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University of Reading and their campus Wi-Fi needs

When the University of Reading’s dispersed campus needs Wi-Fi without disruption.

Company Details
University of Reading

The challenge

With a long history traced over 250 years, prior to our installation, the University of Reading had sporadic Wi-Fi across its premises, but with so many of its students and staff using wireless devices such as laptops, mobiles and tablets, Wi-Fi connectivity needed an overhaul.

The campus environment was challenging because of the number and variety of academic and residential buildings involved. This required a considered approach when installing the cabling routes, to navigate the different environments and ensure that the appearance of the properties was unchanged. In short, the cabling had to be almost invisible, without any modification to the buildings.

Our team also had to meet the needs of a number of different stakeholders. Not only the university but also UPP, the company which manages the university’s student accommodation, who had their own requirements for the Wi-Fi installation. The most important desire was a quick deployment with as minimal disruption as possible. The team had to be flexible – such as selecting the times they worked carefully and making as minimal noise as possible – to ensure they met the requirements of the brief.

Our longstanding 15 year relationship with the University of Reading meant that it trusted us with this sensitive installation. We provided a dedicated project manager who was responsible for ensuring the installation was done on time and to specification, while also being on-hand to resolve any issues arising at each of the three campuses. This carefully planned and considered approach to the project is why we continue to be the University of Reading’s framework contractor of choice.

The outcome

Neos Networks installed Wi-Fi throughout the University of Reading’s academic buildings and halls of residences. The two-phase project involved three campuses – London Road and Whiteknights in Reading and Greenlands in Henley – which are made up of a combination of purpose built and older buildings used by the university. Its 17,040 students, 4,000 members of staff and guests now have full use of the Wi-Fi network, ensuring their studies aren’t impinged by poor connectivity.

The installation took four months in total and succeeded in causing as little disruption as possible to students. The team was able to quickly and discretely design, build and set-up the cabling solutions across the various buildings, ensuring that a good Wi-Fi service is available across the entire university.

“We pride ourselves on being a world class university but until now, we’ve been in need of world class Wi-Fi solution to match. While we did have Wi-Fi in the most critical areas, the next generation student is always on the go. They are not only learning with books in front of a desktop computer in their rooms but are also discussing research with their peers. As such, they need to be able to access research and communicate flexibly. Without reliable Wi-Fi across the breadth of the university campus buildings the ability to engage with their studies dynamically was limited, but this has now been rectified thanks to the managed Wi-Fi delivery from Neos Networks. The cutting edge research done at our university is now supported by an environment that is also at the top of its game.”

Paul Harding, Project Manager at the University of Reading’s Estates and Facilities Department

About the University of Reading

The University of Reading is ranked in the top one percent of universities in the world. It is a global University that enjoys a world-class reputation for teaching, research and enterprise.

The University was established in 1892, received its Royal Charter in 1926 and has developed into a leading force in British and international high education. Delivering a world-class student experience, research-led teaching and its graduate employability record is excellent. The number of students going on to higher level study is well above the national average.

 

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Mother Technologies and its network coverage needs

When Mother Technologies needed to boost capacity and broaden its UK network coverage.

The challenge

From its head office in Aberdeen, Europe’s oil and gas capital, Mother Technologies is a well-established IT and telecoms provider. Having served the Aberdeen market for the last 12 years, Mother Technologies has gone from strength to strength, recently expanding across Scotland with new offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow. As well as focusing on strengthening its presence in the country and deepening existing customer relationships, Mother Technologies also needed a high capacity connection to London in order to meet the growing needs of its new and existing customers throughout the UK.

The outcome

Traditionally an IT support and connectivity provider, in recent years Mother Technologies has broadened its remit with a range of cloud hosting services and has seen a significant increase in demand as a result. In the midst of an influx of client requirements, Mother Technologies had almost exhausted its existing network capacity and with demand for its services growing among new and existing customers, the company called upon its network partner of choice, Neos Networks.

To deliver the additional capacity needed to support further growth in Scotland and throughout the UK, Neos Networks upgraded Mother Technologies’ core network between London and Aberdeen. The new 1Gbps connection enables the firm to rapidly respond to customer demands, while ensuring a UK-wide network is available to serve local businesses and support the company’s growth nationwide.

The upgrade has also helped Mother Technologies connect its newly opened offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, strengthening the company’s presence within Scotland.

Key to Mother Technologies’ decision to enlist Neos Networks’ help with the network upgrade was the strong existing relationship between the two companies. Neos Networks’ dedicated account director was on hand throughout the deployment to ensure the upgrade was completed swiftly and that any challenges were overcome with ease.

“As any rapidly growing business will tell you, having a scalable and ultra-reliable network in place is paramount. We now have the peace of mind that we can continue to grow our customer base without our network capacity impeding the level of service we’re able to provide. Having recently expanded our presence in Scotland – with new offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow – the upgrade of our backbone network between our headquarters in Aberdeen and London has helped us to continue delivering reliable services right across Scotland, while ensuring that we can also meet the needs of customers across the UK. Our excellent relationship with Neos Networks gave us the confidence that our network would be upgraded quickly and easily by the same team that we have trusted for many years to deliver.”

Steve Redhead, Managing Director of Mother Technologies

About Mother Technologies

Mother Technologies has been delivering streamlined IT and communication systems across Scotland since 2002. Headquartered in Aberdeen and with branches in Edinburgh and Glasgow, the company provides Cloud, Connectivity, Telecom and IT services to private and public organisations of all sizes.

With fully qualified engineers covering both IT and communication networks, they expertly support existing systems already in place, or provide solutions which allow customers to take advantage of the latest technology cost effectively.

