New Network Solution

 

A new network solution, delivered as a managed service, increases user efficiency and effectiveness and frees up ICT staff. 

Action for Blind People (Action) is one of the largest charities in the UK, providing free and confidential support for blind and partially sighted people in all aspects of their lives. One call to Action ensures that visually impaired people receive help with anything from finding a job, applying for benefits, housing issues, aids and adaptations, through to holiday breaks and information on local services.

Founded in 1857 and headquartered in London, Action employs 750 staff, as well as many hundreds of volunteers, at over thirty sites in the UK, including hotels, housing units and sporting facilities. On April 1 2009, Action for Blind People became an Associate Charity of RNIB, allowing the two organisations to join forces to share resources, skills and expertise to engage and reach more blind and partially sighted people with even better services.

Organic growth

Just like any organisation, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) underpins all the work Action does on behalf of visually impaired people. In late 2007, employees and volunteers at over twenty sites were connected to the organisation’s network infrastructure, but there was a problem. “Our network had grown organically, rather than being planned from scratch”, says Graeme Hollocks, Head of ICT. “It was becoming increasingly obvious that it was inadequate to support the work of our staff. We needed to find a new solution.”

Having been through similar exercises before, Graeme was able to quickly establish not only what Action currently had, but also to specify the requirements for the new network. With board approval having been obtained he then asked a number of suppliers to provide him with proposals. One of the companies he approached was Micropoint. “I’d worked with Micropoint when I was with a previous organisation and had developed a good working relationship with the company”, explains Graeme. “So I asked it to put forward a proposal for the new network.”

Competitive price

The brief for the project was fairly open, with Graeme supplying the size and scope of the required network, the functionality required and an indication of budget. “As a charity we obviously have to extract the maximum value from the donations we receive”, he explains. “So I felt it was important to give potential suppliers an idea of what we could afford and see what they suggested.”

The original half-a-dozen suppliers were reduced to four, who prepared more detailed proposals. After careful consideration Action chose the managed service solution that Micropoint put forward.

Explaining the decision, Graeme says: “Micropoint’s staff were very attentive and took the opportunity to have several discussions with us to make sure they fully understood our requirements before putting forward their proposal. They also arranged for us to visit Easynet to discuss how the solution would work. The result was they provided a good technical solution at a competitive price.”

Changing requirements

The Micropoint solution consisted of a closed Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network with private Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connections, incorporating a firewall through which the open Internet could be accessed. The entire solution would be managed and supported through Micropoint. However, before implementation could start Action’s requirements changed.

“We had been in discussion with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and it was agreed that Action for Blind People would become an Associate Charity”, explains Graeme. “As a part of this Association, the Action infrastructure would have to be extended to a number of RNIB offices, over 250 staff and around 400 volunteers. Consequently, the project had to be re-scoped.”

Micropoint’s staff visited the RNIB offices to gather the requirements. It was complicated by the fact that not all the staff in each office would be transferring to Action.

Micropoint also had to take into account home workers and embedded workers - staff who reside in other institutions, such as hospitals and colleges, and would use the systems within those organisations to access Action’s network. “Action already had remote workers, so the remote access system Micropoint proposed was useful for us, but it was absolutely mission critical for the embedded staff who were joining us from the RNIB”, says Graeme.

Knowledgeable and responsive

To implement the solution, Graeme recruited a volunteer, who was also an experienced project manager, to act as the liaison between the three companies who were involved – BT for the cabling, Easynet for the establishment of the closed network and Micropoint for connecting Action to the network.

“The implementation was carried out office by office”, says Graeme. “As we were replacing rather than upgrading the network, it made the job slightly easier. We could continue with the old network until the new one was ready and then switch over, which maintained functionality and minimised downtime.”

To cope with the extra demand of the RNIB offices and staff, Micropoint also upgraded Action’s server infrastructure with a 2-node cluster and brand new Storage Area Network (SAN) configured for high availability.

“Micropoint’s staff are very helpful and knowledgeable”, says Graeme. “In a project of this size, however well it is planned, the unexpected will always happen. Micropoint were very responsive in dealing with those situations when they occurred.”

Fit for purpose

Although it is early days, Graeme is already seeing benefits from the new network. “Micropoint has delivered what we wanted – a modern, properly scaled, fit for purpose network. Users are already commenting favourably about the increased speed of access, which is increasing their efficiency and effectiveness. We also now have enough capacity to handle the growth we anticipate in the foreseeable future.”

“As Micropoint are providing the solution as a managed service, we no longer need an internal support team”, Graeme continues. “Consequently, I can now re-focus that team’s efforts onto other activities, such as improving user and desktop support. Also, because the network is so much more reliable, I’m expecting the number of help desk calls to reduce significantly, which will free up more staff to focus on other issues.”

“I have had a very good working relationship with Micropoint for many years now”, concludes Graeme. “The solutions its consultants have come up with have always met my requirements. They are knowledgeable, responsive and the support is very good. I would recommend the company to other organisations.”

Action Registered Charity no: 205913 (England and Wales) SC040050 (Scotland)