Whilst growth is always the objective, it brings its own challenges. For Champions UK this manifested itself through issues with internet connectivity.
Background
Champions is a national award-winning brand and creative agency. Its structure combines in-house creative, marketing, public relations, events and celebrity management teams, allowing it to offer clients a diverse and dynamic package that answers a range of demands. With fifty team members over five departments, a member of the Telegraph 1000 Brightest business list and 57th in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 directory, the company is growing fast.
The Challenge
The company which has grown very quickly, from a team of five to more than fifty, was struggling to provide its employees with a satisfactory broadband connection. Due to the company’s head office being in a remote location, it had been using a bonded broadband line to provide connectivity when it first launched. As the company grew in size it quickly became apparent that the 2MB download speed was not appropriate when shared amongst the whole office. Tela was already supplying Champions with mobile phone contracts and, as part of the regular account meetings, discussions were held about how connectivity could be improved. Champions were also keen to explore how it could empower their workforce to work remotely, which was of particular importance for the events team who could often be called out of the office for a week at a time.
“Before implementing the Tela solution we struggled with a slow and unreliable internet connection. The new lease line will change all this and give us a platform to expand our business further.”
The Solution
Time was taken to complete an assessment of Champions’ technology needs, from which a tailored solution was designed. The recommendation included the installation of a high-quality fibre leased line to provide a major upgrade to the company’s internet connectivity as well as enabling server access for employees working remotely. Tela would also provide a fully managed hosting service and roll out Microsoft Office 365 to the Champions team; the move to O365 bringing key features and benefits. One which is often overlooked is the fact that employees are able to carry on using a software package that they’re familiar with and have worked with for years.
For the business itself, there is the advantage that they no longer have the responsibility for updating and managing the software, as this is all carried out by Microsoft centrally. The O365 cloud service provides easier administration functionality to users. Champions employees will be able to access the software from any device with an internet connection which will bring huge productivity benefits.
“When they are out of the office they can still get access to everything that’s in the office, that for me is exceptional and really groundbreaking.”
John Hayes, CEO, Champions (UK) plc
The O365 solution will have a significant positive impact on the way in which Champions are able to work as a business as well as in the service provided to their own clients. The work done by Tela ahead of the implementation meant that the right solution was developed for Champions. O365 will allow the company to scale easily and the leased line will greatly improve the productivity of those working in the office and remotely.
