A Division of XMA Limited

“A single supplier meant much less to worry about” according to HL Plastics.

HL Plastics asked ICON to deliver all its IT requirements and saved valuable time, money and effort.

A new, larger site promised a wealth of opportunity for HL Plastics’ future but how could the company ensure its IT systems also lived up to expectations? That was the job of technical director Dave Chambers, who had to make sure the organisation’s IT capabilities were as cutting-edge at its two new buildings. He therefore made a crucial decision: to ask IT provider ICON for advice.

Chambers said: “Our business had outgrown the previous site in Derby. We needed somewhere much larger so we created a purpose-built office covering more than 90,000 square feet. The new premises meant new opportunities for us and we wanted to make the most of them.”

Chambers had relied on ICON for IT services before but, now, he chose to use the company as a single point of contact for HL Plastic’s entire IT requirements.

ICON implemented HL Plastic’s hardware, networking and data cabling infrastructure, including a building to building fibre optic link which provides off-site backup for disaster recovery and the ability to share network resources, and a networked CCTV system to improve site security.

ICON also configured and installed WatchGuard firewalls and upgraded their email to Exchange 2003. A Citrix solution was also implemented to provide remote access for HL Plastics management team. ICON also provides an outsourcing service, including fortnightly onsite visits with guaranteed Service Level Agreements in place.

A single point of contact
Chambers explains why he was so keen to deal with a single supplier. He says: “We went out to tender and saw a few companies. There wasn’t a massive advantage as far as price was concerned – all those on our shortlist were around the same area. But we chose ICON because they could do everything.”

He says: “Using ICON to cover all the IT services was just brilliant for me because it meant I didn’t have to chase individual companies. I wasn’t seeing lots of different contacts and then having to meet up with them all and ensure everything was integrated. It saved me a lot of time.”However, that was not the only advantage. Chambers also believed a single point of contact for the project would be invaluable if there were any issues.

“The beauty about it was that if something went wrong there was nowhere for ICON to go. They had to shoulder all the responsibility. They did and it proved to be a job well done.”

More skills, less hassle
According to Chambers, ICON’s extensive range of skills gave him confidence in all aspects of the solution. It also meant he could rely on ICON staff to advise him on the bigger picture.

Chambers says: “Bringing all the different elements of the solution together was important. It’s unusual to find a company that can do that. Often they have to subcontract and that makes the solution more complex again.

”ICON helped create a well-thought out system. For example, we installed a CCTV solution connected to our network rather than a separate one on their advice and it does make sense to have it as an integral part of the IT system.”

A virtual IT department
HL Plastics also asked ICON to provide IT support. “They were involved in the specification stage and knew the system inside out so it was a logical move for them to do the technical support,” says Chambers.

“ICON hit the ground running. We have got no IT staff here so, in a way, ICON staff act as our IT department and it works well for us. We have a 24 hour call out and we’ve only had one priority call in the last nine months which worked fine.

“It has saved us a lot of money because otherwise we’d have to employ one or two IT people. And, if we did that, our skills would be limited whereas with ICON we’ve got access to a range of people with different skills.”

Expansion possibilities
That capability should also be useful for HL Plastics in the future. Chambers explains: “We own another six acres at the rear of the building and we asked ICON how we could incorporate the possibility of expansion into the
network.

“ICON staff made sure our solution could cope with that and, if necessary, we could plug-and-play any future capability. He concludes: “As well as all those advantages, ICON delivered the solution on time, within budget and we have had no problems. We now know that we made a good choice.”