21c Telecom, a Derbyshire based, converged telecoms
provider, were purely a mobile solutions company until 2006 when they
decided to expand their portfolio and drive into the 'converged
communications' space. They worked with Foehn, a system integrator, to
win a bid to implement a fully converged solution to all sites
nationwide as part of a three year contract. 21c is providing all fixed
lines, co-location set-up, Ethernet provision, exchange server migration
and provision, PBX installation and wi-fi configuration across the
estate. It is also providing the migration of all fixed lines and fixed
line calls, non-geographic number provisioning and reporting, the
migration of mobile account with BlackBerry Express installation and
on-site store engineering.
"This contract was won despite fierce competition
from rival networks and solutions companies. The flexibility and overall
product portfolio of 21c Telecom was the deciding factor. We were able
to analyse the current technology employed and to create a compelling
bid, which was not only cost effective but very scalable. We worked with
Griffin on the data network to allow financial transactions to be
securely transmitted over IP. We were able to develop Quality of Service
profiles to ensure that traffic could be identified and prioritised
quickly over various connectivity speeds with a backup solution for the
head office. Although the MPLS part of the deal made up a small part of
the overall solution, we were able to use the Griffin's resources in
solution design and support during roll out." Richard Hunt, 21c Telecom.
"The importance was to consolidate the telecoms
infrastructure which was spread across multiple companies, rationalise
provision of lines and to provide resilience for business critical
solutions with the 3G backup proving invaluable over the World Cup
period. We chose 21c from over 7 suppliers due to their 'can do'
attitude and from the outset being clear in their provision of a single
supplier approach." Jeremy Dunderdale, IT Manager, T.G.I. FRiDAY'S UK
Ltd.
Andrew Dickinson, Griffin's MD said, "MPLS can open
the door to bigger deals for converged resellers. We offer technical
engineers to help understand requirements and to design and price
solutions to help our Partners win big, recurring revenue deals."