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Remote working a possibility with hosted applications
Forrest Press, a London based commercial design and printing services company, have been experiencing the benefits of access to applications through the Internet.
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According to Managing Director, Mark Adams, the major benefit of this approach is the capacity for remote working. “In our business, the sales staff spend a lot of their time off site at customer and supplier sites. This tool enables them to work remotely –a powerful proposition for us as they have not had this functionality up until now. As the MD I spend a lot of time off site having to remotely access my calendar. A remote connection lets me continue working and keeps me up to date with meetings whilst out of the office. |
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Hosted software offers new dimension to new media specialists
Founded in August 2000,Dymension is a young, fast growing new media company that provides strategic, creative technology solutions for web based design.
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The company has recently taken the decision to outsource its email service, having previously had a dedicated email server hosted remotely by an ISP.
Ryan Carstons from Dymension ’s IT department explains how the company is using a broadband connection to access Microsoft Exchange with Outlook. “As a company we are trying to build up a forum with our clients and new inventors. Access through broadband to Microsoft Exchange will be useful to send out blanket emails, helping to answer questions and receive customer feedback. It will also allow us to tailor emails to different customers and to effectively organise our inbound emails. It is excellent as a collaborative tool, something that a smaller company such as ourselves has not been able to experience in the past.
"We work with a lot of companies designing web sites. As we are constantly meeting and sharing information with a client it would be useful for us all to be on one system. Now we are able to set up companies with the same email access as we have –which is important as not only will we be able to pass information between sites but we can use the calendar function to help arrange meetings easily through the web once everyone is given access.
"The greater degree of control created by the access to hosted software is a big plus. Previously I had to telephone my ISP to set up new email accounts and now through the administrative controls with Microsoft Exchange new users can be set up and deleted at will." |
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Freedom to expand without expanding on IT
Freestyle Ventures is an independent travel agency based in East Ham, London. Owner and founder, Stephen Roach, decided to review the technology supporting his growing business and chose to take a multi-user broadband connection and seven Microsoft licences.
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Stephen Roach explains the reasons behind his choice: “Firstly I decided on broadband for its speed of access to the Internet and its cost effectiveness as we were reliant on ISDN, which was proving expensive. There were two main factors that convinced me that remote access to Microsoft Outlook was the right solution for my business –I did not need to hire an IT specialist as we wouldn ’t need to buy a server and the fact I could access it from anywhere in the world –now that I like!” |
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Collaborative working proves to be plain sailing
Speed is clearly something of a theme for software company Nimbus partners.Last year it sponsored three highly successful racing yachts in the Laser 4000 class for the UK National Series and Eurocup, with two of the company ’s founders,Ian Gotts and Mark Cotgrove,in the roles of helm and skipper on one of the boats.
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When it comes to growth, the company has shown a similar turn of speed, growing from 8 to 25 staff in just the past year on the back of the success of its enterprise process management product, Control.
Yet that pace of growth also brought a few problems in its wake when it came to connectivity and customer information management. “Sharing a single 56Kbps modem among 25 people inevitably meant that things were grinding to a halt, ”says Adrian King, Nimbus ’chief technology officer.
In addition, growing client numbers across Europe and the US meant that coherent contact management, which would allow remote user access from any location, had become a major priority for the firm.
Nimbus opted to tackle both of these problems by taking Telewest ’s blueyonder workwise 500 pro package using an ADSL connection. Immediately ,this took the company ’s download bandwidth from 56 to 512Kbps and it included remote hosting of Microsoft ’s Exchange Server. “I have to say that although the increase in bandwidth was definitely important, the real clincher for us was having access from anywhere to all the functionality of Exchange –and without any set-up and configuration aggravation, ”says Adrian. “As we conduct a fair amount of business through partnerships, we can also allow our key partners selective access to client information ”.
The switch to workwise has been a big success for Nimbus. “We ’ve had very few problems, and these have been quickly resolved by solid technical support,” says Adrian. “The overall effect has been a streamlining of the way in which we work internally, and also with our clients and partners.” |
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Rock solid technical support key to success
A major national training company with offices from Hull to Brighton, connectivity wasn ’t simply an optional extra for Touchstone. With an average of 3,000 NVQ training candidates requiring online registration each year, the company needed bandwidth.
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Until Touchstone switched to Telewest ’s blueyonder workwise 500 pro service last May, the company ’s head office in Southport had just a single 64KBPS ISDN line.“The technical issues are only part of the story –this is about business and staff efficiency,” says IT manager Graham Windley.“ We have a team online constantly, handling candidate registrations in the City &Guilds Walled Garden program,and they were very frustrated. Switching to blueyonder workwise has really boosted staff morale and productivity, as people can now work continuously ,rather than having to stop and start the whole time.”
Graham evaluated three ISPs and selected Telewest for its competitive pricing and service. After looking at a variety of leased line options Graham quickly realised that the workwise 512KBPS cable modem option was the most cost effective.“ Considering that the workwise package,including 20 Microsoft Exchange seats ,cost about the same as a 128Kbps leased line on its own, it was hardly a difficult decision.”
A positive personal experience also helped Graham chose Telewest.“I ’d been using blueyonder at home for several months,” he says. “I was very happy with the service and confident Telewest could deliver the goods in the office.” Though increasing Touchstone ’s bandwidth was Graham ’s major priority, the availability of remote hosting for Microsoft Exchange was also an important consideration. The company had considered installing Exchange itself, but knew it didn ’t have the resources to configure and maintain it. So the ASP alternative offered by Telewest Business was a big attraction.
Nearly a year after switching to blueyonder workwise, Graham is certain it was the right decision.“ Availability has been good and technical support rock solid –we ’re happy and our business is also far more efficient,” he says. |
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