Formed through the merger of Affinity Homes Group and William Sutton Group in 2006, Affinity Sutton now manages some 51,000 homes nationwide. A major challenge when merging was to integrate two disparate IT infrastructures into one optimised system to meet the availability and scalability requirements of the new combined operation.Since it was likely to make further acquisitions, Affinity Sutton wanted to be better prepared by gaining an insight into available solutions and estimated costings for a consolidated server environment based on Storage Area Network (SAN) technology.
"A major reason for inviting Eurodata to undertake this review was to help us better understand our storage environment and to make it more robust." "We feel that having a model in place will help make us future proof and put us in a stronger position to take on future mergers and acquisitions." Director of IMS, Affinity Sutton
AMEC, the international engineering services company, required a secureremote access solution for 2000 regular remote and mobile staff. The company needed a flexible, and manageable solution with robust intrinsic security features. Using Microsoft’s IAG solution enabled staff to access corporate networks via the internet. Microsoft’s Active Directory Single Sign On (SSO) gives staff access to their email and to corporate intranets, while RSA’s technology permits admission to shared files.
“ The key to giving all our different remote user types anywhere, anytime access to the particular information they needed was in identifying a solution that would be diverse and flexible enough to solve every user’s information needs while providing consistent, highly secure and easily managed connectivity. “ UK IT Infrastructure Manager, AMEC.
Business growth at specialist underwriter, Beazley Furlong, was impacting the company’s IT monitoring capability. Extensive server proliferation meant the existing manual system was not cost-effective and could not guarantee maximum system uptime. Following a programme of server consolidation and the implementation of Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM), systems management became proactive and streamlined. Significant time, cost, productivity and systems availability gains were realized very quickly.
Based on their previous track record with email and security projects with us, we had every confidence that Eurodata would be able to successfully coordinate the complex task of consolidating 88 servers across London and USA.” Head of IT Operations, Beazley Furlong.
When Biffa Waste Services needed to replace its ageing dial-up system, the company required that two key objectives be met. Firstly that a new IT system should improve the effectiveness with which its employees gain remote access to applications and files and secondly that the system, which is audited by Biffa’s parent company, Severn Trent Plc, complied with stringent security policies. All this had to be achieved at a reasonable cost. Responding to the challenge, engineers at security and technology consultants Eurodata implemented a cost-effective, secure remote access solution, based on Microsoft Intelligent Application Gateway and Swivel’s PINsafe™tokenless, two-factor authentication system. As a result, Biffa could give users fast broadband access to vital applications and resources - including an accounting application, Citrix MetaFrame and Microsoft Outlook-and meet their security targets, all for a reasonable price.
“Being in charge of security, I was very impressed with the security features of Microsoft's Intelligent Application Gateway and Swivel’s PINsafe system. And the technical experts I spoke to at Eurodata when evaluating were very helpful in explaining things, and I would definitely work with Eurodata in the future.”
Jon Allen, Systems Security Analyst, Biffa Waste Services
Under pressure from business groups and partners to provide enhanced access to the network and reduce networking costs, Birmingham City Council implemented a secure Microsoft IAG solution. By delivering a solution that optimized remote access, Eurodata’s team enabled access to 16 business applications for council staff – improving productivity - and reduced the number of bespoke VPNs in operation.
“In situations where staff work at home on a short-term basis, we no longer have the cost of setting up expensive individual broadband/ISDN lines.” Senior Technical Architect, BCC.
Britannic Management Services was looking for a secure and cost-effective way to give their 1,300 staff access to corporate data from home. They worked with Eurodata to implement a Microsoft IAG solution combined with Swivel’s unique two-factor authentication application that delivered an all-encompassing remote access solution. The technology cut Britannic’s laptop and dial-up costs; enabled them to assimilate new users quickly, while boosting staff productivity by 80%.