For more information, please visit https://www.mother.uk.net

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Starcom Technologies and its core data centre connectivity needs

When Starcom needs to light up London, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Company Details
Starcom Technologies

The challenge

Starcom offers a range of managed services, cloud services, backup, disaster recovery and consultancy services to its customers, predominantly from its Edinburgh-based data centre but also from key sites in London and Manchester. Following a recent merger with K3 Hosting, Starcom needed to accommodate an expanded customer base while also supporting its continued organic growth. This required Starcom to boost the capacity of its network interconnects between its three core data centres to meet growing demands from both new and existing customers.

London, Manchester and Edinburgh are integral to Starcom’s business. With a presence in more than 65 data centres throughout the UK, we are well placed to help Starcom and our optical networking service, LIGHTNOW – which virtualises 23 leading London data centres and nine in Manchester with affordable 1 and 10Gbps Ethernet wavelengths – made us an ideal fit for a crucial part of the deployment.

The outcome

Starcom initially approached us to install a single Gbps point-to-point circuit between its data centres in Edinburgh and London. However, after an in-depth consultation with our network experts, Starcom opted for a 10Gbps network ring between its Edinburgh data centre and its core facilities in London and Manchester, which are now connected with our high-speed and ultra-resilient optical wavelength network. In doing so, Starcom has dramatically increased the capacity of its backhaul network at an equally competitive rate as its initial requirement. The new network ring is not only providing enhanced reliability and availability, the subsequent efficiency savings are also enabling Starcom to become a more competitive player by passing on economies of scale to its own customers.

Availability and reliability were top of Starcom’s list of priorities. Being renowned as a trusted network provider for keeping the lights on for our parent company, the SSE Group, was therefore an important factor in Starcom’s decision, as was the ongoing investment in our network – including the launch of phase two of Project Edge, dubbed ‘Edge 2’. Our online price comparison engine, LIVEQUOTE, which compares and analyses Ethernet quotes from major UK carriers as well as Neos Networks, also allows Starcom to find and provision network services for its customers in real-time and at the most cost-effective price possible.

“Neos Networks has enabled us to improve efficiency and cost effectively increase the capacity of our backhaul network, but most importantly it has given us the peace of mind that comes from a truly resilient and diverse network circuit. Our customers will now benefit from improved disaster recovery and high availability services, which were the fundamental business drivers for the project. As for the implementation itself, our dedicated account team did a brilliant job in ensuring that everything ran smoothly and on time. We view this as just the beginning of a longstanding relationship with Neos Networks as our trusted network partner of choice.”

Craig Bright, IT Infrastructure Manager, Starcom

About Starcom

Starcom is a managed services and hosting specialist. With more than 25 years’ experience providing on-premise and cloud server design and support, it has a unique combination of skills, experience and ability to help businesses of all sizes, from SMEs to blue chip organisations.

 

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Commsworld supporting major festivals in Scotland

When Commsworld needs to keep major festivals and sporting events online without fail.

The challenge

Commsworld – which acquired Fluency Communications, a startup business-only network operator, in 2012 – has enjoyed significant success in recent years. While demand for bandwidth has grown exponentially, so too has the installed base on the Fluency network, which now includes a number of popular events. In fact, Commsworld supplies internet connectivity to festivals – including the Edinburgh Festival – and world famous, highly prestigious sporting events taking place in Scotland and beyond. Such large events typically require vast amounts of bandwidth and with the UK’s major internet hubs situated in London and Manchester, ensuring reliable connectivity to these cities was crucial for Commsworld’s ongoing success.

In order to accommodate peaks in demand for its services, such as over the summer when events are in full swing, Commsworld needed the ability to rapidly scale the capacity of its major national network connections, and therefore needed an ultra-flexible network provider on-board.

The outcome

The summer can be a busy time for any company that counts major sporting events and festivals among its clientele. This was certainly the case for Neos Networks’ customer, Commsworld. Indeed, it’s at times of peak demand that Commsworld has reaped the most rewards of having a flexible backhaul provider on-board.

Commsworld’s ‘Fluency’ network, which it acquired in 2012, was originally built to deliver voice and data connectivity to enterprises in Scotland with the rest of the UK. While the company has invested heavily in expanding its Fluency network into Scotland’s largest cities, it needed to ensure its connections into London and Manchester were capable of supporting the increasing bandwidth requirements of even its most demanding clients in the events industry.

In order to guarantee its customers had access to fast and ultra-reliable dedicated internet access, Commsworld relied on Neos Networks’ expertise to increase the capacity of its optical wavelengths quickly, without compromising the quality of the service. While lead times for higher capacity services can take up to 90 days, Neos Networks completed the latest project initiative within just a week, giving Commsworld the confidence that the connectivity requirements of its sporting venue customers would be met in plenty of time. Commsworld now benefits from far greater capacity on its national backhaul routes between Edinburgh, London and Manchester. This extra capacity not only accommodates organic growth it also enables Commsworld to seamlessly cope with peaks in demand from major events without risking downtime.

Fully committed to operating a diverse network, which protects its customers from the risk of downtime, Commsworld’s core backhaul links are purely optical and the company has a fierce dedication to keep latency as low as is physically possible. This was key to its selection of trusted network provider, Neos Networks’ low latency optical networking services.

Neos Networks has successfully delivered optical wavelength services and dark fibre network connectivity solutions for the Fluency network for many years and this good, longstanding relationship gave Commsworld the confidence that its latest networking requirements would be met with ease.

