ABOUT CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL SERVICES LTD

Central Industrial Services LTD was established in Stirling in 1990 with a staff of ten people. In 1993 it opened depots in Huddersfield and Teesside and by October 2004 it had grown into the UK's premier Industrial Services Company, employing over 160 people, with further expansion planned. CIS began by servicing the petrochemical/gas sectors and has now expanded into the processing and municipal industries with many major clients throughout the country.

The company is particularly specialist in confined space cleaning. Based in Stirling the company also operates from three regional offices in Redcar, Grangemouth and Huddersfield. Due to the nature of the business, and dealing with hazardous waste in particular, safety consciousness is of prime importance at CIS and its employees are trained to a very high standard.

USING IT

The company operates a server in its Head Office in Stirling and another in its Redcar office. Around thirty desktops and laptops feed into these. CIS employees use IT in a number of ways; for accounting purposes, purchasing, logistics, costing jobs for clients, communications, and archiving material.

 

IT is key to the running of CIS business, as Paul Durning, CIS Sales & Marketing Manager, explains: "We need effective IT and support to allow us to run our business or undertake our work efficiently, information sharing and communication through IT is key, without this we would be back in the dark ages and simply wouldn't be able to function as a successful business".

CONTINUOUS SUPPORT AND MONITORING FROM EQUANET

Central Industrial Services Ltd. started using Equanet's Managed Services over two years ago and has recently re-signed for a further year. Equanet offers IT support to UK organisations through its dedicated teams of network specialists.

These specialists provide telephone support, greater network reliability and less downtime, allowing CIS employees to focus on the core business. Paul Durning explains why they chose Equanet: "At the time we were having problems with our existing contractor with extra charges appearing after the event. The Equanet Account Manager had a nice approach and wasn't at all pushy. He explained the service and it is very simple, all covered by one straight monthly fee. There are no hidden costs; it's all up-front. We haven't had any additional charges in the whole time we've been under contract with Equanet".

CIS uses Sage Line 200 accounts package, so Equanet tailored its service to support this, saving the client the hassle of having to cover this package separately. Overall CIS is very happy with the service provided by Equanet.

Before re-signing for the third year Paul Durning consulted all the key people within his organisation who use the service to identify any issues: "Everyone was more than satisfied. The support we receive from Equanet is absolutely spot-on and delivered within the agreed budget. I'd find it difficult to find fault with any aspect of the service".

BENEFITS OF EQUANET'S MANAGED SERVICES

The key benefits of using Equanet Managed Services are very clear to Paul Durning of CIS. Firstly the quality of the telephone support is second to none: "Any of our managers can lift the phone and straight away are talking to the person who will deal with the issue. The attitude at Equanet is "what can I do for you?". There is no nonsense, no queues, and that is key; issues are sorted there and then. Equanet will take over the PC and remotely deal with the issue. It's a phenomenal service".

The cost of the service is also a main factor for CIS. As Paul explains: "The cost is minimal in comparison to other companies, with no loss of service to counteract that. In addition the communications between our two companies is excellent and that keeps us ahead of the game. The monthly report tells me all the issues that have been dealt with, and this allows me to identify possible system problems and possible additional training requirements".

These are the most important benefits for CIS but there are others. The service helps streamline communication within the organisation and keeps the staff ahead of technology. The service has helped them to steamline tracking the logistics of both vehicles and staff, giving them the knowledge of where resources are in the country and helping them to best deploy that resource. As Paul sums it up: "Having remote support wherever you are is first class. However, the most important benefit is how Equanet has managed to maximise our up-time, rather than minimise our downtime".