The technical staff at Eurodata got back to us very quickly whenever we needed help from them, and were very knowledgeable." Server Support Team Leader, Britannic Asset Management
Bringing together some of the most ancient artefacts from the past with some of the most up-to-date processes and technology is enabling the British Museum to reveal the hidden treasures of its awe-inspiring vaults.
Overwhelmed by the scale of its archive, it is simply not possible for the British Museum's entire collection to be put on public display.
One of the British Museum's major strategic objectives is the creation of an array of digital assets through the digitisation of its archive. Not just those items that are on public display, but the colossal number in physical storage in the museum's vaults.
Long working days are pretty much the norm in the legal profession. However the demand for remote and mobile working from employees is definitely on the rise in line with a growing trend towards gaining some semblance of a ‘work/life balance’.
From an employer’s perspective, too, there is a financial argument to be made in the context of recruitment and staff retention increased productivity, competitive edge and better client service, all of which leads to improved profitability. For a legal firm to ‘go mobile’, the key issue that must be addressed is that of IT security. Law firms hold very confidential information that if leaked could change the complexion of lawsuits.
Circle Anglia provides sheltered and residential accommodation across England. A programme of cost-savings triggered the need to reduce hardware maintenance costs dramatically. Eurodata provided a 75% cost saving on maintenance for the organisation’s PCs, laptops, monitors and printers - money that could be ploughed directly back into core activities. As an HP Authorised Warranty Delivery Partner, Eurodata ‘s highly trained and accredited engineers form a virtual extension to the in-house IT support team, delivering additional skills and knowledge wherever needed.
“With Eurodata you can build up some historical knowledge and it’s possible to speak to the individual who has carried our maintenance work, which makes it simpler to resolve any issues. It’s a more personal touch.” IT Support Manager, Circle Anglia.
Headquartered in London with offices that stretch from New York to Sydney, Datamonitor are a premium business information company, specialising in industry analysis. Their customers are 5,000 of the world's leading companies, to whom they offer independent expert analysis and in-depth forecasts on key business and industry issues. They offer detailed research and analysis reports in electronic form, based on quantitative and qualitative research. Dealing in sensitive, and highly desirable, electronic data and documents, Datamonitor have made electronic security a top priority. They have used Aladdin's eToken solution for three years, which offers their remote users strong authentication using a physical key device to connect to the virtual private network. Datamonitor improved the efficiency and security of the existing solution after consulting security technology leaders Aladdin and integration specialist Eurodata.
"Eurodata Systems helped a lot initially when I needed advice on which system to go for, and they really understood the range of solutions on offer, and understood my requirements." IT Manager, Datamonitor
Top three newspaper and magazine wholesaler, Dawson News, was unhappy with its RAS dial-up system for remote staff working. Unreliable connections and security issues prompted the company to look for a more robust solution. By implementing Microsoft’s IAG SSL VPN solution in combination with RSA SecurID, Eurodata created a strong, secure replacement system. Staff productivity and satisfaction increased and other stakeholders, such as local publishers, can also access their local branch systems via the company’s extranet.
“We found Eurodata very easy to talk to, friendly and helpful, and extremely knowledgeable about the Microsoft IAG product.” Group IT Services Manager, Dawson News.
IT plays a key role in ensuring that Direct Wines remains highly responsive to customers and all deliveries are made on time. The company required a partner to manage its Microsoft desktop environment and its server infrastructure within its Call Centre and distribution operations. Standardising and speeding up desktop deployment (via Eurodata’s Velocity Solution), improving network security and future-proofing hardware and operating systems all provide improved service levels to users and reduced maintenance and management costs.
“ Eurodata differentiated itself through its proposed deployment strategy – they had put a lot of effort into developing a robust migration process. In terms of cost they were extremely competitive,” stated Computer Services Manager, Direct Wines.
DLA is a leading law firm with offices across the UK, Europe and Asia. Eurodata provided secure clientless SSL VPN architecture allowing remote and mobile workers, easy and fast remote access to the firm’s email services and corporate information.