“Having worked closely with Neos Networks for many years, we were confident that scaling our optical network as and when needed would be quick and painless. Indeed, summer 2015 has been an excellent example of how Neos Networks ticks all of the boxes for us. With one of the most significant Scottish-based sporting events on the calendar and the Edinburgh Festival to contend with, we were able to almost immediately scale two of our major national network connections to deliver the impeccable level of service that our customers have come to expect from us.” “As for the network team itself, our account director has been excellent, but we can also call on the expertise of Neos Networks as a whole and so have experienced the best of both worlds when it comes to customer service and delivery.”

Charlie Boisseau, CTO of Commsworld

About Commsworld

Commsworld, founded in 1994, is Scotland’s leading Telecommunications Network Provider, providing customers with a full range of integrated communications solutions.

In October 2012 Commsworld acquired Edinburgh based ISP Fluency, diversifying the business by allowing it to operate its own network to bring next generation connectivity to businesses across Scotland. Since the acquisition the firm has grown exponentially and added 2000 circuits onto the network to offer its clients a fast, reliable and robust alternative to the larger operators.

 

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Brewin Dolphin and its three 100Mb internet circuits

When financial services firm Brewin Dolphin needs fast yet rock solid connectivity for customers and staff.

The challenge

With a long history traced over 250 years, Brewin Dolphin has 28 offices throughout the UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands and employs just under 500 fully qualified investment managers and financial planners. Due to the nature of its business and the security requirements of the data it holds, Brewin Dolphin looked to separate its internal corporate internet access with the connection offered to guests and customers in reception and meeting areas. In so doing, Brewin Dolphin can allow a seamless connection, without compromising on data security.

The firm has a long-term outlook and was also in the process of enabling greater mobility for its workforce. Brewin Dolphin’s IT department needed to ensure that its staff had access to ultra-reliable and fast Wi-Fi from a host of mobile devices. Indeed, not only was it important for the company to provide rock solid Wi-Fi connectivity to its customers and other guests, it also needs to deliver for its staff, ensuring that they could get online rapidly regardless of their location or chosen device.

The outcome

With Neos Networks, Brewin Dolphin, one of the largest investment management and financial planning firms in the UK, now delivers ultra-reliable, high-speed Wi-Fi connectivity to its customers, guests and staff at three of its largest UK offices in London, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

Given the high value information held by financial services firms, we helped Brewin Dolphin to separate its mission critical business data, from less sensitive information, while at the same time offering a secure, yet seamless guest Wi-Fi connection. Crucially, its customers are therefore able to access data on-demand from their device of choice, without this impacting the security of Brewin’s corporate network.

Within just six weeks and against ambitious delivery time frames, due to a number of internal projects that were running concurrently, our dedicated account team implemented three 100Mb internet circuits to Brewin’s busiest sites. This was our first engagement with Brewin Dolphin, the project ran smoothly, due in part to the excellent working relationship between the two teams.

Brewin Dolphin now benefits from an industry leading solution that ensures its guest Wi-Fi network is ultra-reliable and fast; they have also benefited from Neos Networks’ full service wrap and the expertise of our dedicated account team throughout the course of the implementation.

Following the success of the internet installations, in the challenging timescales, future projects are now on the horizon, conversations are ongoing with regards to how Neos Networks can help Brewin with its ongoing network requirements.

About Brewin Dolphin

Brewin Dolphin’s success is founded on its long track record of helping private clients, trusts, charities and pension funds to create and preserve wealth. Its rich heritage goes back two and a half centuries, to one of the founding firms of the London Stock Exchange.

Brewin Dolphin is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and has a Premium Listing on the London Stock Exchange – this is the most stringent form of listing available in terms of financial, governance and regulatory requirements. The Group is a member of the Wealth Management Association and broking firm trade associations.

In order to make our new end-user tech strategy a reality, we needed the new infrastructure to be in place quickly. We shopped around for our internet requirements and found Neos Networks’ proposition extremely competitive. We were also upfront about the extremely tight time frames that we were working to and were reassured by the team that the circuits would be delivered to our schedule. We pride ourselves on providing a high-quality of service to our customers and staff and needed to ensure that the new Wi-Fi connections were in place on time to meet their needs. “We’re pleased to say that the whole process ran smoothly. Having a dedicated account team on-hand was key to ensuring that our ambitious timescales were met. Now that the solution is in place and in use, Neos Networks has certainly lived up to its reputation for reliability. As our first project together, it has definitely been a positive experience, so much so, that we’re currently considering further projects with the team.

“In order to make our new end-user tech strategy a reality, we needed the new infrastructure to be in place quickly. We’re pleased to say that the whole process ran smoothly. Having a dedicated account team on-hand was key to ensuring that our ambitious timescales were met. Without Neos Networks we wouldn’t be able to provide such resilient connectivity at such a cost efficient price for our clients in Aberdeen and across the UK. This has meant that they are in tune with our needs and the demands of our customers. We fully trust their advice and have complete confidence in their networking expertise. The team hasn’t yet been in a position where they can’t deliver the connectivity services we need and we’re confident that this will remain the case in the future.”

Gavin Martin, Head of IT infrastructure at Brewin Dolphin

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Converged and its UK connectivity needs

When Converged needs complete UK-wide connectivity.

Company Details
Converged Communications

The challenge

Converged offers its customers – which range from sole traders to organisations with 1,000+ employees – IT support, telephone systems and Internet connections. With many of its clients in critical industries, Aberdeen being home to the UK oil and gas industry, Converged has a duty to ensure its clients get not only the best value for money but also the most reliable service possible across the UK. It is by working with Neos Networks that Converged can deliver such breadth of coverage, quality of service and peace of mind.

