Darcy Spillcare Manufacture boasts 75 Years of innovation, manufacturing, service and supply within the spill care industry.

Today, Darcy uses Lakeview to manage and run their business software and hardware o deliver clarity, sales visibility and efficiency to their daily operations.

Here’s a snippet of the letter from Paul Goff, Financial Director, Darcy Products Ltd to Lakeview:

“Right from the start (and this order has taken a long time to materialise!) Lakeview’s Engineering team has had Darcy and our ongoing IT issues at the foremost of it’s actions, culminating in a proposal that not only just simply replaced old servers but gives Darcy a great stride forward in significant IT improvement’s and as I am sure you will understand within a good budget.

The installation itself overall again was managed very well. We always anticipated that there would be teething issues which is inevitable, but any that arose were dealt with promptly which is all we could ask,

One issue in particular which actually was nothing due to Lakeview was one of our two internet lines failed only a week into our new offices at Kent. Thankfully we had two which I believe was David Beattie’s (Lakeview’s Deputy Engineering Manager) suggestion in the first place. The significance of this was that David immediately suggested how to ensure we still got emails in as this was on the line that failed and then deal with all our VPN users, re-setting them on the working internet line.

I cannot emphasise enough, the failed broadband line was down for about a week and had we not been able to receive emails this would have been disastrous for Darcy but thankfully due to the redundancy planned for IT this did not materialise.

I am now very pleased to report that the IT at our offices in Kent works brilliantly with all reporting fantastic speed, so more output from our staff then!

To find out more about Darcy visit: http://www.darcy.co.uk/

Technorati Tags: case study, hardware, Lakeview engineering, new business win, spillcare

Cloud computing or ‘Cloud’ is fast becoming a buzz word for us all, it is a platform that offers many benefits to many businesses, but it is still in its infancy particularly in the UK SME marketplace.

We have all witnessed an unprecedented global financial meltdown and a recession, companies within every industry are looking for cost savings. I think it fair to say, gone are the days businesses invest large amounts of capital in servers and thanks to the Cloud this is fast becoming a reality.

So, we look at some risks and trade-offs with Mark Greatrex, CEO of Lakeview Computers and contributor to the UKERP Twitter.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network (typically the Internet).

Extract taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

What are the major benefits of cloud computing for you?

Our client base consists of small to medium sized businesses within manufacturing, distribution and wholesale marketplaces.

For us, ‘Cloud computing’ facilitates the delivery of our enterprise solution (LV) in a new way, via the web, with different pricing structures and gives businesses the ability to scale up and down easily. For some businesses a Cloud model will be attractive on a pay per user basis, for others it’s about removing large up front hardware costs, it gives business owners choice.

The Key benefits for Cloud based ERP

• Allows a faster evolution of the ERP solution and its ROI
• Requires a minimal capital outlay
• Minimal operational and maintenance cost
• Fewer IT resources needed, with easier implementation and integration path

These significant benefits are driving business owners and executives to look at the way they are currently doing business in a proactive effort to make cost savings and to stay competitive within their market place.

What do you see as the risks and trade-offs of a Cloud platform?

The key risks and issues of Cloud are:

• Security concerns of outsourcing business confidential data
• Performance & reliability of the infrastructure, particularly the connection to/from the SME’s business locations
• Willingness & capability of your software suppliers to provide an integrated solution in the Cloud
• Nervousness over relinquishing control of your IT resources to parties unknown!

The good news is that all of these risks and issues can be mitigated and concerns allayed.

Should my business adopt a Cloud platform?

Once all of your concerns have been addressed it comes down to a business decision based on cost. It should be easy to quantify the cost savings to your business of not having to replace IT hardware and associated software and having to employ IT staff to manage your infrastructure.

With the right supplier and contract the annual cost of cloud should be predictable and so your return on investment should be straightforward to calculate.

Cloud is now moving from early adoption by technology enthusiasts and now becomes attractive to those of you who are pragmatic buyers.

Authors: Angela Kennedy, Marketing and Mark Greatrex, CEO, Lakeview Computers Ltd

LV: Taking ERP mobile

Technorati Tags: cloud computing, cloud erp, LV