Customers
You will see from the variety of the case histories which follow below that we have very broad experience of most IT situations. We believe that the professionalism of our work and the thoroughness of our assessment of each situation is reflected by the fact that we are still dealing with the vast majority of the customers we have served over the years and they have recommended us to friends and colleagues alike.
Case History One
Domestic Appliance Manufacturer, North West England needing to develop and introduce new accounting software and call handling system. Read more »
Case History Two
A relatively newly established London based charity (sponsored by public and private sector investment)looking to purchase a robust IT system including all hardware and software which would enable the charity to grow unhindered for several years. Read more »
Case History Three
Computer manufacturer in Berkshire with 100 employees moving offices to a large country house environment. The client wanted minimal disruption from the move and an ideal IT set-up upon arrival at the new premises. Read more »
Case Study Four
The Customer was a small engineering business in rural Wiltshire which was experiencing extreme problems with broadband internet connection. Read more »
Case History Five
The Customer was a translation agency with bases in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Yorkshire and they needed general IT support on monthly contract as it expanded. Read more »
Case History Six
A well- known professional musician living in Wiltshire having problems with shared broadband. Read more »
These are just a small selection of varied situations where we have been able to help. Irrespective of the scale of your project or problem, we would like to be able to help you too and hope you will contact us to discuss.
Case History One
Domestic Appliance Manufacturer, North West England needing to develop and introduce new accounting software and call handling system
Historical Situation
The Company had 25 computer users and had lost confidence in their previously retained IT support. There was some limited IT knowledge within the workforce. They were running a UNIX based accounts system (INVU) and were on the brink of purchasing another well-known accounts package when they called Daubeneys in.
Perceived Problems
We consulted staff in the accounts, marketing, service and operations departments to fully understand working practices and requirements; it became clear that the time taken handling service calls was excessive and that this aspect should fully integrate with the new accounts package. In the short term, the Company intended to introduce additional software for service management in conjunction with the existing accounts system. This would have resulted in a high volume of data keying.
In the medium term, the Company believed it should purchase an accounts package from one of the leading software vendors; however, this would mean that all the previous effort with data keying for the service call package, would have been wasted as it would have been incompatible with the proposed new accounts software.
The Solution
We recommended the Company should purchase Exchequer Enterprise Accounts. Staff were very impressed with the way that the package coped with the questions they asked of it. It also integrated easily with another package which handled the service calls.
The new systems were introduced smoothly under Daubeneys’ management and the Company remains delighted with the choice made.
Additional Benefits
We recommended that a new server be purchased for running the accounts package and that this additional server also be used for tape data back-ups. Additionally, we made sure that all pc users had access to relevant software updates and that more effective anti-spyware and general security systems were introduced.
Summary
The Client avoided duplication of effort, purchased the most appropriate software available for the task and strengthened their data and system security at the same time. Productivity was not compromised.
Case History Two
A relatively newly established London based charity (sponsored by public and private sector investment)looking to purchase a robust IT system including all hardware and software which would enable the charity to grow unhindered for several years.
Background
The client invited a number of companies to quote for a full IT supply package. Daubeneys bid was accepted because we knew that we could obtain very attractive discounts from Microsoft related to the client’s charitable status. Other bidders were unaware of this and quoted higher retail rates.
Implemented Solution
We oversaw the purchase of two servers capable of handling client networking/email/back-up needs, 10 workstations, hubs, routers, printers, cabling and all software (including general office applications, anti-virus, CD creation etc. All appropriate user licences were also included) and created a Virtual Private Network to permit remote access, support and assistance.
In addition, because the charity intended to move offices within 18 months, we installed robust, yet temporary cabling within existing trunking to keep costs to a minimum.
Outcome
The charity was delighted with the smooth introduction of all the new equipment. They chose us because our approach to the software licencing meant that we could quote them a price which was very competitive, but which also included installation and initial management fees too. This kept us ahead of the competition. Our winning quote included two full staff training days, one just after installation and another about a month later to deal with any staff queries.
Case History Three
Computer manufacturer in Berkshire with 100 employees moving offices to a large country house environment. The client wanted minimal disruption from the move and an ideal IT set-up upon arrival at the new premises.
Implemented solution
We planned diligently in advance of the move and managed subcontractors very closely to ensure that networks and cabling were installed efficiently. The installation was further complicated because each workstation had to have two separate connections linking it to combined communications and server rooms.
Outcome
The business move occurred on schedule and with little or no downtime. We were highly praised by all staff and one of the company’s directors was particularly surprised saying that it was the first time he had ever been involved in an office move where his pc had worked properly the very first time he switched it on at his new desk! The Company calculated that the overall cost of engaging Daubeneys was repaid many times over because they lost so little productive time during the move!
Case Study Four
The Customer was a small engineering business in rural Wiltshire which was experiencing extreme problems with broadband internet connection.
Background
The business was located in former RAF buildings some distance from the exchange. The broadband connection was dropping daily, leaving them to use dial-up connection. The slowdown in speed was adversely affecting product development. The company had tried various fixes, all to no avail.
Possible Solution
We considered using some of their ISDN bandwidth by using a router which switched automatically, but the ISDN was already near capacity. It would work, but at a speed only marginally quicker than dial-up.
Actual Solution
During our investigations we found that there was a long term employee who lived about a mile away in line of sight of the business premises. He already had very reliable broadband at home. We discussed the problem with him and the company and the employee was delighted to assist, with the company agreeing to pay his broadband connection for him. By using two external wireless client/access points to provide the line across the fields, we overcame the problem.
Whilst luck was involved in this innovative solution, it was only discovered because of our attention to detail and refusal to concede defeat. The alternative would have involved a business move and great expense.
Case History Five
The Customer was a translation agency with bases in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Yorkshire and they needed general IT support on monthly contract as it expanded.
Background
In total there were 15 workstations of which 4 were MACs. These were spread around 3 locations with shared facilities in the main Gloucestershire office and a major printer.
An immediate concern was tape back-up. The client did not have any proven way to read its back-up tapes if the office tape machine failed. The client was also concerned about difficulty in remote server access.
The Solution
We recommended automated secure off-site back-up for all the company’s files. In doing so there were four advantages
- The much lower risk of illegible backups
- Individual files can be recovered
- Files can downloaded to any connected machine
- The reduction of human intervention and thus error
We also provided a cost-effective secure remote access package which has been used ever since. In addition, we improved the client’s server disc space by utilising Network Attached Storage, a cost effective solution which did not require a second server to run.
The Company now retains Daubeneys on one of our DMS packages.
Case History Six
A well-known professional musician living in Wiltshire having problems with shared broadband.
The Background
He lives in a large manor house and wanted to ensure that his family had internet access in all their rooms.
The Solution
The manor’s walls are very thick and we could not use a single access point to cover the whole building.
At first we tried using HomePlug adaptors which utilise the household wiring as the network (wireless along an electrical wire). This didn’t work because we found that there were several generations of wiring in the house. Eventually we hit on the idea of running Cat 5 cable outside the house to rooms in strategic positions where we positioned wireless access points that worked all the way up through the floors of the house.
These are just a small selection of varied situations where we have been able to help. Irrespective of the scale of your project or problem, we would like to be able to help you too and hope you will contact us to discuss.