What’s more, with the Government’s Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme (CVS), Converged is seeing a growth in demand to connect larger networks for its customers. Neos Networks can deliver this thanks to its recent Project Edge investment, where it significantly expanded its network footprint in the UK, now covering more than 13,700km. The project culminated in Edge Plus, a service that means Neos Networks can even deliver connectivity beyond its network footprint as it integrates with other leading network providers.

The outcome

Thanks to its partnership with Neos Networks, Aberdeen-based Converged Communication Solutions can now offer a reliable and cost efficient network to its clients that stretches right across the UK. Even where the Neos Networks network doesn’t reach, the use of our LIVEQUOTE tool means that Converged can quickly identify other networks and ensure its customers are getting the most cost-efficient and resilient service possible. Converged, utilising backbone links from Neos Networks, now offers 200 times more bandwidth to its customers than it did when the companies first joined forces. Thanks to the growth in demand, the majority of these circuits now have a gigabit capacity and beyond.

As a result of this trusted eight-year relationship with Neos Networks, Converged has been able to renew its contract with its biggest customer, international engineering consultancy Xodus Group, to increase its network capacity by ten times on its core lengths during the next three years.

Converged relies on Neos Networks for its own backbone links from London to Aberdeen and benefits from Neos Networks’ end-to-end service.

“Without Neos Networks we wouldn’t be able to provide such resilient connectivity at such a cost efficient price for our clients in Aberdeen and across the UK. As we both share Scottish roots, we’re pleased to have grown alongside Neos Networks and been able to facilitate the growth of our customers, such as Xodus Group.

What’s more, despite our lengthy relationship with Neos Networks, we have only ever had to deal with one team. This has meant that they are in tune with our needs and the demands of our customers. We fully trust their advice and have complete confidence in their networking expertise. The team hasn’t yet been in a position where they can’t deliver the connectivity services we need and we’re confident that this will remain the case in the future.”

Neil Christie, Technical Director at Converged Communication Solutions

About Converged Communication Solutions

Converged was formed in 2005 with the aim of providing a service driven by cost-effectiveness, excellence and accountability within the ICT sector. It has grown from a two-man operation into a fully integrated communication company employing 22 members of staff, offering a single point of contact for businesses’ internet, networking, telephony and IT support requirements. The company is based in Aberdeen and is a key provider of Aberdeen to London networking links.

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Safehosts and its data centre connection to London

When Safehosts needs connectivity to London in the blink of an eye.

The challenge

Being located in Cheltenham, yet needing such a resilient and high capacity connection to London proved to be quite a challenge. It’s paramount that Safehosts’ gaming and media customers have a fast and reliable connection and, as such, when choosing a network between London and Cheltenham, it needed to guarantee that latency and jitter were at a minimum.

A competitive tender proved that alternatives either didn’t have the technical capabilities of Neos Networks – notably the ability to guarantee the level of bandwidth available – or were vastly more expensive. It was Neos Networks’ ability to offer this combination of technical expertise, security and peace of mind that ultimately won out.

The outcome

We delivered a 10Gbps optical wavelength to Safehosts’ Cheltenham data centre connecting it to Telehouse North in London. The uncontested connection means that Safehosts is secure in the knowledge that there will be no capacity constraints and that they have mitigated the risk of downtime. Instead, it can be completely confident that the level of bandwidth paid for, is the level of bandwidth available at all times. This is particularly important for its gaming and media clients, which in such data heavy industries, often struggle to get the network performance required to ensure end users have a seamless experience.

The project began with an initial lower bandwidth installation and then, a year later, this was upgraded to the current 10Gbps connection. Scalability is extremely important for Safehosts and it not only needs enterprise-grade capacity, but it needs to deliver this reliably. Essentially, the network needs to be as fast and reliable at 10Gbps as it was at 1Gbps, and this is where Neos Networks applied its experience and technical expertise in dealing with large enterprises and critical industries. Indeed, as the data centre continues to grow, it plans to utilise Neos Networks’ ability to scale even further, and DWDM equipment has already been installed on the network; ensuring that Safehosts has future proofed its network to support such a high bandwidth, high power data centre, long into the future.

In addition to the network capabilities, the installation was also extremely important. The project was successfully completed on time and to the specification demanded, thanks to Neos Networks’ ability to provide visibility and flexibility throughout the negotiation and delivery phases.

“Thanks to Neos Networks’ high-capacity, ultra-resilient network, we can uniquely offer technical excellence to our customers 100km out of London. It is the reliable service that we value so much from Neos Networks. We can be confident that our customers receive the same, quality connectivity service today, as they did yesterday and as they will tomorrow. As we like to say, with us and Neos Networks, you can get to London and back in the blink of an eye – or sub four milliseconds!”

Dave Cartwright,Sales Director, Safehosts

About Safehosts

Safehosts owns and operates a carrier neutral, low PuE data centre in Cheltenham, Gloucester. It provides hosting and co-location services to end users in the South West, and has a national base of channel partners who require rack space outside of London. The offering is tailored towards users requiring high bandwidth and high power density.

In addition to the core co-location business, Safehosts uses its national network to provide a range of managed services, dedicated internet access, leased lines, IP transit, and DDoS scrubbing and mitigation services.

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Marston’s Telecoms and its core optical network

When brewery-owned Marston’s Telecoms needs to serve up an ultra-resilient UK network.

The challenge

Marston’s Telecoms is the telecoms business behind the country’s most loved brewer, Marston’s PLC. From its humble beginnings as a reseller of services, it has developed into a thriving service provider, specialising in delivering Broadband, Ethernet, Hosted VoIP, Telephony and Wi-Fi services to the hospitality industry over its carrier-grade MPLS network.

