News
The SAS Group builds converged IP network for Northamptonshire Enterprise
Single ICT infrastructure supports IP telephony, web-based services and multiple email systems of five former government departments
London, 20 November 2006 - The SAS Group, an international provider of IP-based network and communication infrastructure services, today announced that it has successfully designed and built a converged IP network for the newly created Northamptonshire Enterprise, a collaboration of economic development agencies promoting economic growth, inward investment and tourism in the county of Northamptonshire. Connecting more than 40 office-based and remote users, the new network enables the central management of several business critical applications including IP telephony and email, as well as customer facing web-based services, such as location profiling tools, commercial property search tools and interactive maps.
Northamptonshire Enterprise was formed in October 2006 to offer a single point of information for businesses operating in, or looking to invest in, Northamptonshire. Previously, this information could only be accessed by contacting five separate local government departments. The restructure involved the relocation of employees to one central building, so it was vital that Northamptonshire Enterprise could also consolidate the five, previously separate, ICT infrastructures. The SAS Group was selected to scope and build a secure and resilient IP network – combining both wired and wireless technology – that could support the businesses’ existing email and web-based services. The network also needed to permit remote user and visitor access as well as support a new IP telephony system.
“With the creation of Northamptonshire Enterprise we were presented with the complex challenge of merging five completely separate ICT systems onto a single network without jeopardising the delivery of current services; at the same time it was vital to ensure the infrastructure was future-proofed,” said Jane Moch, IT and business performance manager at Northamptonshire Enterprise. “The SAS Group managed the project from start to finish and delivered a secure and centrally managed ICT infrastructure that has cut administration overheads, allows us to work more efficiently and can cope with our future demands as we grow.”
Whilst the new resilient infrastructure is technically more complex than a traditional network, convergence has provided far greater functionality and security for Northamptonshire Enterprise. Employees can easily access email and data remotely and virtual LANs segment network traffic into internal and visitor streams, allowing business-critical communications to be prioritised and secured to a high level. Traffic can be routed across IP, ISDN or DSL connections depending on requirements, and the IP telephony system, Cisco Call Manager Express, is integrated with Microsoft Outlook so that calls are automatically routed to voicemail if the recipient’s Outlook calendar shows they have a live appointment. The security of the IP telephony system is ensured by managed switches, which require the registration of any phone system or handset that is connected to the network. An email cleansing service further bolsters security, by protecting against malware and spam.
The SAS Group designed and installed the entire new converged infrastructure for Northamptonshire Enterprise, bringing together voice and data solutions from BT, Cisco and Microsoft. It has also delivered user and administrator training for staff at Northamptonshire Enterprise and is providing systems maintenance and support on an ongoing basis.
“Network consolidation and the convergence of voice and data systems made financial and administrative sense for Northamptonshire Enterprise, as this allows different functions within the business to operate under a single infrastructure, sharing information, network resource and support systems,” explained Charles Davis, CEO of the SAS Group. “Increasingly, businesses are looking to technology to help them grow, attract investment and differentiate – Northamptonshire Enterprise now has an infrastructure that should support its business strategy for many years to come.”