https://www.xperience-group.com/case-study/sams/
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| Key Contact(s): | Gareth Leslie |
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“For me, the major deciding factor was that Xperience could provide us with a resilient, stable and flexible cloud computing solution that would deliver failsafe business continuity. For our financial director, the deciding factor cost. So we’re both happy.
We’d always hosted our IT systems in-house”, explains SAM’s IT Director, Tim Patton, “but by early 2014 they were literally creaking at the seams and urgently needed replacing with technologies and systems that were going to be more solid and stable. We had expanded to the point where we were no longer in a position to support the levels required in-house, we needed a complete solution from an external provider who could be more of a strategic business partner “.
“We had very specific requirements, for instance, we’d grown to the point where we had sales teams in England and Europe as well as here in Northern Ireland. We had also acquired a company in Wales. We needed a solution that could give access to the information required. Any new system had to allow for this and facilitate email, video conferencing and voice calls between offices.
” It made sense to establish a plug-and-play system that any other businesses we acquire could parachute into. Apart from all of this, we also required a new ERP system “
“Over the next few months, I went to various events hosted by Xperience in conjunction with Microsoft and other partners, to get a flavour of what was out there. I talked with various companies and looked into possible providers and solutions, including Xperience and Office 365.”
“In terms of market position and customer feedback, Xperience came back with the best scores with regards to delivering what we were looking for – a complete IT solution and service package. We decided to go ahead with their proposals, which initially involved stabilising our aging systems, building a new server platform, and upgrading to Office 365, and stage two was Xperience taking over our Cloud-based ERP system.
“It all went extremely well; Xperience’ engineers did a fantastic job. The way they had anticipated, prepared and sold the solution to us, was exactly the way it all came together.
“Everyone seems to be getting on with the new systems just fine, it’s very stable, and because we no longer have to spend time fixing problems, we’re able to redeploy resources towards training and developmental areas, take on new technology and generally push things forward.”
“Upgrading to Office 365 has been an excellent move. For one thing, I no longer worry about managing all the various licenses and upgrades. It is subscription-based so I can control my costs, and of course, updates take place automatically. From a facilities management point of view, it is nice, clean and simple. Our Cloud-based ERP system has also worked out very well, greater storage capacity runs faster than ever and, we’re paying less than we did with our previous provider.”
“So, in simple terms, it’s a win-win for us. Having all these facilities under one umbrella has been indispensable. Xperience is also very pro-active in terms of how they manage their customers, and they have dedicated experts in different areas – an Office 365 expert, a networking expert, a server expert and so on. With Xperience, you really are getting into a business relationship rather than simply making a purchase. Certainly, our experience of Xperience has been outstanding. I don’t have any complaints!”
Founded by Sam and Julienne McCrea in 1990, family-owned SAM is the UK’s leading manufacturer of internal and external MDF mouldings. Its ten-acre, purpose-built facility in Antrim is one of the most advanced in Europe, allowing SAM to create exceptional quality products made to the highest specification.