AN AWARD-WINNING north Hampshire firm is looking forward to a bright future.
Premier business Audio has agreed a merger that is designed to create the world's most powerful telecoms routing systems for small and medium-sized enterprises and call centres.
The company won the Small Business of the Year award in the Basingstoke Business Awards for both 2002 and 2003 - but it is now set to rapidly outgrow that category.
Premier Business Audio, which is based in converted barns in Laverstoke, has merged with Torquay-based New Voice Media, the inventor of an intelligent network telecommunications software system to give small and medium-sized companies the same level of telephony sophistication as large corporates.
The software has been developed by New Voice Media over the last four years and Premier Business Audio brings around 2,500 clients and some 4,000 site installations to the deal.
Jonathan Grant founded the north Hampshire firm as On Hold Services in 1998 and relocated to Hampshire in 2001, changing the name as the business of supplying voice and music telephone solutions grew.
Now the joint operation will be known as New Voice Media and will have its official launch in January.
Richard Pickering, business development director of New Voice Media, developed the intelligent network system with his chief technical officer Ashley Unitt.
Mr Pickering said: "We are using 20 million instructions per second of computing power on all calls at all times - probably 100 times more powerful than other systems.
"We're making massive use of computers on phone calls and offer a multitude of new features including speech recognition, text-to-speech, call recording and complex routing based upon the individual caller's needs."
Mr Grant added: "Our system allows managers from the smallest businesses to the most demanding multi-site call centres to configure and manage systems via the web as easily as shopping for your weekly groceries."
New Voice Media will have its headquarters in Laverstoke and Mr Grant becomes chief executive of the merged businesses.
Mr Grant said: "These are very exciting times.
"It is the merger of two opposites - but they say that opposites attract."
Premier Business Audio beat a stock exchange listed company to the draw to set up the merger and began working with the Torquay-based firm earlier this year.
Mr Grant added: "The results have been startling."
When Premier Business Audio scooped the 2003 Small Business of the Year Award in March, turnover was £1.1million and it closed its financial year at £1.5m.
Results for the year for the merged businesses would have totalled more than £3m.
By the end of 2006, New Voice Media expects turnover to be in excess of £5m.
It also hopes to have broken in to Europe with a platform of accredited suppliers.
Basingstoke will also be a winner from the merger, as Mr Grant expects to quickly outgrow the Laverstoke headquarters and predicts they will be in town in two years' time.
Tongue in cheek, he added: "This is the new Vodafone - we'll be taking over Basingstoke the way they took over Newbury!"
And as New Voice Media plans for its expansion and domination in its market, Mr Grant has not ruled out a flotation on the stock market - maybe as soon as next year.
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