In order for Marston’s Telecoms to deliver guaranteed connectivity to its growing customer base –particularly in the hospitality sector and, indeed, for Marston’s own pub network – it needed to establish a highly secure and resilient infrastructure. As a result, Marston’s Telecoms looked to upgrade its three-tiered 1Gbps network to offer greater capacity.

Marston’s Telecoms chose us to deliver its network expansion due to our reliable and robust network, our service delivery assurances and excellent reputation and commercial terms.

The outcome

We upgraded Marston’s Telecoms’ existing network with our LIGHTNOW service, delivering three affordable 10Gbps wavelengths, providing a scalable, resilient foundation for Marston’s Telecoms’ core network and managed service platforms. The solution was rapidly deployed and Marston’s Telecoms was able to call upon its own dedicated account manager and single point of contact throughout the whole deployment process.

What’s more, while alternative solutions from other providers were not as commercially viable compared with the attractive proposition put forward by Neos Networks, our solution has reduced operational costs, enabling Marston’s Telecoms to pass on the cost savings to its own customers. And of course, with our help, Marston’s Telecoms not only benefits from competitive prices; it’s also safe in the knowledge that its network partner of choice is a trusted provider. Indeed, the fact that Marston’s Telecoms now runs its core network over our infrastructure demonstrates the level of confidence placed in our network.

Marston’s Telecoms is also making use of Neos Networks’ extensive network expansion, dubbed Project Edge, which concluded in Edge Plus, a service which allows companies to interconnect with other leading network providers beyond the Neos Networks’ network footprint. Neos Networks’ online price comparison engine, LIVEQUOTE, which compares and analyses Ethernet quotes from other major UK carriers as well as Neos Networks, allows Marston’s Telecoms to find and provision network services for customers in real time at the most cost effective price possible.

“In order to deliver a fail-safe solution to UK businesses, as well as our own core network, we needed to create a highly secure and reliable infrastructure. We take pride in offering a resilient network built on a foundation of connections, which enables us to offer the best in network failovers. That’s why we looked for a trusted network partner to facilitate our growth as a managed service provider. Neos Networks’ reputation and its extensive network footprint, combined with its ability to interconnect with other carriers, were paramount to our decision. We view this as the start of a long and strategic relationship with Neos Networks – our partner of choice for all of our ongoing optical and Ethernet requirements.”

Rob Derbyshire, Operations Manager, Marston’s Telecom at Marston’s PLC

About Marston’s Telecoms

Marston’s Telecoms is the telecoms business behind the country’s most loved brewer, Marston’s PLC. Launched in 2008, the business has evolved with the technology. Originally a humble reseller of services, we now can offer everything you’d expect from a telecommunications supplier. We offer Broadband, Ethernet, Hosted VoIP, Private WANs, Telephony and Wi-Fi to business customers and the channel and all are delivered over our carrier-grade MPLS network.

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SGN and its telecoms infrastructure

When SGN needs to keep 5.8 million people cooking on gas.

The challenge

SGN needed a solution that would support its critical gas control network and connect its main sites, from which it monitors and controls the flow of gas across Scotland and Southern England. Added to which, SGN was looking to connect 40 depots and 62 hilltop and offtake sites. Due to the mission critical nature of the services that SGN delivers to its customers, network availability was a key deciding factor when originally choosing a network provider – something for which Neos Networks is renowned.

SGN also required a flexible telecoms infrastructure that could meet its changing requirements. Whether this is in terms of fast reactions from the dedicated telecoms team, to glean insight on the network for example, or the ability to quickly scale up network capacity, being able to adapt the Neos Networks service is critical for SGN to meet its own customers’ needs.

The outcome

Our reputation gave SGN the peace of mind that we have an in-depth understanding of the industry and are able to meet its evolving business needs. This means a telecoms infrastructure that can keep its 5.8 million customers connected without fail.

Due to the success of our ongoing relationship, SGN awarded Neos Networks a new contract to deliver extended WAN and LAN services to connect the company’s core gas control sites in Horley and Horsham. Our Ethernet services also now connect 40 SGN depots and our layer three packet network links 62 hilltop and offtake sites. As part of this project, we also deliver telemetry services – which enable SGN to manage, communicate and transfer critical and regulatory information between its core locations – as well as providing and managing its critical telephony connectivity services.

Paramount to SGN selecting Neos Networks in the competitive tender this time around was the bespoke service wrap and dedicated telecoms team we could offer. By allocating a highly qualified and attentive team to the project, SGN could be confident that our technical experts were on-hand to identify and resolve any issues, ensuring that not only the network, but the Neos Networks service, is reliable and available at all times.

The solid existing relationship also allowed for excellent collaboration between the Neos Networks team and the internal SGN teams. It resulted in a smooth and quick network review of the newly extended WAN, LAN and added telemetry and telephony services, as well as a flexible service to meet SGN’s requirements. For example, billing accuracy and predictability was extremely important for SGN and the team continue to offer this granularity on a quarterly basis. Neos Networks now delivers the majority of SGN’s WAN and LAN requirements, clear proof of the great relationship between the two companies.

“Due to the nature of the mission critical services we deliver to customers 24/7, working with a trusted provider, that wouldn’t let us down when it came to availability, really was our top priority. Neos Networks’ continued efforts to meet this expectation throughout our time working together made it a clear choice for our latest network requirement and the dedicated telecoms team didn’t let us down. Neos Networks offers a level of flexibility and availability that goes above and beyond the confines of our contractual agreement, it takes our changing business needs in its stride, delivering an impressive service that extends to both the network and the people involved. We look forward to continuing the relationship in the future.”

