19 October 2010, York

The mobile version of ukphonebook.com has been relaunched with a completely new user interface and additional features.

Simunix felt a redesign of the site was needed in order to make it quicker and easier to perform searches. The interface has been completely simplified to contain three search parameters and the option to perform either a residential or business search.

One of the most important features of the new iphonebook is the addition of Google maps. As well as the full address and telephone number (if available), users are also able to view the result of their search on a Google map.

Whilst retaining the 5 free searches per day, iphonebook now allows users to begin their search immediately without the need to sign into their account. Simunix web developer James Bradley says, “We wanted to make this mobile version of ukphonebook.com as accessible as possible so removed the need to enter login details”.

This was a bold move by Simunix who rely heavily on the registration process to provide them with details on where new users are coming from. James continued, “This has opened up the site to everyone, whether they are registered with us or not, and means people can find that number or address, literally, at the click of a button. The most important thing to us is that we are providing the best directory service out there.”

There is now a corporate version of iphonebook in circulation within many UK police forces. Simunix recently completed work on a BlackBerry optimised mobile site that has since been deployed to 2,500 users at South Wales Police.

Simunix is a directory services provider that pioneered the UK’s first directory enquiries website, ukphonebook.com in 1999. Since then, its range of products and services have been rolled out to both large, multi-national organisations and small businesses all over the country.

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11 August 2010, York

The mobile device version of Corporate ukphonebook.com is being widely tested by UK police forces. South Wales Police have already taken up the service and deployed it on 2,500 BlackBerry Smartphones throughout the force.

The directory provider Simunix developed Corporate ukphonebook.com as an online directory enquiries service. It supplies users with both residential and business telephone and address information, electoral roll information, maps and multiple searching options.

Simunix has been working closely with Research In Motion (RIM), the creator of the BlackBerry Smartphone to specifically configure the mobile version for BlackBerry users. Police officers can now use their BlackBerry to carry out directory enquiries and electoral roll checks quickly and simply.

Martin Smedley, Assistant Director of ICT for South Wales Police says, “Using the device in this way is an effective tool for officers to verify details, which other systems may not have captured and ensure that our officers provide a professional service and continue to keep South Wales Safe. Officers can be better informed and more efficient in carrying out their duties”.

The majority of mobile devices used by police forces around the UK are BlackBerry Smartphones. Product developers at Simunix felt it was important to work closely with RIM to ensure that Corporate ukphonebook.com could run at maximum efficiency on these devices. Paul Hingley of RIM commented, “We are pleased to be working with Simunix to effectively integrate their services onto the BlackBerry Smartphones of police forces around the UK. It is important to us that users get the most out of our products.”

Corporate ukphonebook.com has also proven to be an effective cost reduction tool for many organisations. As more and more public sectors are being forced to save money, ukphonebook.com provides a low cost, highly efficient solution for those trying to cut back on unnecessary expenditure. Many organisations are still dialling costly 118 numbers for directory enquiries, some of which cost almost £2 for a one minute call.

South Wales Police, who have been using the service for several months, have made huge savings since incorporating Corporate ukphonebook.com into their systems. Martin Smedley added, “The cost savings are a significant bonus to the increased functionality”.

Simunix has been providing a range of directory products and services to numerous commercial and non-commercial organisations for over ten years. The information accessed in Corporate ukphonebook.com has been derived from a number of external data sources including BT OSIS, Royal Mail PAF, and Ordnance Survey data. The 130 million records are updated daily which makes it the most up to date point of reference for UK telephone and address information.

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24 June 2010, York

A new player has entered the market for Telephone Preference Service (TPS) solutions for call centres.  Directory services provider, Simunix has launched TPS Manage; a system which promises to help telemarketers save thousands of pounds a year in unnecessary fines from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The volume of numbers registered with TPS has grown rapidly since the service was launched in 1999.  Telemarketers can face fines of up to £5,000 for cold calling a single TPS registered number.  Simunix has created a fully automated service that checks and updates call lists at the client’s discretion to ensure flagging of all TPS registered numbers.

The self-managed solution, hosted by Simunix, permits customers to upload their lists of numbers where they are stored under a secure password protected user account.  TPS-Manage.com then runs the lists of numbers against the TPS and CTPS registers and flags any that appear on the register whilst maintaining the integrity of the original file.

Once an account is set up, complete control is given to the user who can upload new lists, append existing lists and configure their account as required.

Simunix has been working on numerous new developments and enhancements to existing services over the last year many of which will be announced throughout 2010.  The company collates data from multiple sources and has now built up a database of around 200 million records.

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22 June 2010, York

A study carried out by the York-based directory solutions provider, Simunix, has revealed that 80% of people using 118 directory enquiries are paying three times the amount they should be.

