“MPS adds value by working as an extension of our own organisation. They provide a complete end-to-end solution.”
Bevan Group’s need was simple – effective management of IT to enable their teams to perform and provide the service their customers had come to expect. Before the decision to outsource IT requirements in 2016, the Group already used MPS for its fixed and mobile voice communications and Internet access. In addition to this, they employed a third-party IT consultant to work with two or three Bevan managers to deal with this area of the business.
Bevan Group was founded in 1976 by Ron Bevan in response to a rapidly expanding freight transport industry. Fast Forward 41 years and the Bevan Group now operates across 6 manufacturing sites. From its humble beginnings, the Bevan Group now occupies a state-of-the-art headquarters in Wednesbury, which is conveniently located for the M6. The Group has seen steady growth in its 40 years of business. Much of this growth has come in the form of acquisitions and adding additional services to their offering. Today, Bevan provides rigid vehicles for the likes of Argos, Hermes and Travis Perkins, and is one of the top three suppliers in the UK.
The vehicles are designed to the customer’s specifications, and with the additional services the Bevan Group provides, customers receive a fully built, branded and supported vehicle to add to their fleet. In 1996, after having acquired two businesses, the Bevan Group realised they needed a telephone system that worked effectively across all three sites.
This is where their relationship with MPS began. That relationship has grown over the last 21 years and today, the Bevan Group completely outsources its ICT systems to MPS.
The acquisition of businesses gradually added sites to the Bevan Group. It became apparent that communications needed to improve between the sites to facilitate cross-company working. In addition, an increase in staff meant IT systems had to develop to not only support the team, but the growth of the business. So, in 2016, the Group decided to put the management of its IT systems out to tender.
Their need was simple – effective management of IT to enable their teams to perform and provide the service their customers had come to expect. Before the decision to outsource IT requirements in 2016, the Group already used MPS for its fixed and mobile voice communications and Internet access. In addition to this, they employed a third-party IT consultant to work with two or three Bevan managers to deal with this area of the business.
The ongoing convergence of voice, data and IT technologies together with the growth of the Group’s business required increased expertise and resource around IT, enhanced functionality to streamline all areas of communication and the creation and support of a fully integrated solution. MPS was chosen to provide the solution which is underpinned by a fully managed MPLS WAN with core UTM, Internet Breakout, VLAN’s and QoS providing converged voice and data networking and distributed LAN and IT services for six main site locations and five remote clients.
“Because MPS had dealt with our telecoms so efficiently, we were confident they could support our IT needs,” Anthony Bevan, Group Director, commented. “MPS is reliable, we already knew a lot of their staff and what MPS proposed integrated with the communications they already provided. Their approach was a holistic one and it was just what we needed.”
The outsourced solution at the Bevan Group comprises a fully managed provision of voice and data networking across six main locations and five remote clients. In addition, MPS provides distributed IP telephony for around 230 users across all main sites, comprising SIP trunks terminating on Panasonic NS controllers at two sites and remote IP phones at other main sites. The mobile provision covers 80 mobile connections to O2 supporting a combination of Android and iOS devices.
A distributed LAN infrastructure provides remote desktop services utilising the latest Microsoft technologies. Virtualisation technologies provide the resilience needed to maximise availability to users. A hybrid cloud solution using cloud services from Symantec and Microsoft including email protection, archiving and Exchange services.
The end-to-end outsourced MPS solution has saved the company third-party IT consultancy costs whilst increasing productivity. The Group now has standardised, dynamic, robust and reliable systems, with reporting around internet usage. All ICT matters are simply dealt with by MPS, leaving Bevan’s business managers free to focus on the company’s continued growth.
The clear ROI is cost reduction, improved productivity and continued business growth. Commenting on the impact of the consolidation of services with MPS, Anthony said, “MPS employs good people. We trust them and know they are there to do the job for us. Our relationship is more than a simple supplier relationship. MPS adds value by working as an extension of our own organisation. They provide a complete end-to-end solution which lets us focus on the continued growth of our business. We know we’re in safe hands.”
This was demonstrated when the Bevan Group moved to its new headquarters. MPS provided all the support to move the ICT systems from the old building to the new offices. All services were shut down at 3 pm on a Friday and were up and running in the new offices by the end of the next day. “We knew we had peace of mind with MPS carrying the move out for us. We needed to minimise downtime to ensure we kept the high levels of customer service we provide. MPS did not disappoint; our staff were able to come in on Monday morning and get to work,” says Anthony. “They even sent two people to walk the floors on Monday to iron out any issues and make sure we didn’t lose any time.”
Anthony summarised the overall experience of partnering with MPS by saying, “We decided to bring in MPS initially because they were recommended to us. We needed a reliable company that could connect the telephone system across our then three separate sites. MPS did a great job. They continue to provide us with exceptional levels of support. They have great people with the skills we need to keep our entire ICT infrastructure working. When you outsource, you expect your suppliers to keep things going. MPS does just that and we have complete peace of mind, allowing us to concentrate on our business and our customers. MPS has future-proofed our systems. From our staff’s point of view, there have been no issues; they can do what they did before and more. But we have doubled the number of users in the last three to four years, which the work MPS has done has enabled.”