Andrew Quail, Director of IT at SGN

About SGN

SGN provides a safe and secure supply of natural gas to 5.8 million customers.

SGN is the UK’s second largest gas distribution company, operating over 74,000 km of gas mains and services throughout Scotland and the south of England.

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Drum Property Group and modern infrastructure

When Drum Property Group needs a worldclass network to connect Aberdeen’s state-of-the-art business park.

Company Details
Drum Property Group

The outcome

We worked closely with Drum Property Group during the development of Prime Four – a new, international-class business park in Kingswells, Aberdeen – which has been built to provide top quality accommodation for the ever growing number of global oil and gas companies keen to participate in the explosive growth of Aberdeen’s off-shore drilling industry. To achieve this, the Drum Property Group needed to ensure that the excellent transport links around the Prime Four site were matched by next generation digital connectivity, with a state-of-the-art telecoms infrastructure.

Following a rigorous assessment of the market, Drum Property Group selected Neos Networks’ network to deliver high bandwidth services to the growing number of organisations that are choosing to locate in the park, which is essential to ensure that all are able to compete in the global economy. For instance, we deliver a range of services, from dark fibre connectivity to high bandwidth Internet access, to firms including Apache North Sea Ltd and Transocean Drilling UK Ltd, who have established offices in the development.

With our network in place, tenants on Prime Four will also benefit from telecoms supplier diversity, with the added benefit of increased flexibility, competition and vastly improved reliability, as the park previously relied upon a sole incumbent provider.

The solution

In the early stages of development, a key consideration for Drum Property Group was to provide Aberdeen with an innovative, high quality office development in a peri-urban location that would attract inward investment. We worked closely with Drum Property Group to understand its requirements in achieving this goal – ensuring that the Prime Four business park would be the premier venue for many international companies – and in 2011, we began a detailed initial design and concept stage.

The network rollout followed shortly thereafter and Neos Networks’ high-bandwidth, high-availability fibre network solutions are now readily available to each and every property in all new phases of the park’s development. Our high-capacity, Next Generation Network is even attracting organisations from telecoms-challenged rural locations to re-locate to the area. Indeed, through our flexible and scalable solution, we are able to deliver Ethernet and Internet connectivity services at up to 40Gb per connection, which can be tailored to meet the specific needs of individual businesses in the park. Additionally, we will provide the telecoms supplier diversity that is crucial to the long-term success of the park and its tenants.

“Our key requirement for the Prime Four development was to secure the very best network reach and Internet access in order to deliver a high-capacity, next generation business park. Neos Networks has helped us to transform the site into a central business hub, attracting large international oil and gas companies to relocate to the park from other areas. With such a trusted and experienced provider, we are confident that we are able to continually deliver a high quality service to all new and existing companies, without fear of downtime.”

Graeme Bone, Group Managing Director of Drum Property Group

About Drum Property Group

Drum Property Group is a privately owned group of companies developing state-of-the-art buildings and environments for people to work and live in. The Group is active throughout the UK across a wide range of projects, and prides itself on a dynamic approach to property development and investment.

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University of Law and its VPLS Ethernet platforms

When the University of Law needed a breakthrough in connected learning.

Company Details
The University of Law

The challenge

At the very heart of the University of Law’s requirement was the need to support tutors and students with always-on, performance optimised inter-site connectivity and Internet access. The speed of the network should facilitate, not restrict, the growing collaborative needs of the students and as a globally visible institution, the reputation of the university should be protected from embarrassing service outages.

We worked closely with the university to understand its current needs as well as its long-term aims. To meet these requirements, we delivered a VPLS solution, a high bandwidth network offering an initial 500Mb to every site, and an Internet service that rapidly scales to meet growing international demand for the university’s courses.

One of the main reasons that Neos Networks was selected – in addition to the trust we had earned as network service provider for the university for the previous five years, was the recent investment made by Neos Networks in “Project Edge” – a programme designed to greatly increase the service reach, capacity and service feature set for its VPLS Ethernet platform, cementing the position of the firm as the high bandwidth service provider of choice for the UK’s leading businesses and institutions. The design of the service, its in-built flexibility, and the service levels offered around this were also crucial to the University of Law during its rigorous selection process.

As the face of modern education continues to change, our five year relationship with the university will see us provide a personalised service, offering ongoing advice and technical expertise to ensure that its staff and students are getting the very best from the solution.

The outcome

We worked with the University of Law to deliver a completely new Ethernet networking solution that would support researchers, students and lecturers at its sites in Birmingham, Bristol, Chester, Guildford, London Bloomsbury, London Moorgate, Manchester and York. Our Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS), Ethernet wide area networking service and flexible Internet access enables the University’s staff and students to communicate as though they were all on the same campus – an essential requirement for the world’s leading professional law school.

We provided a VPLS solution, delivering high bandwidth, high availability connectivity between all eight sites, allowing students and lecturers to collaborate and learn together, wherever they might be based. The new Internet access services support the collaborative nature of the law school’s approach, facilitating learning partnerships with leading law firms across the globe. The agility of our solution was also important to the university as it is relocating its site in York to Leeds in 2014, in order to be at the centre of the thriving legal community in the city. Our flexible, high bandwidth VPLS network topology will seamlessly accommodate the transition of students and staff from one location to the other during the move and well into the future.

