Nildram's ADSL service puts Broadband on Greenwich time
Aim
In order to provide councillors with quick and reliable intranet access, Greenwich Council opted for a user-friendly Broadband ADSL service from Nildram.
The Challenge:
Keeping pace with the latest innovations can be challenging as well as rewarding. For the elected members of Greenwich Council, the local authority's intranet and email communications are vital to fulfilling their duties. However, until recently, they were commonly perceived as a frustrating experience because of the painfully slow download speeds and limited security provided by the council's outdated access service.
Towards the end of 2002, the Council upgraded the councillors' access arrangements from conventional dial-up modems to permanently connected Broadband ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Lines).
As Henri Reinbolt, head of strategic information and communication technology at the Council, stated that the aim of the project was to establish a "reliable and user-friendly service that was sympathetic to the needs of the users" - not all of whom were e-literate. With this in mind, a number of companies were asked to submit tenders to provide 53 councillors with Broadband accounts and static IP addresses.
Nildram submitted a quote that showed a good understanding of what we wanted to achieve," Henri says. "There was a good fit between the performance we specified and services they offered."
More specifically, Nildram's contract-winning tender centred around its Broadband 500 service, which offers download speeds of up to 512Kbps, 100 Mbytes of email storage space, anti-virus provisions and SPAM controls on POP3 accounts. This, combined with Nildram's renowned service commitment, was enough to convince the Council.
The Solution:
One of the suppliers approached was Nildram, a leading-edge Internet Service Provider. "Nildram Broadband was perfect for our requirements," Henri explains. "The combination of speed and security is a very powerful solution. It's also extremely reliable, easy to use and provides the councillors with quick access to committee reports, diaries and email." As the tenders arrived, it became apparent that Nildram's submission stood out from the rest.
The results:
"Since we went live in 2002, we've had very few technical problems," Henri says. "Nevertheless, Nildram has been very helpful if the councillors have had any queries." He points out that around 80% of technical queries he receives are userrelated issues that often stem from the user's lack of IT knowledge. He says Nildram is aware of this and has been extremely willing to help.
"The majority of our users aren't technically minded. Nildram understands this and has been willing to carry out investigations without question, even though less than 5% are of a technical nature. The technical staff at Nildram have been very helpful and straightforward, which is greatly appreciated. They seem to be more customerfocused than many other service providers, which is one of the reasons we opted for Nildram."
Henri concludes by praising the speed and flexibility of Nildram's support service. "My suppliers have to be quick and flexible. In Nildram's case, the customers are happy with the service, which reflects well on me, so I'm happy."