Carter Synergy case study

Responsive data network for a responsive market

For a company supplying goods and services to some of the UK’s top supermarkets and retailers, any failures in communication could spell significant problems. So, when developing a telecoms infrastructure to deal with the demands of their business and their customers, it was important that Carter Synergy got it right first time. ntl:Telewest Business was there to help.

Carter Synergy has been designing and installing refrigeration equipment since 1945. A true turnkey operation, the firm also services and maintains these commercial and industrial units once installed. With three regional offices employing more than 300 staff across the UK, and over 100 mobile engineers out on call, Carter Synergy finds communication is the key to serving customers in the supermarket, food processing, pharmaceutical, hotel and catering industries, as well as in the public sector.

With over 90% of the company’s communications being digital, and with increased traffic and email usage driving up bandwidth requirements, Carter Synergy found its existing data infrastructure was creaking under the pressure. The company looked to ntl:Telewest Business to provide a faster and more cost effective system, capable of handling each different type of electronic communication. We suggested an Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IPVPN) to meet this extra data demand.

IPVPN, an improved and cost effective service

When Carter Synergy turned to us for an outsourced communications system, the requirements were very clear. "Our last data network used frame relay, but it just wasn’t delivering the support and performance that we required," explains John Askew, Group ICT Manager at Carter Synergy. "With our stringent Service Level Agreements we have to get to a site within four hours or face penalties, so we needed an IT infrastructure that matched the service we offer our customers. We looked at what was available in the marketplace and turned to ntl:Telewest Business for an improved, cost effective service."

The fully managed private network

The demands of Carter Synergy’s business and client base meant that our IPVPN system was the perfect choice to manage their data transfer requirements. Capable of connecting any number of sites from just one shared core, the solution uses Private Circuits to carry voice, video, mission-critical and standard data. It also uses a variety of bandwidths from 64 to 155Mbps, giving increased speed,flexibility and scalability.

Increased network efficiency

In all, deployment of the IPVPN system has increased Carter Synergy’s network efficiency by an incredible 400%. "The key benefits have been cost effectiveness and the outsourcing of the network management and maintenance to ntl:Telewest Business," says John, "IPVPN also allows us to future-proof through its ability to carry different types of traffic."

Support you can rely on

Working in such a time sensitive business, Carter Synergy needs to rely on its telecoms provider around the clock. Having just one point of contact with a dedicated and locally based account manager, plus 24 hour access to customer support is therefore crucial.

"With our previous communications supplier we would ring up and speak to what seemed like 50 departments before getting through to the right person," John explains. "With ntl:Telewest Business there’s a single point of contact, a one-stop-shop for our communication requirements. We provide ntl:Telewest Business with information so they can better understand our business and can tailor their support functions to meet our requirements."

What it has made possible

Carter Synergy is now looking to video conferencing to save travel time and costs between its UK wide offices, and the ability to do this over the IPVPN network is very compelling. The company has also recently implemented satellite technology to monitor the exact location of engineers in the field.

Moving forward, scalability is also a key factor in the development of the Carter Synergy network. As one of the fastest growing independent companies in the UK, Carter Synergy needs to be flexible to meet the changing needs of clients and keep pace with the growth of supermarket and retail chains. To do so, Carter Synergy will continue to require our dynamic data network that can be easily upgraded to meet fluctuating bandwidth requirements.