“Our lawyers can now access the information they need from any location with a standard web-browser, faster than ever before, therefore increasing productivity. Lawyers charge by the hour. The more effective the use of their time, the better the service they are giving the clients.” Infrastructure Development Manager, DLA Piper.
EDF Energy is one of the largest energy companies in the UK, generating power, distributing electricity and gas to over a quarter of the country's population and supplying it to over five million customer accounts. The company has a £3.6bn turnover and was formed from the recently merged London Electricity and Seeboard group of companies. They now employ more than 11,300 people in the UK, which has meant that linking together such a large workforce with the latest technology has been a high priority. EDF Energy wanted to give a significant proportion of the workforce secure remote access to their corporate desktops and applications. Working with infrastructure and security integrator Eurodata, EDF Energy chose to implement the e-Gap® Remote Access solution from Whale. The experienced engineers at Eurodata implemented and configured the appliance in just two days, saving EDF Energy both time and money, with Whale's SSL VPN providing additional cost and time savings as EDF Energy gave access to more and more employees.
Eurodata provided IT security expertise to Essex Rivers NHS Trust, implementing a remote access solution for their radiology department. The Microsoft IAG technology used allows remote and mobile radiologists faster, more secure access to clinical information: scans and x-rays. More time is spent diagnosing patients - while ensuring their confidentiality - thus improving the quality of services delivered to the community, in line with the NPfIT.
Associate Director of IT, stated, “ Eurodata understood our challenge and helped us achieve our primary goal which is to support patients’ privacy while improving patient care in the local community.”
Eurodata Systems, self-implemented Unified Communications (UC) using an integrated Microsoft, Mitel and Dialogic platform. The UC solution gives productivity gains of 25% by creating a highly integrated voice, video, messaging systems for on-demand communications. Now remote, mobile and office-based staff waste less time on ineffectual communications and more time in productive and client-facing activities.
Des Lekerman, Eurodata Co-Founder, said, “ We now have integration between our telephony system, Outlook, SharePoint and voice and video conferencing. I am delighted with the productivity increases this has yielded even during its first three months of operation.”
Exeter City Council serves nearly 120,000 citizens, with the requirement to provide the broadest possible range of services via the internet. Exeter City Council’s IT systems were growing exponentially. A solution to identify the issue of server sprawl was a priority and the Council needed to find the best possible solution that would guarantee exemplary service provision both for its employees and its citizens.
The Council was under increasing pressure to deliver efficiencies that would raise the quality of services it provides for all citizens. One of the most practical means of doing this was to reduce the number of manual or paperbased systems and replace them with electronic processes and services. Not only would this improve the quality of service delivery it would also enable open and easier to access systems and contribute to a more environmentally sustainable operation.
In the highly competitive publishing world, the FT needed a solution that would allows its journalists and home-based staff remote access to email securely, anytime and from anywhere. Eurodata integrated Microsoft’s IAG solution into a global upgrade of the company’s messaging and collaboration systems, producing a low-cost, easy-maintenance solution that increased user productivity immediately.
“Security is a major issue for the Financial Times. Until we evaluated Microsoft’s IAG SSL VPN, we would not even consider allowing remote access from public locations such as an Internet café or airport terminal.” Project Leader, Financial Times.
With the green agenda becoming increasingly important within the building services sector, multi disciplinary building contractors and civil engineers Fitzpatrick implemented a programme of investment that would take them towards a more environmentally sympathetic business operation. The company, which moved into new HQ premises in Hertfordshire, built their new state of the art offices to achieve an ‘Excellent” rating for environmental sustainability. As part of this programme of investment, Fitzpatrick sought a consolidation solution for their IT storage and back up requirements.
Collaborative working to suit the needs of a highly important, remote workforce was the key driver behind Frontier Economics' decision to task leading systems integrator Eurodata Systems with an important three-stage Unified Communications project.
Based in London and with offices around the world, Frontier has developed a reputation as a leading economic consultancy, operating across a diverse range of industries from energy and finance to healthcare, media and retail.
