Home Group
Housing provider chooses BT Engage IT for its superior customer service and value for money
Level playing field
With operations that span England and Scotland, Home Group has an extensive IT infrastructure, critical to its core business of providing and supporting affordable housing. The company has more than 3,600 laptops and desktops, together with numerous PDAs and servers.
Joan Williams, the Home Group Asset Manager, notes: "These devices need proactive management and regular refresh to ensure they meet the minimum standards for connection to our network."
Home Group also regularly sources systems for new
projects. On a monthly basis, Joan Williams and her
team compile a tender listing the equipment and
services that it imminently needs. This is issued to
the company's three preferred suppliers. That
tender includes detailed equipment specifications,
even down to asset tagging and labelling
requirements. Bids can therefore be adjudicated
against a level playing field.
"Our preferred suppliers are selected through a
formal bidding process in accordance with OJEU
requirements," Joan continues. "We spend around
£1½ million each year with them on IT equipment."
Around-the-clock Assistance
Recently Home Group deselected one of its original suppliers in favour of BT Engage IT, on the basis of the latter's superior customer service and value for money. A BT division providing specialist IT services, BT Engage IT had scored highly during the original OJEU process.
"Our experience of working with BT Engage IT has
been very positive," says Joan Williams. BT Engage
IT now supplies Cisco SMARTnet services to Home
Group. This entails around-the-clock technical
assistance for the firm's Cisco-based local and wide
area networks as well as hardware repair and
replacement services.
In conclusion, Joan Williams provides an example of
the customer service and value for money provided
by BT Engage IT: "Recently offering the best price
for the supply of four HP servers for a Home Group
HR project, the BT Engage IT product delivery was
spot on. Really right first time. On the basis of what
we've seen so far, we're looking forward to
increasing our business with BT Engage IT in the
future."
About Home Group
Home Group is a leading UK provider of affordable
and supported housing. Operating throughout
England and Scotland, Home Group manages
52,000 homes and provides care and support
services for more than 18,000 people. With annual
turnover in excess of £230 million, Home Group
operates through two distinct business streams.
Home Operations manages and develops affordable
housing for rent, shared ownership, and sale; while
Stoneham provides housing and support services for
socially excluded people.
About BT Engage IT
BT Engage IT provides businesses with access to one
of the most comprehensive IT services portfolios in
the market. As part of BT Group, it is able to offer a
truly integrated suite of IT services from advice and
design, through to deployment and support. BT
Engage IT employs over 900 highly qualified staff
including 70 professional services consultants, 72
accredited Microsoft engineers, and over 300 field
engineers. It also has strategic partnerships and
leading accreditations with key vendors like HP,
IBM, Toshiba, Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, Citrix, and
Symantec.
"Recently offering the best price for
the supply of four HP servers for a
Home Group HR project, the BT
Engage IT product delivery was spot
on. Really right first time.
On the basis of what we've seen so
far, we're looking forward to
increasing our business with BT
Engage IT in the future. "
Joan Williams, Asset Manager, Home Group