In the last year, the UK’s two most widely used 118 directory enquiries services (118 118 and 118 500), have increased the cost of a one minute phone call making them over three times more expensive than Simunix’s own directory assistance number, 118 365.

The heavily advertised 118 118 service – featuring the men with moustaches – has increased the cost of a one minute enquiry from £1.20 to £1.68. BT’s number, 118 500 now costs a total of £1.65 for a one minute call, charging a further £1.16 per minute after this.

In contrast, since the 2003 deregulation of directory assistance services, Simunix has kept the cost of its own directory enquiries number the same. Dialing 118 365 costs the user 50p per minute and there are no connection charges.However, with more and more consumers turning to the much cheaper option of the internet to find telephone numbers, the amount of calls to directory enquiries in general has fallen dramatically.

Internet providers of directory enquiries prove far more cost effective and often provide much more detailed information, with many of them supplying the information for free. In 1998 Simunix became the first organisation in the UK to provide a directory enquiries service online – ukphonebook.com.

Users of ukphonebook.com can perform 5 free searches daily and are provided with residential, business, telephone and address information. In addition to this people can search the UK edited electoral roll, Google maps and satellite imaging and also send their search results via text or email. 

Simunix have recently begun a campaign to raise awareness of the true cost of dialing some 118 directory enquiries numbers and to promote the cost saving benefits of using alternative solutions such as web-based services. John Lewis, Managing Director of Simunix says, “I find it staggering the number of people who are still using such expensive services when there are so many better options out there. We’re happy to be one of those options and provide people with the means to search for information far more efficiently”.

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9 June 2010, York

The directory solutions provider, Simunix Ltd. has seen a surge in use of Mobile ukphonebook.com by police forces in recent months indicating an increased call for communications ‘on the move’.

In response to the increased usage, this year Simunix launched a corporate version of Mobile ukphonebook.com and has since provided every UK police force with access. The mobile optimised site gives users access to over 120 million records, which can be used to look up information on people, businesses, telephone numbers and addresses.

The address data can be accessed in real time making it possible for users to quickly find and identify their current surroundings.

Paul McAfee, Head of Business Development at Simunix says, “The beauty of this mobile service is that every member of an organisation is able to access all this information either at their work place or on the go; anywhere there is internet access including 2G mobile”.

The increased usage coincides with a new campaign to raise awareness of how Mobile Corporate ukphonebook.com can increase the efficiency with which organisations operate. The campaign details how officers operating mobile devices are able to access the data whilst out on the job. Simunix claim this will remove the need for them to call back to their switchboard or expensive 118 directory services for information, therefore saving time and money.

Simunix has been providing directory solutions since 1999 when it introduced ukphonebook.com as the UK’s first online directory enquiries service. Since then, the company has gone on to develop a number of directory services such as Corporate ukphonebook.com, TPS Manage and its own directory assistance telephone number, 118 365.

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19 May 2010, York

Simunix Ltd. – the York based directory services provider – has unveiled its new website.  The redesign was initiated by a survey taken of Simunix customers that revealed a massive 78% were unaware of the whole range of Simunix products available to them.

The idea behind the new design was to create a ‘shop window’ for all the products and services that make up the Simunix suite of directory solutions.  The new site exhibits a revamped user interface that aims to make navigation of the site simple, whilst displaying the range of services effectively.

James Bradley, the web developer behind the new website says, “After all the developments we have made to the Simunix range of services recently, we felt it was important to have a website that successfully demonstrated that we are a company at the cutting edge of the directory solutions industry.”

Products and services now have their own separate sections on the website to make it easier for the average site visitor to discern exactly which service best suits their needs.  The Products section lists all the brands developed by Simunix such as ukphonebook.com, TPS Manage, ZoneSearch etc.  The Services section lists the individual solutions Simunix can provide with links to the product best suited to these solutions.

A Bespoke Web Solutions page has also been developed for the new site.  This section details how directory solutions can be custom built to meet more specific requirements from individual organisations.

In reaction to the growing use of social networking by businesses, Simunix has also created a highly interactive press centre that includes Facebook and Twitter feeds, latest blog entries and a press release archive.

Laura Lewis, Marketing Manager at Simunix says, “We have really been pushing forward with our marketing activities.  Employees at Simunix are encouraged to set up their own Simunix Twitter pages so they can keep our customers up to date on the most recent developments.”

Laura continues, “The blog has also been a new addition to the Simunix marketing strategy and has so far proven to be a highly effective tool for interacting with our customers.”

Simunix plans to carry out further investigations to determine how customers are using the new website and if the redesign has effectively raised awareness of the range of Simunix directory solutions.

See what the new website looks like here www.simunix.com

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