The company has long championed the use of technology as a productivity enhancer, and to that end, a decision was taken to implement a series of Microsoft-based Unified Communications (UC) and collaboration technologies that could deliver on the objective of providing users with a real boost to their productivity, to improve efficiency and provide the business with a competitive edge enabled by their UC strategy.
Recognising the need for greater flexibility whilst preserving the strict security standards demanded of its IT infrastructure, Herbert Smith implemented Whale’s e-Gap Webmail SSL VPN solution. This implementation has enabled Herbert Smith to provide secure, yet quick and easy remote access to corporate email, and lays the foundation for remote access to highly confidential applications.
Kingston Hospital National Health Service (NHS) Trust needed to optimise its Microsoft environment by migrating to a new IT infrastructure as its existing systems no longer met its evolving needs. The Microsoft Windows 2003 Server operating system, Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Active Directory solution enabled Kingston Hospital NHS Trust to fulfill the mandatory infrastructure requirements for acceptance as an Early Implementer of systems - part of the new NHS National programme for IT (NPfIT). Kingston Hospital also anticipates a lower total cost of ownership and is already seeing benefits in terms of resilience and compliance with NHS standards.
“Our new Microsoft infrastructure contributed to us being accepted in the programme. This has put us in an excellent position to adopt new best-of- breed applications and functionality, and move forward into the new National IT programme with confidence.” Network Services Manager, Kingston Hospital NHS Trust.
Lancashire Insurance Company (UK) Limited, operates from the United Kingdom with a focus on specialty insurance. Its underwriting operations in Bermuda and London address four principal business areas - aviation, energy, marine and property. The company employs around 80 people, of which half are based in Bermuda and half in its London office.
Business growth at London law firm, Macfarlanes resulted in an IT overhaul with the objectives of optimising infrastructure and improving systems continuity and storage, including email archiving. Eurodata improved the efficiency of its server estate by creating a virtualised environment that also reduced TCO and maintenance costs. Business continuity was enhanced and regulatory compliance maintained with the implementation of a fully replicated SAN solution.
“We like the objectivity Eurodata demonstrated in proposing technologies as well as their real understanding of our business. Working with a partner that had proven expertise in the legal sector was of paramount importance and Eurodata demonstrated that superbly.” Maurice Millen, Head of IT, Macfarlanes.
With 500 staff and an expanding network of offices in Canada, France, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and China, Marks & Clerk is a leading group of patent and trade mark attorneys with an associated firm of intellectual property lawyers. Providing a full range of integrated services covering patents, trade marks, designs, copyright and domain names, it ranks consistently as market leader with award-winning services tailored to client needs. Its merger with the Lloyd Wise Group gave the combined firms unparalleled representation and resources, notably in the UK and the Far East.
Eurodata provided Microsoft migration consultancy and systems implementation to create a new, resilient IT platform delivering competitive edge to Marshall Aerospace. A high availability systems environment is essential and was delivered by Eurodata’s Managed Servicesremote monitoring services.
“Star Support service offers us peace of mind, knowing that our mission-critical infrastructure is supported; all we need to do is get on the phone and Eurodata will help resolve the issue.” IT Director, Marshall Aerospace.
The London HQ of Spanish financial services provider, Santander Central Hispanico required continual access to, and watertight protection of its business critical data. Eurodata designed and implemented a high-availability data back-up and real-time data replication and disaster recovery solution with Veritas’ leading software solution.
“Eurodata was highly professional, possessed significant experience in implementing multi-site, complex disaster recovery and replication solutions.” IT Infrastructure Manager, Santander Central Hispano.
SBJ Global Risks Limited is a Lloyds broker, focusing on corporate clients and international intermediaries. The 200 staff across two London locations provide marketing and product support to an international network of intermediary partners. Fast and effective information technology is therefore a critical component of the company’s success. SBJ wanted to maintain their outsourcing strategy due to the manifold benefits it delivers from cost-savings to improved end-user satisfaction levels. The company sought a new service provider for its London operations that could ensure exemplary end-to-end support for its staff and management of its IT resources.
