Windsor Telecom turns 20 years old

Happy birthday Windsor Telecom

We’re celebrating 20 years of success

What a year 2019 is for us, we’re celebrating 20 years of helping businesses talk to their customers. Our official birthday is 15 April 2019. We’ve come a long way over the years, and we would like to share with you how it all began.

New beginnings

Windsor Telecom was formed in 1999 by David Bennett and Neil Sherring. The business started off selling personal numbers. We marketed highly memorable 07000 numbers such as 07000 123456 as well as alpha dial numbers such as 07000 FLOWERS, similar to the 1-800 numbers used in the US.

This was a new concept in the UK and the take up was reasonable. Unfortunately, the cost of calling 070 numbers was typically 14p/min which led us to look at offering alternative more customer-friendly numbers.

The birth of 0845

In 2002, we successfully applied for our first number range which was 0845. We were the first to offer an unmetered deal on 0845 numbers whereby customers could receive unlimited inbound calls for a fixed monthly fee. We were disruptive in the market with this offer combined with some excellent marketing and subsequent email marketing, we created a buzz in the industry. The opening line from the best performing piece of marketing at the time was “It may come as a surprise, but you can now get an 0845 number with unlimited inbound call minutes”.

On top of this success, Neil Burrows joined the business and became a director with David and Neil Sherring.

Hello 03 numbers

Fast forward to 2007 when we completed our second application to have a number range of 03 numbers which was successful. We were first to market with 03 numbers and since then have helped over 300 charities, not-for-profits and businesses nationwide.

Windsor Telecom was growing from strength to strength and to support the business future growth in 2009 the Partner channel arm of the business was launched. Expanding the business to have a Reseller Business Model helped us reach a range of new partners and entrepreneurs. It helped and continues to help get our solutions to a wider audience. Our channel division has grown organically, with the addition of new products and services we’ve launched over the years.

Focus on outbound

Up to this point, our focus had been on memorable business numbers and inbound calls and in 2015, we launched hosted voice or VoIP. This was also the year we achieved a record of 12.5 million call minutes in one month. Launching hosted voice was an exciting time for us. Inbound number technology sits neatly alongside our cloud solutions to provide additional layers of call statistics, inbound call recording and the ability to add mobiles and remote users into ring groups from an easy-to-use online platform. Educating customers and resellers on the benefits of inbound alongside hosted voice was an exciting opportunity and continues to be as we are continue to develop our solution with our in-house product development team.

In March 2016 Sue Kempton was promoted to Operations Director. Sue joined the business in an HR capacity in 2012, which was an exciting time. The business had been through a period of strong growth, which can also bring its own challenges. Sue’s biggest focus since being with the company is the culture of the business and staff engagement. Sue’s role quickly grew to also head up the Customer Service department which also looked at customer engagement. Her promotion to Operations Director in 2016 was a chance to develop all these areas further.

In September 2016, we smashed our 12.5 million call minute record with a staggering 17 million call minutes. We were ecstatic as our hard work and effort was paying off.

Sue Kempton appointed MD

Last year, 2018 was another exciting year for us as we launched two new services, started to grow our team internally. It was then that Sue Kempton was appointed as Managing Director. We launched Windsor Mobile and Windsor PA, our call answering service. Windsor Mobile is a perfect addition to our inbound call and hosted solution. Being able to offer our customers a solution that connects a desk phone with their mobile seamlessly helps them to become more dynamic and flexible which is key in today’s world. Windsor PA offers our customers an option for a call answering service, a service that has been very successful in giving our customers peace of mind that their business calls are always professionally answered on time, every time.

Into the future

In 2019, one of our main focuses is creating bespoke solutions for our customers. With our in-house development team, we can create customised solutions that completely fit customers’ specific requirements. These solutions are based on close collaboration with the customer, it’s important that we get to know their business, understand their goals so we can grow with them, which fits perfectly into our mission.

Our mission in 1999 was to create a business that offers first-class service with cutting edge products and solutions with a personalised touch. And that is still our mission today. A business is not a business without its staff, we’re an energetic and enthusiastic team and we’re proud of what we do and how we service our customers.

Bring on the next 20 years!