News: superfast broadband

21st September 2016

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A Stockton call handling company has benefited from a fresh new look as it prepares to expand its workforce after moving to a growing business park.

Lemon Business Solutions, which provides 24/7 call centre solutions to clients in the UK and internationally, has relocated its 45-strong workforce to Odyssey Systems’ newly-established business park.

As a result of the move, Lemon is hoping to increase its workforce by 20% to meet the demand of its growing clientele.

Lesley Wratten, managing director of Lemon Business Solutions, said: “The new office space exemplifies exactly what our business is all about and has created a fresh, zesty work environment for our staff. We have experienced significant growth in recent years and these larger premises will allow us to gear up for further expansion.”

“The IT infrastructure and connectivity in place was essential in forming our decision to relocate as we had simply maximised the space at our previous office and handle thousands of customer service calls every day. Our new, state-of-the-art call management centre will allow us to continue to deliver an excellent level of customer service to our clients and I am looking forward to what the future holds for Lemon.”

Lemon Business Solutions’ relocation completes a hat-trick of new tenants for the business park following JBC Accountants and UK & Ireland SAP User Group.

Odyssey Systems has invested in the complete refurbishment of the 20,000 sq. ft. business park for its tenants. The site offers a comprehensive telecommunications service, which includes hosted telephony and a fully-synchronous, uncontended Ethernet connection, as well as fingerprint recognition software and increased security for tenants.

Christine Gilbert, director of Odyssey Systems, said: “I am delighted to welcome Lemon to the business park and start a new chapter in our long-standing relationship. Lemon is a longstanding Odyssey Systems customer and is well-aware of the excellent service we provide, which they will now also experience as a tenant of our business park.

“Lesley and I have worked closely together on the creation of their new offices, which reflects their brand and personality as well as providing the high quality of telecoms technology they have become used to over the years from Odyssey Systems.”

http://www.no-sour-business.co.uk/
Odyssey Systems, the Teesside-based telecommunications specialist, has completed one of its biggest projects to date, which included the creation of a 264,000 sq. ft. Wi-Fi zone at a factory in Chester-le-Street.

Odyssey was appointed by Coveris Rigid UK to provide a portfolio of telecommunications solutions for the food packaging manufacturer’s Drum Park facility.

Coveris Rigid, part of the worldwide Coveris group, which is owned by Sun Capital, acquired the Drum Park site last November after it has remained empty for a number of years.

As part of the conversion of the building, Odyssey installed a 100MB lease line with microwave back-up, 100 IP telephony extensions, which are integrated with the company’s other UK and European sites, and 31 Kilometres of category 6 and fibre cabling.

Central to the project was the need to create a whole-site roaming Wi-Fi network throughout the 18-metre tall factory, which would not only provide consistently strong Wi-Fi connections in office, manufacturing and warehouse locations, but enable operatives to move throughout the building using devices without losing connection to the network.

The signal is transmitted through a network of Wi-Fi units, which have been strategically installed by Odyssey to ensure maximum coverage, with the connections handed over to the closest unit as operatives move through the facility.

The system will be of particular benefit to Coveris’ logistics partner, Stiller Warehousing and Logistics, to enable its staff to interact with the company’s IT systems using mobile devices.

The project was delivered to meet customer timescales over a five-day period by a team of 10 of Odyssey’s experienced, directly-employed engineers.

Once the building is completed the company will begin producing its range of food packaging products and distribute in the region of 1.7 billion units per year from the site to locations across the UK.

Mike Odysseas, Managing Director of Odyssey Systems, said: “We are very proud to have completed this significant project for Coveris, which not only demonstrated our ability to deliver jobs of this scale to very tight deadlines, it enabled our engineers to apply innovative solutions to meet our customer’s requirements.

“The connectivity we have brought to the site will support Coveris’ productivity drive and enhance the interaction between the company and its logistics partner.”

Ian Donal, Operations Manager and Drum Project Manager from Coveris Rigid UK, said: “Odyssey has played a key role in establishing the communication infrastructure at Drum Park and will enable our employees to maximise the use of technology to manage and operate our business. The large Wi-Fi network will be of particular benefit to our operations as the consistency of its signal strength throughout the factory will support a wide range of technology-based systems designed to boost productivity.”
Odyssey Systems has quickly helped a Billingham-based logistics company back to its feet following the theft of copper cables, which disabled its entire communications system, severely interrupting operations.

Devereux Transport, a long-standing customer of Odyssey, discovered it had been targeted by thieves and was unable to answer customer calls, access databases or maintain contact with its 120 Drivers.

The thieves had cut through 2,400 individual cables and stole more than 70m of copper wiring. After getting in touch with Odyssey, engineers had installed a 4G system within two hours, which provided a quick and temporary solution that minimised downtime.

This isn’t the first time Devereux has called upon Odyssey; previously, a tenant on the same industrial estate had accidently cut through a power cable, which brought other businesses in the area to a halt. Odyssey reacted by transferring calls to mobiles and using a portable generator to power Devereux’s internet infrastructure, avoiding any further disturbance.

Borne from a business created by a 14-year-old, Devereux has become one of the UK’s leading transport and distribution businesses. It offers a comprehensive service tailored to meet the needs of a diverse client base.

Mike Odysseas, managing director at Odyssey Systems, said “We were able to react quickly and assist Devereux at a time of crisis by using a temporary measure, which allowed operations to carry on as normal, until a permanent system was installed.