Sport England wanted to modernise its IT to suit the needs of an increasingly mobile workforce, while at the same time reducing its licensing, maintenance, and operating costs and being able to better respond to business demands. Sport England migrated to Microsoft Windows ServerTM 2003, part of Microsoft Windows Server SystemTM, with Microsoft Active Directory® directory service. Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 communication and collaboration server.
“Our licensing costs have fallen from £100,000 (U.S. $182,289) to £20,000 (U.S. $36,400) this year. We now have a road map approach to our technology and have a much better grip on what we will be using 12 to 18 months from now.” ICT Services Delivery Manager, Sport England
At the core of this vibrant sixth form college, St. Dominic's have a state-of-the-art IT infrastructure run by an IT department of five professionals. They manage the network itself; management information systems; and information learning technology (ILT) systems, the latter of which are of great importance to educational establishments such as St. Dominic's. The college worked with Eurodata, with whom they had built up a five year relationship, to develop their cutting-edge IT infrastructure. The latest collaboration involved Eurodata's experienced consultants designing and implementing a Storage Area Network (SAN), and then Disaster Recovery solution, using Hewlett-Packard (HP) StorageWorks and Mirroring technology, to create a state-of-the-art disaster recovery solution to protect the college's critical data.
Home to 80,000 people, Surrey Heath Borough Council is set in an idyllic corner of Surrey. Thriving business and homeowners have come to depend heavily on the services of the Borough’s Council. Developing the IT infrastructure to enhance these services has been a clear goal, and the need for tight security has never been more paramount. Working with Eurodata, Surrey Heath Borough Council chose to implement the e-Gap Remote Access solution from Whale Communications. With its ease of use, flexible anytime, anywhere access and, the sheer range of capabilities the IT team at Surrey Heath Borough Council are confident the right choice has been made.
The Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust (RSCH) wanted to create greater working flexibility and improve the work-life balance for on-call clinicians. In order to achieve this, they proposed enabling remote working for radiologists, allowing them to access, download and then report on a wide range of x-ray and CT scan images when off-site, and particularly from home.
The Trust selected Eurodata on the basis of its reputation and experience within the NHS, strong relationship with Microsoft and overall technical expertise. Key requirements were that the solution needed to be easy to install and use, scalable to meet the growing needs of clinicians and highly secure, whilst meeting Connecting for Health guidelines.
Tower Hamlets PCT was faced with the ongoing challenge of standardising and optimising their IT infrastructure as an early adopter of the Government's new NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT). Eurodata migrated Tower Hamlets to a Microsoft infrastructure environment with a centralised directory and advanced management facilities that would pave the way for future NPfIT initiatives.
"The main reason behind building a relationship with Eurodata was to take the pressure off the small number of people in our team, and to gain from Eurodata's experience and knowledge.” Head of ICT, Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust
Eurodata provided Virgin's flight engineers and employees fast remote access to company systems from around the globe using Microsoft’s IAG solution. The solution saved the company tens of thousands of pounds in international dial-up modem charges while significantly improving productivity and security features for remote access workers.
"I found it very refreshing that Eurodata delivered exactly what they promised. We find all too often that IT service companies are unable to execute what was originally promised." Technical Architect, Virgin Atlantic Airways.
With 1,300 product lines, IT was critical to the success of Weller Packaging’s sales and distribution operations. The company needed to consolidate, optimise and upgrade their systems to create a stable IT infrastructure that included email and intranet applications and backup services. More importantly, they needed a managed services provider that would cost-effectively manage their entire Information Technology post-implementation. Such managed services allowed the small IT team to focus on developing IT systems that would proactively support business activities.
"The end-to-end IT maintenance agreement with Eurodata gave us a stable platform from day one, with immediate support available whenever we need it, with experts just a phone call away. We have found the Eurodata system to be reliable, and stable.” Purchasing Manager, Weller Packaging.