“As the world’s leading professional law school, trusted by members of the legal profession for over 100 years, we had high expectations from the outset. We required a high bandwidth, high availability connectivity solution that would allow us to connect our facilities across the UK, ensuring that all staff and students had access to essential resources and information around the clock, without fail. As a result, we needed a solution that was scalable enough to support the sometimes unpredictable and rapidly growing demand for our services from collaborators across the globe. The flexibility of Neos Networks’ solution provides us with the confidence that our needs are not only met now, but also in the future, which will be crucial for us as we re-locate from York to Leeds.”

Paul Day, Acting CIO at The University of Law

About The University of Law

For law students and legal service providers across the globe, The University of Law is the leading international professional law school.

For over 100 years, the University of Law – formerly the College of Law – has been helping lawyers achieve their professional ambitions. The world’s leading professional law school’s proven learning approach and international connections deliver client-focused lawyers, ready to meet the needs of today’s fast-paced, global legal services market.

The University of Law is the destination of choice for current and future lawyers who want to maximise their career prospects.

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EMBL-EBI and data backup services

When EMBL-EBI needs to share breakthrough scientific data without interruption.

Company Details
EMBL-EBI

The outcome

We helped the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), which provides vast quantities of freely available life science data, by delivering a business solution that backs up its most important data in a reliable and cost-effective environment.

As part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), EMBL-EBI is financed primarily by European Member States, the European Commission and major funding bodies in the UK and US. EMBL-EBI develops and maintains the world’s most comprehensive range of public life science databases, enabling researchers to analyse and share scientific information. Our well-connected data centre in Duxford, Cambridgeshire ensures that all data is backed up securely, even in the event of a natural disaster.

Our solution meets EMBL-EBI’s immediate needs, and is scalable enough to support its future space and communications requirements. So, when EMBL-EBI needs to ensure continuous service to the scientific community without fail, we don’t let them down.

The Neos Networks solution

The immense volume of information fuelling work in life science research and development is on a par with the data generated at CERN (The European Organisation for Nuclear Research), so reliable backup is an absolute necessity for EMBL-EBI’s data centres. When the organisation looked for a dependable backup and connectivity solution for its Hinxton data centre, it turned to Neos Networks.

We worked closely with the laboratory to define its specific needs before designing a solution that would deliver against those requirements. There are millions of researchers depending on these services, so it was clear that we would need resilient connectivity routes to link the Neos Networks data centre in Duxford to the EMBL-EBI data centre on the Genome Campus in Hinxton.

One of the main reasons EMBL-EBI chose Neos Networks for this three-year contract was the company’s long-standing, proven ability to deliver uninterruptable, high-density power to EMBL-EBI’s 20 racks.

“We pride ourselves on helping researchers in academia and industry to make the most of the incredible amount of data being produced every day in life science experiments – with the ultimate goal of advancing biology through basic investigator-driven research. As such, it was very important to us that any supplier that we work with echoes this commitment to service delivery, innovation and professionalism. In these respects, Neos Networks ticked all of our boxes.”

Mark Green, Head of Administration, EMBL-EBI

About EMBL-EBI

The European Bioinformatics Institute is part of EMBL, Europe’s flagship laboratory for the life sciences. EMBL-EBI provides freely available data from life science experiments covering the full spectrum of molecular biology. While it is best known for the provision of bioinformatics services, about 20 percent of the institute is devoted to basic research. EMBL-EBI’s extensive training programme helps researchers in academia and industry to make the most of the incredible amount of data being produced every day in life science experiments.

 

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Fred.Olsen and wind farm connectivity

When Fred.Olsen needs wind farm connectivity that’s a breeze.

Company Details
Fred.Olsen

The challenge

The first major challenge we encountered over the course of the project was centred on the location of the control room, which would connect Fred.Olsen’s remote wind farms. During the development and planning stage, the team recognised that the location originally chosen for the room was not suitable due to ground conditions, so needed to be moved by more than one hundred metres. We were quick to alter the plan and even re-submitted a second planning application on behalf of Fred.Olsen.

The wind farms are surrounded by forest – a landscape that is undergoing constant change – so we decided to conduct not one, but two, line-of-sight tests before installing the radio link. The results of these tests led us to reconfigure the structure that would house the radio link and meant we also needed to conduct a further ground survey to ensure it could support the newly designed tower. By thinking on our feet, we were actually able to significantly reduce the size of the tower and once again managed the entire planning application on Fred. Olsen’s behalf.

While these alterations and additional planning applications were in progress, our attention turned to ensuring that the Internet access for the site was pre-configured and tested well in advance of delivery. Our local project manager also made sure the telecom tower and the radio link were built and installed simultaneously, which meant that in spite of the planning change, both Mid Hill and Rothes II wind farms were connected well ahead of schedule.

The outcome

We understand better than anyone just how important fail-safe connectivity is for wind farms; after all, any downtime could impact power generation. We pride ourselves on reliability and are trusted to “keep the lights on” by a diverse commercial customer base, as well as by our parent company, the SSE Group. That is why Fred.Olsen turned to us to connect its two remote wind farms in the Scottish Highlands; Mid Hill and Rothes II.

To ensure the success of the implementation, we allocated a dedicated project manager with specialist local knowledge to work closely with Fred.Olsen to create a bespoke solution that would deliver unfailing microwave connectivity to both sites, with 4Mb capacity and Internet access. During the project we overcame a number of unique challenges, yet – because of the expertise of the team involved – still delivered a solution that was in place and fully operational by October 2013, a whole two months ahead of schedule. This is a testament to the excellent work of our project management team, who were on-hand to quickly and effectively resolve any problems as they arose.