“We pride ourselves on response time and understand how important business communications are – being a regional supplier gives us the ability to react swiftly and sets us apart from competitors”

Chris Pickles, Commercial Manager at Devereux Transport, said: “With a fleet of more than 100 vehicles in operation, any time without communication has the potential to set us back, both in terms of time and money. As with any service sector business, we aim to deliver exceptional customer service, and had Odyssey not responded so effectively we would have potentially disappointed a number of customers.”
Telecommunications expert and founder of Odyssey Systems, Mike Odysseas has warned that rural areas of the UK would be the biggest losers if the government was to redistribute subsidies supporting the rollout of high-speed broadband.

Mr Odysseas has spoken out in favour of government support for BT’s rural infrastructure expansion, amidst strong criticism from the UK’s second largest broadband provider, Virgin Media.

Under subsidies announced in 2012, BT has received almost all of the scheme’s state aid, which has helped take national coverage of fibre optic broadband in the UK to approximately 90 per cent. However, Virgin Media are calling for the second, £500m phase to be halted as other private sector companies feel they are more than capable to match BT’s provision.

Mr Odysseas has voiced concerns over Virgin Media’s claim and said: “BT is perfectly-placed to deliver high-speed broadband to rural areas and difficult urban zones as a result of decades of investment in communications infrastructure.

“Virgin’s position on the matter is a direct contradiction of its business model, which only serves resident areas and limited commercial locations, which already have access to high-quality coverage. If the government was to press pause on BT’s rollout, a large number of rural businesses would remain without adequate broadband for at least another three years.

“The government’s decision to utilise BT and its existing infrastructure, is a sound business move that will help deliver an accelerated programme, which bolsters the UK’s broadband network. Any plan to alter this subsidy scheme would prove disastrous for technology-reliant companies in hard to reach locations.”
Being twice winner of the North East Business Awards for Customer Service, we are very proud of how we communicate with existing and potential customers. We take a matter of fact view to our interaction; a no nonsense way of explaining what is best for their chosen communication route. No hidden agendas, no false promises.

A recent government scheme has been introduced to enable eligible businesses access to better, quicker broadband. With the improvement of broadband connectivity, businesses will be able to have seamless contact to remote workers, video conferencing which will reduce travel time and expense, clearer and more reliable VoIP telephony and Cloud technology for storing and saving data.

This is a great scheme for a totally free grant of £3,000 towards the investment of new infrastructure and improving your current internet connectivity.

It really is great news. We, like many other telecommunication and IT specialists are registered as suppliers on a national database, and are busy helping businesses flourish by getting them technologically equipped for the rigors of having an online footprint and trading in the digital world.

We have seen first-hand and been advised of various offers that have been made to potential customers regarding the scheme. Some of the offers are unethical and some totally fraudulent, such as ‘Cash Back’ and ‘Shared Ownership’.

We thought we would clarify and bullet point what the essential facts are, so you can be clear on what you can get:
- The voucher scheme is for installation of equipment only.
- You have less than 250 staff.
- You have not had €250,000 of government grants.
- Offer a minimum of 20 Mbit/s services and capable of being configured/upgraded to support at least 30 Mbit/s services.
You will not be able to offset any of the £3,000 on any on-going monthly charges for calls or services; this is purely for the infrastructure for broadband. You will have to commit to at least a six month broadband agreement with your supplier.

You are not in one of the following sectors: fishery and aquaculture primary production, processing and marketing of agriculture products, coal, steel and shipbuilding.

Part of our longevity in business has been sageness to claims that over promise and under deliver, so if you would like to have a no nonsense conversation with us, we will be able to de-mystify the scheme and clarify what you can and can’t get for your free £3,000.

Or visit the Government website for more information by clicking here

https://www.gov.uk/broadband-delivery-uk
Telecommunications specialist Odyssey Systems has installed a state-of-the-art communications system for a North Yorkshire law firm, linking its branches across the county to Odyssey’s own dedicated data centre.

Previously Coles Solicitors, which has nine offices from Yarm to York and from Beverley to Settle, had independent systems which communicated via the internet.

Odyssey put in multi-Protocol Label Switching, MLPS, which allows the firm’s sites to operate on the same system and communicate with each other via secure broadband and a single firewall and with a single phone system across all the sites.

Three telephone servers located at three different sites have been replaced and the system is now served from Odyssey’s data centre.

Odyssey has worked with Coles for several years as the law firm has expanded and opened new offices.

Coles Managing Director Peter Gibson said: “Instrumental to that growth has been the technology we have from Odyssey, which has enabled us to grow at the rate that we have because the systems they put in place for us enable us to have complete connectivity between each of our branches, so each branch is in effect, part of our main office.

“We run our business as one business, even though we are in nine locations. Because a lot of what we do is communication, the broadband and communication for all of our telephony and IT have been a key and integral part of our business and I can’t imagine our business operating without Odyssey.

“We speak to them on a daily basis about issues, problems and future developments. Inevitably there are issues and problems but it’s how they are dealt with and managed which is the real differentiator between Odyssey and AN Other provider. I can’t praise them highly enough. ’’

The new system will also make it easier for the firm to expand and open new offices with greater ease of connection to telecommunications.

Odyssey Systems Sales Director Christine Gilbert said: “The installation of MLPS allows for a more secure and faster system with greater capacity. It provides access to our call recording software and allows remote management from our office in Stockton, giving the client a seamless and efficient service.’’

Peter Gibson added: “We would not be where we are today as a business with our breadth of geographic spread had our telecoms been managed by a faceless national provider rather than by using a local, independently-owned operator. They know the continued success of their business depends on the continued success of my business making us partners in the same enterprise.”