Edward Selden
Happy Mondays
“I have good candidates, I have wonderful clients, I have brilliant staff. My IT was what needed work. Luckily Doherty Associates came along so now I don’t dread coming into work on a Monday. They have exceeded all expectations and I’d recommend them passionately!”
Guy Bullock, Director, Edward Selden
The Problem
Edward Selden is a thriving recruitment agency in London’s West End. Their success relies on a vast network of contacts and in-depth information about candidates, clients and vacancies. This data is stored on a central database that needs to be accessible at all times.
Computer downtime can paralyse business, leaving staff frustrated and candidates and clients looking elsewhere. The company needs ongoing IT support, but it could not afford to have dedicated IT staff.
Edward Selden was experiencing problems with their IT support supplier. Work was being lost because of computers crashing, sometimes every fifteen minutes. It was taking between 48 and 72 hours to get an engineer to site and, once they arrived, they tended to make quick fixes, which meant that the same problems often returned.
The problem was becoming critical. In Director Guy Bullock’s words, “It was a do or die situation.”
Doherty’s Solution
Doherty initially conducted a complete system audit (health check) because confidence in their IT system was so low. Every part of the network’s infrastructure, from messaging and internet systems to security, virus protection, back-ups and disaster recovery was thoroughly assessed. ‘Healthy’ areas were identified and priorities for improvement outlined.
It was clear that Edward Selden had received poor advice and the entire system needed attention. We agreed that the most cost-effective way forward was a new Microsoft Small Business Server and complete hardware renewal. Our relationships with major IT suppliers ensured we could secure excellent prices.
Installation took place over the weekend and went to plan. As Guy Bullock explains, “By 4pm on the Monday he (the Doherty engineer) was gone and we were all up and running. We’ve never looked back.”
Silver Service
Edward Selden also signed up for a silver level support contract. All staff now receive immediate, unlimited telephone and remote support. The majority of problems can be fixed in moments without any need for a call-out. As a member of staff reports, “Now we just phone Doherty. They go into our screens and all we do is sit back and watch everything unfold.”
The Doherty team visits the company regularly to deal with any problems that cannot be solved remotely. In addition, the systems and server are monitored 24x7 to ensure the back-ups have run, anti-virus protection is up to date and to alert Doherty to any other problems that may arise. Status reports are emailed to Edward Selden weekly.
Their dedicated account manager at Doherty is on hand to check everything runs smoothly and respond to any feedback. He will also schedule any additional visits and discuss new projects or issues. For instance, at one stage the company was receiving 400 spam emails a day, causing frustration and wasting time. Doherty recommended and installed a Mimecast email management solution that cut this down to zero.
Above all, a Doherty account manager’s role is to ensure all communication is in plain English and relates to the company’s business objectives.
“IT is a foreign language to me and one that I don’t care to learn. One of the problems with our previous supplier was that I never knew what they were talking about. For someone like me, who knows absolutely nothing, it’s really nice to be able talk to someone who can translate what I need and come back with results.”
Guy Bullock