Case Study – Artizian
Contract Catering Company Improves Service and Staff Retention with Dunston Solution
Contract catering company, Artizian, specialises in providing services for blue chip corporate clients including Ernst & Young, Dunhill, and Oglivy – all companies that demand the highest standards. Consequently, Artizian is always looking for ways to improve the quality and responsiveness of its services. In order to provide its staff with remote email access in the field, Artizian sought the advice of Dunston Associates. The result was the installation of Microsoft® Windows® Small Business Server 2003. Remote access to emails and to central files has enabled the company to expand and enhance its services without opening a regional office and it has also permitted staff to work productively from home.
Situation
Artizian is a contract catering company based in Wargrave, Berkshire. It employs 220 people, though only a handful are office based. Alison Robinson, Managing Director explained: “We have just twelve office staff responsible for over two hundred catering staff.”
The company specialises in catering for blue chip corporate clients and has companies such as Ernst & Young, Oglivy, Citrix, Hitachi, BBA and Dunhill on its books. “These clients demand the highest standards of service,” said Robinson. “IT systems that support the needs of the business play a big part in enabling us consistently to deliver the quality services that our clients expect from us.”
If Artizian’s computer system fails, its head office simply grinds to a halt. “All of our accounting systems are computer based for example,” explained Robinson. “We also use Word for administration, perform financial work in Excel, prepare tender presentations in PowerPoint and use Outlook for email. There is virtually no aspect of our work that does not rely on computers.”
In order to support a continuing commitment to customer service, the company needed to introduce mobile email for its staff but found that its existing system was unable to deliver this. “We were looking to introduce this because email was becoming ever more important for customer communications. Maintaining a responsive service increasingly depends on having access to emails from customers and colleagues whilst away from the office,” said Robinson. “Upon investigation, however, it quickly became clear that our current computer systems would not support the remote access to email that we needed.”
Solution
Artizian asked Dunston Associates, their long time IT solution suppliers to advise on how to implement a mobile email solution. “We knew we could trust Dunston. They have always given us sound advice and great service,” explained Robinson. “Dunston recommended that we upgrade to Microsoft Windows® Small Business Server 2003 as this would offer a simple solution to our mobile email requirement and it would give us a lot of other additional capabilities as well. We’ve not been disappointed.”
Benefits
Artizian now has a computer system that supports the needs of the business even better, helping ensure the firm continues to deliver outstanding client service.
A moveable feast – First and foremost, Artizian now has the mobile email solution it needed. By taking advantage of Outlook Web Access, Artizian’s managers can access their email from anywhere with an internet connection. Robinson said: “Our area managers all have laptops and can now access their email when out of the office. They can work anywhere – connecting either from a wireless hotspot or using a built-in GPRS card to connect over the mobile phone network. We were thinking about opening a London office but with the new technology we can offer the same high levels of client service without the additional cost.”
A better balance – Microsoft Small Business Server not only gives staff access to email when out of the office. Using Windows Terminal Server, staff can also gain access to files on the head office server wherever they are working. “It makes maintaining a work-life balance easier,” said Robinson. “We now have staff working from home, which wouldn’t have been possible before.”
“We had a member of staff who went on maternity leave,” explained Robinson. “Because we had Terminal Server, we could offer her the possibility of home working. The technology helps us meet our obligations under government flexible working legislation and it helps us to retain key staff.”
Remote control – Small Business Server also allows Dunston Associates to provide Artizian with technical support remotely, which means that the company can get back in business even quicker if there ever is a problem. “We’ve found the system far more reliable than the old one,” said Robinson. “But if any diagnostics or software maintenance is required, we can just call up Dunston and the work can normally be performed over a telephone link, which is far quicker and cheaper than if someone has to visit us in person.”
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