Griffin Page Consultancy Case Study
August 2003

Remote and flexible access to your business.

1. The symptoms

Griffin Page Consultancy Solutions are a network of freelance ‘Training and Development Consultants,’ servicing the strategic needs of clients across the south of the country.

Freelance Consultants work largely from home, traveling to clients’ premises for meetings and project implementation.

The company has enjoyed rapid growth over the past 18 months, which means that Consultants are now working in pairs, or small teams, to fulfill the needs of larger clients.

Freelance Consultant, Rachel Page comments;

“Initially we could work relatively independently. Regular meetings, telephone calls and email were enough to keep in contact with our Consultants. Now we’re handling much larger clients, sometimes it’s necessary for Consultants to work as a team, contributing to the same set of project documents. We pride ourselves on the provision of cutting edge solutions in training and development. It simply didn’t make sense to bat documents backwards and forwards on email, this method of working was causing unnecessary delays and inefficient working practices.”

2. Why OfficeLink IT?

OfficeLink IT were recommended to Rachel Page by a client based in the South West.

Successful businesses these days have to be fast moving and flexible in approach. Customers simply aren’t prepared to wait for information if you are out on the road, or on a course, or even on holiday! This often means that people need to access important business information from remote locations, other offices, or even motorway service stations!

A Network solution (VPN/LAN) can allow important work to take place remotely by enabling access to a business from just about anywhere, as if you were back behind your desk at the office!

An ‘office’ can be connected to your home, laptop, or another office location. All of this allows a flexible and efficient method of working for your business.

Richard Crabb, Managing Director of OfficeLink IT explains,

“A network solution can have a dramatic impact on the performance of a business as it allows for so much more flexibility, all for a relatively modest budget. A network acts as a private circuit between office locations, and authorised remote users, using the Internet to connect sites together. It is important to use a specialist company, like OfficeLink IT, to provide a network solution, as you need to be confident that the system is secure, offering the latest protection against ‘hackers’ and ‘viruses.’

The Diagnosis

After an initial conversation, OfficeLink IT were able to recommend and install a customized network, which fulfilled all of Griffin Page’s immediate needs, as well as structuring the system in way that will allow for future expansion and adaptation with ease.

A virtual private network (VPN) was installed using the Internet. OfficeLink IT provided a complete service, providing and installing the equipment and software needed to connect each site and laptop securely.

Each authorised user has been given a unique password, and critical business information is protected from ‘hackers’ and ‘viruses’ using the latest software.

3. The prognosis

Griffin Page are planning to expand further, and open a ‘central’ office in Reading. They are currently working closely with OfficeLink IT to ensure that both their network infrastructure and Internet access, are aligned to support growth and enhanced performance.

4. Quotes from New Century Publishing and OfficeLink IT

Rachel Page, Freelance Training & Development Consultant, surmises,

“The network installed by OfficeLink IT has been incredibly easy to use. It has totally revolutionised the way we work as a business. Life is so much simpler now! Nothing goes missing, everything we need is updated instantly, which results in a speedy and efficient service for our clients. It’s marvelous to be able to catch up on things from the comfort of my armchair, after I’ve been out with clients all day. OfficeLink IT took the time to run through all the options, and recommend cost effective solutions, which were installed quickly and efficiently.”

Richard Crabb, Managing Director of OfficeLink IT added,

”It’s a bit of a ‘Catch 22’ situation! Many people in business feel that there simply isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done, never mind looking into a maze of IT solutions! But a network solution can effectively do just that, give you more hours in the day, by allowing you to work from just about anywhere! Our specialists are experienced in recommending and providing network solutions to all sorts and sizes of business. An effective network can have a huge and immediate impact on the performance of a small or medium sized business, often within a relatively modest budget.”

Further details of OfficeLink IT’s range of Internet Solutions and Network Services, can be found at www.officelinkit.com.