About Babcock International Group plc

Babcock is the UK's leading engineering support services organisation, which is also the UK's largest education and training company delivering exceptional training and integrated support services. Babcock's broad capabilities make the company unique, not only because of the groundbreaking partnering agreement in place with the Royal Navy, but also the bespoke services it offers to its customers; training solutions, facilities management and construction.

Defence, energy, telecommunications, transport and education are all sectors where Babcock can be found working diligently behind the scenes, delivering critical support. Its services are underpinned by three core capabilities:

• Managing Assets and Infrastructure
• Delivering Projects and Programmes
• Integrating Engineering Expertise

About HMS Sultan

Babcock looks after six naval training sites in the UK including HMS Sultan. This is the home of the Royal Naval School of Marine Engineering (RNSME) and the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival School (RNAESS) whose primary function is to supply the naval fleet with engineering officers and ratings of the highest quality. Also housed at HMS Sultan is the Admiralty Interview Board, the instrument of officer selection for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines; the Central Air and Admiralty Medical Board (CAAMB); the Naval Aircrew Advisory Board (NAAB) and NMA's Centurion Building. HMS Sultan also provides the Royal Navy's survival, ship husbandry and environmental training. Using the most modern training facilities and procedures, HMS Sultan prepares men and women to operate and maintain the extensive and highly sophisticated range of machinery and equipment found in ships, submarines and aircraft.

Implementing a Wireless Network Solution

HMS Sultan is the largest Royal Navy training site with 179 acres of land within a 3.5 mile parameter. Within this area there are thirty three office blocks which at full capacity can hold three thousand service and civilian personnel. Babcock needed a wireless network solution that could cover this large area and that would ensure all three thousand potential users would have satisfactory wireless access. The solution would also need to meet the necessarily stringent security criteria set by the Royal Navy, and the installation needed to be undertaken with no disruption to day-to-day activities.

"The initial proposal was well received and it clearly demonstrated Equanet's approach and experience in provisioning enterprise Wireless LANs and sub contractor management".
John Brewster, Project Manager, Babcock International Group PLC

Choosing Equanet as the partner to deliver

Babcock had been working with Equanet for five years before this project was initiated. The in-house team at Babcock wanted to work with an IT partner they could trust to deliver a robust and secure wireless network solution which would be delivered on budget and on schedule. They approached Equanet to tender for the provision of Cisco IP WLANs. Equanet assigned a project team led by a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) accredited engineer who initially visited the site to discuss Babcock's requirements and how this fitted with their business objectives. He then delivered a full, detailed proposal for a wireless networking solution which recommended a single phased approach to implementation. This approach offered the least risk of disruption and was the most cost-effective methodology.

John Brewster, Babcock's Project Manager, was impressed with Equanet's capability: "The initial proposal was well received and it clearly demonstrated Equanet's approach and experience in provisioning enterprise WLANs and sub contractor management".

Following the initial review and additional meetings on site, the in-house team at Babcock were confident that the WLAN solution proposed by Equanet could be extended to the whole of HMS Sultan. The team discussed with Babcock's own in-house IT Manager how to fine-tune the original proposed solution to more closely fit their needs, and how to move this forward to minimise disruption on site during implementation. Equanet was then appointed to design and install the Wireless LAN solution enabling Babcock’s in-house IT team to maintain the system moving forwards.

The installation was scheduled in with Equanet providing all the required equipment. Overall the project took was completed on schedule and with minimum disruption. As testament to the smooth-running of the project, Babcock has continued to work with Equanet on new IT services and solutions requirements.