is prioritised above all other traffic travelling across your Fibre connection. This means that your Teams and Voice calls will not be interrupted by other activity happening on your network. This is a proprietary service offered by Vox on your Vox home or business Fibre last mile link.

Teams and Vox: A Winning Combination

Subscribing to Operator Connect is not difficult at all – just click here to enquire, and then a Vox expert will contact you and guide you through the quick and simple subscription process.

Once you accept, we’ll establish a trunk connection for you, assist you to provision users and assign phone numbers directly from the Teams Admin Centre so you can start making calls – it’s friendly on the bottom line, hassle-free, secure and tailored to your unique business requirements.

Simply subscribe to Operator Connect from Vox and leave the rest to us.

[1] The PSTN (Publicly Switched Telephone Network) is the network that carries your voice calls when you call from a landline or cell phone. It refers to the worldwide network of voice-carrying telephone infrastructure, including privately-owned and government-owned infrastructure.

On the Couch or in a Different Country: Unlocking the Future of Work

Posted on 13 May 202413 May 2024 by Vivienne Fouche

Companies can at last dip their toes into a truly global talent pool without necessarily having to ask a potential new employee to change cities or countries.

While the office premises will always be a feature of working life for most companies, it seems now that the future of work has arrived and is with us today. Work is no longer something that can only – or mostly – take place in a traditional office space.

Advancements in technology, combined with more flexible attitudes, mean that remote and hybrid work models are being offered by many more organisations today, giving employees greater independence and control over their work environments.

And as with most things in life, these new parameters bring their own sets of challenges and advantages.

On the Positive Side

Remote and hybrid work models allow organisations to tap into a significantly broader talent pool. When remote and / or hybrid arrangements are put on the table, companies can employ people who live a significant distance away from the office – even in another part of the country or the world.

This type of flexible employer/employee relationship was much scarcer in the past, and arguably even impossible for most companies.

So you want to employ an expert in their field who lives in the UK, or the UAE, or even Upington, but your head office is in Sandton? No problem – the time zones here are all similar, so it’s all Under Control. Remote working means it’s possible to hire in the person you really want to strengthen your team.

Looking at people in the US and Australia – Down Under – is of course a different story when it comes to time zones, but depending on the type of work required, tapping into a truly global office is no longer impossible – it just takes organisational skills and a flexible outlook.

Companies can at last dip their toes into a truly global talent pool without necessarily having to ask a potential new employee to change cities or countries.

From the employees’ perspective, they can avoid arduous daily commutes to and from work, and gain back more quality time for their personal lives, as well as working in a more flexible home space than occurs in your average office (the couch springs to mind).

And for the employer, once again, happy employees tend to be more productive employees who are more inclined to stay with a company that is more flexible – so this means less employee turnover.

There are many ways in which these positives feed into a virtuous cycle: employees who are happy because they have a flexible work arrangement tend to work harder and are more productive. This in turn pleases the employer, who is then more inclined to continue with flexible arrangements. On the surface, it seems like a great recipe for success.

Disadvantages to Remote or Hybrid Work

However, there are also challenges to contend with. Communication and collaboration can become more complex in remote and hybrid settings, especially when team members are scattered across different locations and time zones.

In addition, building and maintaining a solid company culture in a virtual environment can be difficult without regular face-to-face interaction.

It also needs to be noted that not everyone wants to work from home, at least all the time: some employees may struggle with feelings of isolation, which can actually lower their levels of engagement and productivity. Alternatively, there might be too many distractions at home preventing them from doing their best work (other people, a noisy environment outside the home, easy access to their favourite shows – there’s the couch again…).

In South Africa, of course, we also have regular load shedding to contend with, which can add in further permutations around working from home for employees – not everyone can afford a UPS to keep their devices switched on and connected when the power goes off.

Being Proactive

To thrive in this new reality, organisations are well-advised to prioritise their employees’ work experience. This has always been common sense for any company that wants to avoid a high staff turnover, but as the UK and the US found out after Covid during the ‘Great Resignation’ period, many employees got used to working from home, and then voted with their boots when they were given ultimatums to return to the office.

As noted in this online HR article: ‘The pandemic changed many people’s expectations of work – and many were prepared to quit if their employer wasn’t ready to meet those expectations.’

In South Africa, of course, we have different scenarios playing out, including the ever-present threat of load shedding as well as high unemployment rates, and so perhaps we didn’t experience the Great Resignation quite as much as in other parts of the globe. By and large, we could assume that the so-called Great Resignation in South Africa is ‘ring-fenced in the professional and specialist roles that are scarce skills in the market’.

But it still provides food for thought: namely, that keeping your employees happy – or at least showing that you are trying to listen to their concerns – can help to keep your staff numbers stable. This would involve trying to address the specific needs and preferences of remote and hybrid workers, while also ensuring that they feel valued and connected to the organisation’s mission and culture. A proactive approach to communication, performance assessment and technology is vital.

From a technology perspective, Vox can help with your connectivity and power requirements, through our vast range of solutions including fibre, voice, failover and UPS offerings.

As the future of work continues to evolve in the present, Long Live Working From The Couch.

At least sometimes.

Fax is Dead – or is it?

Posted on 19 October 2017 by Diana Martins Prenner

Inevitably, when people and organisations think about fax, it is considered a non-essential and outdated technology that has been replaced by email and scanned documents. But according to the IDC, facsimile remains a vital communications tool and has an important role in organisations as they embrace digital transformation.

IDC points out that over the last three decades, technology has evolved to change our organisations interact with their stakeholders. Similarly, fax technology has evolved and today provide software and cloud-based digital solutions that are integrated with enterprise applications, maintaining secure, trackable and auditable information exchange.

The reality is that digital facsimile services, offered via onsite OpenText RightFax or Fax2Mail services, eliminates the need for standalone fax machines and enables increasingly important integration with users’ desktops, email and multifunction peripherals (MFPs).

According to the survey that the IDC conducted, 43 percent of respondents indicated that facsimile usage has increased, with 39 percent indicating that it will remain steady.

These statistics are reflected in the continued utilisation of fax services in South Africa by all major financial, healthcare and legal organisations as well as public sector.

But why is fax still relevant in the 21st century?

Mostly because fax is viewed as a trusted communication method – especially in an era defined by growing security concerns. Fax offers a means of tracking documents, providing a high level of confidence and leaves an auditable trail.

Digital fax servers and cloud-based fax services eliminate the risk of lost, misplaced or misfiled paper faxes associated with standalone facsimile machines – and most importantly, fax documents are considered legally binding documents.

So what, according to IDC, is the next growth opportunity for this kind of electronic messanging?

Digital transformation strategies mean that paper-based faxing needs to be eliminated and 90 percent of the respondents in the IDC survey have indicated that they will work on integrating fax with business workflows.

The evolution of facsimile to include optical character recognition has allowed companies to implement automatic workflows as well as searchable fax documents (critical for archiving).

These two major developments keep facsimile relevant in the digital economy.

In addition integration of multi-functional printers to RightFax servers has eliminated the need for costly facsimile cards and individual telco lines, savings companies millions annually.

By Carly Sutton, Senior Product Manager for Cloud: Digital Communications at Vox

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