“Connectivity is crucial to any wind farm and this can be particularly challenging in remote locations. We needed a provider that understood these challenges and could deliver a truly fail-safe solution to guarantee the day-to-day operation of our wind farms. Neos Networks’ heritage and wind farm experience gave us the confidence that we had chosen a provider with the ability to deliver the level of assurance that is so vital to our business. The level of service and local knowledge provided by our own dedicated project manager was exceptional and they certainly did a great job in ensuring all challenges were resolved with ease.”

Øyvind Lund, VP construction, Fred.Olsen Ltd.

About Fred.Olsen

Established in the UK in 1963, Fred.Olsen Ltd.’s business interests primarily focus on renewable energy, forest management and travel. Based in the UK, but operating globally, the brand’s aim is to build a reputation based on innovation, service and dependability. The company’s origins trace back to 1848, when three Norwegian brothers founded an international shipping business. Subsequent growth and diversification today sees the organisation consisting of several public companies, based in Norway as well as Fred.Olsen Ltd., based here in the UK. Now in the fifth generation of the family, Fred.Olsen related companies cover mostly energy related activities such as shipping, floating production, offshore drilling and renewable energy, as well as cruise, media, real estate and venture capital.

 

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HighNet and converged voice and data services

When business is booming for HighNet’s burgeoning ISP business.

The challenge

Initially established to serve the Highlands of Scotland, HighNet had ambitious plans for business growth. In 2011, the company set out to become a fully-fledged national Internet Service Provider (ISP) and called on Neos Networks to help extend its national network footprint to deliver resilient and scalable solutions – including connectivity, mobile data, disaster recovery and converged voice and data services – to customers across the UK. Three years on and HighNet has achieved its key objective to establish its own successful ISP network, so much so that customer demand had begun to outstrip capacity.

Key to HighNet’s decision to partner with us was our high-capacity UK-wide network and the huge success of the first implementation, which was completed ahead of schedule. As HighNet was confident of the proven quality and reliability of our services, we were the first port of call to deliver the 10Gb core network upgrade needed to continue to grow the business.

The outcome

The geographical reach and speed of our scalable network solution, together with our high-specification, UK-wide co-location facilities, underpin HighNet’s range of enterprise-class services and have played a key part in the impressive growth it has seen over recent years. In fact, in partnership with Neos Networks, HighNet has achieved its ambition to build a private national ISP infrastructure in order to deliver its expanding service portfolio to enterprise customers anywhere in the UK. To make this vision a reality, in 2011, we delivered a high-capacity national virtual private network (VPN), enabling HighNet to broaden its reach from its primary base in Inverness, by co-locating its equipment in key data centre locations including Aberdeen, Edinburgh, London and Manchester.

While the original project was expected to run for five years, HighNet’s objectives were met a year ahead of schedule. This, coupled with a dramatic increase in customer demand for HighNet’s ISP services, prompted its latest requirement to upgrade the network. The 10Gb network capability will not only allow HighNet to support its many new and existing customers; it will also give HighNet the ability to deliver wholesale services and become a network aggregator as well as an ISP.

The upgraded network solution was rapidly provisioned by our highly skilled and experienced team, who go above and beyond, providing a significant amount of support right from the initial deployment stage to the present day. HighNet has benefited from working with the same team from day one and the strong partnership between the two companies has been instrumental in building HighNet’s network from the ground-up.

“Since partnering with Neos Networks in 2011, with the aim of expanding our ISP business, we’ve experienced double digit growth, achieving 17 percent growth over the last year alone. Our initial requirement was for a scalable UK-wide solution, offering the most comprehensive geographical presence possible, to grow our customer base. This has more than been met within four years, which is significantly sooner than we anticipated. Following this great success, we’re keen to ensure that our business continues to grow and we can now be confident that we can keep up with the increased demand from our new and existing customers.”

David Alldrit, Technology and Innovation Director at HighNet

About HighNet

Founded in 1994, HighNet initially marketed call routing services to customers in the Highlands of Scotland and the company has been expanding its service portfolio and geographical reach ever since. Today, HighNet is Scotland’s leading business communications provider, providing access to a wide range of telecoms services, while always ensuring a high level of service and value for money for its customers. The company’s services are sold through more than 120 channel partners across the country.

 

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TalkTalk and reliable connectivity solutions

When TalkTalk need a secure line.

The business requirement

To maintain TalkTalk’s extensive network and provide customers with a reliable and cost-effective service, Neos Networks works closely with TalkTalk to provide data connectivity solutions that help the business.

Neos Networks’ high availability optical connectivity solutions are available throughout the UK, providing TalkTalk with the capability to deliver services to their customers. TalkTalk required a strategic partner that is reliable and financially stable.

The Neos Networks solution

Neos Networks high capacity Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) services offer TalkTalk a bespoke service expansion plan into market-leading next generation broadband throughout the UK. This bespoke approach allows TalkTalk to configure a network that fits the requirement of its customers.

Neos Networks values client relationships and looks to build long term partnerships, working to constantly review and improve process and delivery. This approach is essential to the development of TalkTalk’s network.

Outcome

When choosing a strategic partner, TalkTalk demands service reliability, competitive pricing, network quality and the ability to meet strict timescales.

Throughout the sales process, the implementation and the in-life management of it’s solution, Neos Networks demonstrated that it could meet the criteria.

“Neos Networks is a key supplier for our Next Generation Network, providing excellent support since 2006 with high availability optical services. They have consistently proven themselves in the provision of quality, critical infrastructure and are both small enough to be flexible and big enough to provide strategic nationwide capacity services.”

Graham Bishop, Engineering Director, TalkTalk Technology

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