Virtual net deal solves comms poser

Housing services firm Connaught has signed a £5.5m contract with virtual network operator Sirocom to improve how it deploys network services to new sites.

The company, which provides maintenance services for social housing projects, needed a simple way to procure these services due to the nature of its business.

Phil Morgan, Connaught's head of IT infrastructure services, said, "If we are only at a site for six months and we have a leased line or ADSL contract, it can be a waste of money. With the new deal, because of the buying power of Sirocom for broadband, we can work on one-month contracts and you can transfer the costs to another location."

The five-year deal should also improve service levels and cut costs by allowing the firm to avoid signing minimum-term contracts that exceed its requirements.

Morgan said. "Before this deal we had 13 different network suppliers. The services cost more, the suppliers were expensive to manage, and they were delivering inconsistent service levels.

Sirocom has also given Connaught the capability to deploy an "office in a box" at 48 hours' notice, which can support three staff until full office support is in place.

More information:

Dunlop Slazenger virtual network roll-out

Sirocom website

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