CASE STUDY particular has allowed the business to become an IT company that happens to sell hair and beauty products .
Our prior focus on innovating and strengthening our IT processes was a saviour when COVID-19 hit . When we were told we ’ d have to work from home , only our physical environment changed as the way we work was set up to accommodate such changes . We already had a policy in place to allow us to communicate efficiently without need for an office .
How has Node4 ’ s solution enabled you to maintain your position as one of the UK ’ s leading suppliers to hair and beauty professionals ?
Being a B2B company , any failure for us has a knock-on effect as anything that affects our customers , also impacts their customers . In a competitive industry , such as ours , this can be detrimental to a company ’ s reputation . A reliable service , therefore , is key to everything we do , especially with everyone working remotely .
Node4 has been instrumental in providing us with all forms of telephony and communication that allows us to offer this reliable service . With our old system , it took a long time to do simple tasks and users were frequently logged out of their accounts . With Node4 ’ s offering , employees now have a single pane of glass that allows them to talk to customers , message each other and share files – all of which make life easy for them and allows for a more efficient and reliable service .
How have you redefined and reshaped your operations and how has this impacted your employees ?
At Ellisons , we take a modern , forward-thinking approach to IT – we want our staff to add value , so we advocate for automating services and mundane tasks where possible . Our work with Node4 has enabled us to implement this by providing a fully integrated voice and data solution that automates the most time-consuming admin processes . This has delivered marked improvements in efficiency and flexibility , freeing up our employees ’ time to focus on more complex tasks that add value to the business .
Can you tell us how the MPLS Private WAN solution improved resilience and allowed you to scale ?
Having a fully resilient MPLS service is critical for keeping systems online and reducing downtime . With all of our services now hosted off-site , since migrating to the cloud in 2017 , we can no longer afford to have our Internet lines down . Node4 provided redundant lines with a fully monitored solution , so any faults that do occur are noticed and resolved as soon as they appear . This took one service off of our hands and improved resilience . With Node4 maintaining the Internet breakout , scaling has become simple . All of the devices provided are configured , so to be fully operational , we only need the fibre connection into a building .
What improvements in efficiency and flexibility have you seen and how has this impacted your Digital Transformation journey ?
Over 99 % of our IT infrastructure is cloud-based and we see that as key to delivering efficiency and flexibility across the company . Utilising this during our Digital Transformation journey has allowed us to make much more use of reporting and business analytic tools . This helps employees be accountable , set and manage sales targets and make sure leads are followed up .
In addition , the new communication system is all integrated on a single screen , allowing employees to talk to customers , message each other and share files . We have experienced a huge improvement in efficiency with this , where time is saved switching between applications .
What advice would you give to business leaders looking to automate and improve their processes in the same way ?
One of the most important pieces of advice I can offer is to trust your employees . I ’ ve taken the approach of always employing someone better than me . Our IT manager has been instrumental in working with Node4 to ensure we had every little detail to ensure a smooth transition . Taking a positive approach to problemsolving and allowing the team to think about improving systems and processes – rather than firefighting issues – will always add value to any business .
What does the future look like for Ellisons and the partnership with Node4 ?
I believe that any partner is critical to Ellisons ’ growth and improvement and Node4 has been no exception to this . We originally onboarded Node4 for its expertise in communications , but having proved such a success , we have already implemented additional services and solutions with the technology provider . Over the last three years , our partnership has gone from strength to strength . With Node4 ’ s services , my team and I can add value knowing that the foundations of our IT infrastructure are in safe hands . �
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