The Ultimate In & Out Of Office IT Solution!
Our client of 6 years, John M Taylor & Co were looking for a long-term solution to the initial ones of being reactive to the pandemic…
As COVID went on for longer than expected, this encouraged everyone to integrate a system that matched John M Taylor’s workplace ambitions.
The last year has seen businesses having to make a number of changes to their operations. With the increasing number of people working remotely over the last year, businesses have had to adapt their internal IT systems to allow for this.
This is a pretty easy exercise if your data is all cloud based but some companies need to have servers onsite. This can make things slightly harder but not impossible.
We have been helping John M Taylor with their IT requirements for over 6 years now. This has included:
Full Microsoft software roll out
Migration to an onsite Exchange Server
Installation of a new VoIP telephone system
Like many businesses though, they’ve had to change how they work after the pandemic hit.
Fortunately, John M Taylor’s current set up (installed by us previously) already allowed them to work remotely.
Their telephone system could be diverted to a piece of software that can run off a computer and a headset. Users could also connect remotely to the server in the office.
However, with 25+ users this could be a bit of a strain on their network. To combat this, certain departments within the company worked shifts in order to ease the pressure on the network.
1 Year On From The First Lockdown
With no return-to-normal working conditions in sight, we felt John M Taylor would benefit from a new server solution that was more remote working friendly.
We suggested they move to a Terminal Server solution.
Terminal Services allow businesses to centrally host applications and data. These can then be distributed to remote devices no matter the location. So, instead of installing software on individual desktops, the software is installed on the server and accessed by individual devices. This centralisation makes updating software easier plus any issues can be fixed quicker. Other benefits include:
System Access
Anytime and anywhere. This means users can work from home or even a client’s premises. They’re also not restricted to office hours and has obviously helped with the pandemic.
Security
More secure. You can limit what users can access certain data.
System Strain
Less strain on desktops. When using a terminal server there’s less work for the remote devices to do as the server does most of the heavy lifting. This will prolong the lifespan of these devices.
Save Money
With fewer people in the office you will save money on utilities, and in some cases even premises size requirements!
Moving Like IT Ninjas
We took this proposal to John M Taylor and they liked what they saw. We started to put a plan in place and arranged a time to do the job.
With jobs this size there will always be interruptions, so to limit these we decided to do the bulk of the work over the weekend.
We were able to drop off the server earlier in the week and get it all hooked up and do some testing.
The old system was shut down early Friday evening once everyone had logged out and the migration could begin.
Everything went smoother than we could ever have planned!
The only thing left to do was get on site Monday morning and get users connected to the new server.
There were a few things to iron out over the next few days, but we can safely say the migration was a huge success!
In Closing…
It feels like from an IT point of view the pandemic is all we’ve talked about, but one good thing that has come out of the chaos is businesses looking to the future; how they can help their staff, their business, and by extension – their customers.
It initially forced their hand, but has now shown them a new way of working, either some-of-the-time, or on a more permanent basis.
It has certainly thrown up a number of challenges for businesses like John M Taylor, with remote working being one of them.
Now that they have use of a terminal server, this will help with socially distanced working in the office and working from home.
With businesses more open to remote working now it can help John M Taylor continue to serve their customers whenever there is a need to be out of the office through restrictions, or even just bad weather.
Jim Hamilton of John M Taylor & Co had this to say:
“We are a firm of professional accountants and we specialise in providing care and attention to our clients businesses. We enjoy working with business associates that share the same ethos.
A big thank you to Central Computer Support and your technical team for all of the support work you have carried out for us over the past five months of lockdown.
We have had to cope with the very serious challenge of moving our production team to work from home and you have enabled that smoothly and efficiently.
As the past few months have gone in you have responded promptly to our cries for help and guidance and that has been much appreciated.
Thank you to all of you for your support and assistance through this rather difficult time. I have no hesitation in recommending your services to others needing the assistance of a reliable and competent IT team.
Many thanks again.”
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