Business Needs
Increasingly their commercial clients require their contractors to comply with a whole range of specifications and requirements. In recent years there has been an increasing need for clients to be able to access information regarding their contracts online. In addition suppliers need to provide the necessary assurance that their business has a robust information and record keeping capability i.e. IT system.
With these new client requirements and the overall growth of the business Faulkners new Financial Director, Mel Faulkner, was looking to upgrade the level of support they were receiving from their IT service provider. They had been receiving support services with the same provider for 10 years which had worked out well but Faulkners now wanted someone to offer more than support. They needed a managed service company to be responsible for ensuring the on-going availability and development of the IT service; to help maintain but also develop and improve the IT service.
Mel Faulkner commented,
We depend on IT for just about every element of our business; accounts admin, record keeping as well as onsite service support and information sharing with clients. However, IT is not a core competence we have within the business or want to develop, so we needed someone we could rely on, trust and take ownership for the day to day running of our systems as well as its future development.
Customer Profile
Faulkners Heating has been established for over 50 years providing plumbing and heating services to the local Reading area. Whilst they serve both domestic and commercial clients, the majority of their revenue is generated through long term contracts with local authorities and housing associations. For their commercial contracts Faulkners provide complete heating system refurbishment within a given set of properties as well as on-going maintenance and repair. In any given year they might install over 2,500 heating systems, through a team of over 70 staff and specialist subcontractors.
Solution
Connexion were awarded the contract and have for the past 3 years been providing a full managed service that both maintains and develops Faulkners IT. This service is delivered through a number of integrated services. These include:
- a help desk providing a responsive support service
- a regular system health programme involving monthly on-site visits and automated updates
- a continually manned remote monitoring system that looks to spot problems early to prevent unexpected systems failure
- a virtual CIO that helps plan and develop the IT service as well as providing regular reports and recommendations to the Faulkners management team
During the last few years Connexion have upgraded and replaced the main servers and some of the end user workstations. They also provide first level support for their key specialist applications such as their vital estimating software provided by Amtech, as well as enabled the deployment and connectivity of PDA’s to onsite service engineers.
Mel Faulkner:
“One common problem we had in the past was the conflict between our IT infrastructure support and key software applications providers where one blamed the other for problems. Now that Connexion take ownership for solving these issues we no longer need to be involved.”
“The Connexion managed service certainly has been a significant step up from where we were before. The proactive nature of the service means that we feel more confident that IT will support us and we see far less unscheduled downtime. In addition we often have to work late or at weekends to complete estimates on time, and the out of hours service has been a tremendous help in ensuring we meet deadlines.”
Benefits
One major development that is helping Faulkners share information both internally and with clients is the development of a web based information sharing system based on the Microsoft SharePoint platform. This enables clients to login securely into a self-service information system and access most of the information they need such as details on specific site configurations, service history and KPI’s. Connexion specified, planned, configured and implemented the new information system over a 6 month period.
“The development of the new internet information sharing system has been a significant bonus to our business. It not only improves our ability to deliver consistently through sharing standardised information within the organisation, it also helps us win more business through enhancing our competitive proposition with clients.”
In summary Mel Faulkner observes
“A robust IT system is fundamental to our business, however the bonus now is we don’t have to spend our valuable time managing it; we feel in control without the distraction. We now generate more value from IT in both supporting our business as well as enhancing the service we offer to our clients. We would strongly recommend Connexion to anyone that is looking to adopt a managed service approach.”
