A new IT system at one transport company

Phase one: Legacy system audit

A French transport company operating out of multiple locations contacted us for technical recommendations and to outsource their IT management activities.

A complete audit of their existing IT infrastructure uncovered a number of issues. The company had no internal IT department for cost reasons and had worked with a number of different IT providers. The resulting system was notably inefficient. In particular, the audit revealed a highly heterogeneous hardware and software infrastructure. There were incompatibilities between certain applications, and some of the workstations had been configured incorrectly, rendering the system unstable. The company's diverse range of IT equipment, acquired in an uncoordinated manner from a number of different vendors, was not suited to the use it was being put to.

The first priority was to update and standardise the system.

In addition, the company had not put in place any security or organisation strategy for their applications.

There was no effective communication system beyond a webmail messaging application unsuited to business use.

Finally, staff at the company's various locations, which included sites in Belgium and Luxembourg, did not have access to an information system suited to a multi-site organisation, making exchanging information difficult and spreading data across multiple locations.

Phase two: Recommendations

We presented our customer with our technical recommendations and a detailed roadmap for organising their applications and internal network. We don't just give our customers a technical solution - we help them establish a genuine IT strategy and develop an organisation that's right for them.

To facilitate centralisation of company data and permit remote working, a Remote Desktop/Terminal Server system was implemented.

The communication system was modernised to allow secure communication with external partners and collaborative tools were implemented to improve internal interaction.

The result was improved working conditions for users who were delighted with the effective tools and scope for greater productivity that the new system brought.

Phase three: System monitoring and user support

Following successful integration, our customer signed up for our IT management package (also called network administration services), comprising IT system monitoring, user technical support and a range of services that really add value for the organisation, including:

- System monitoring to detect instabilities and guard against serious faults

- A support request submission and response monitoring system

- Application maintenance and monitoring of the activities of external companies

- A simple flat fee structure helping the customer control costs.

The customer welcomed our recommendations, and was delighted to find a partner who truly understands their needs. They are convinced that our solutions are improving productivity within their organisation.