axon IT has provided a cloud computing solution to the Federation of Irish Societies (FIS) – the national representative body for the Irish in Britain.

Through Microsoft Office 365 – a Cloud-based solution hosted by Microsoft – axon IT has replaced the organisation’s outdated on-premise VPN (Virtual Private Network) solution with Microsoft’s latest cloud offering, enabling fast and effective collaboration of workers across the country.

Jennie McShannon, Chief Executive of Federation of Irish Societies said: “With offices in London and Birmingham as well as home-based workers across Yorkshire with frequent travel to Ireland, we needed an up-to-date and reliable solution that would enable all workers to communicate and share data effectively and efficiently wherever they were.

“Microsoft Office 365 has provided a creative and dynamic approach to our information and communication needs. It has helped us to cut costs, while significantly reducing the number of hours wasted by staff unable to work while waiting for VPN or server repairs.”

Launched in June 2011, Microsoft Office 365 offers feature-rich productivity tools including Microsoft Office Professional Plus, Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online and Microsoft Lync Online – all hosted in the cloud.

Graham Fern, Technical Director of axon IT added: “Cloud computing can help businesses to improve their productivity while significantly reducing costs. Microsoft Office 365 is paid for on a monthly basis meaning the capital costs required to replace an on-premise server are removed and turned into a running cost. Maintenance costs are also significantly reduced with no on-site server to look after.

“Microsoft’s highly secured data centres located around the world guarantee 99.9% uptime with information securely backed up in different centres across the globe, so companies have round the clock access to their business critical services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Business information can be accessed quickly from any location with a reliable internet connection meaning increased flexibility for workers, higher levels of productivity for businesses and a clear disaster recovery and business continuity plan – if offices become unusable or the internet goes down, employees can simply go home, or work from the nearest wi-fi enabled café or hotel.”

Press Information:
For more information, photography or an interview with the senior management team please call Anna Nicholls at axon IT on 0845 313 0025 or email alnicholls@axon-it.com.

Richard Bradney brings with him more than 10 years’ experience in system administration and holds MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) and MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist) qualifications. He joins axon IT from TelstraClear Ltd, New Zealand’s second largest Telecommunications company, where he spent six years as a Senior Systems Engineer.

In his role with axon IT, Richard will provide technical support to customers, working to investigate and resolve high level technical queries both on site and remotely.

Commenting on his role, Richard said; “This is an exciting time to be joining axon IT and the firm’s continuing expansion is testament to the high levels of technical ability, motivation and hard work put in by the team. I am looking forward to contributing to the company’s on-going success.”

Graham Fern, Technical Director at axon IT added; “Richard has experience in a diverse range of technical environments and this expertise will prove crucial in supporting the growth axon IT is currently experiencing.”

Press Information: For more information, photography or an interview with the senior management team please call Anna Nicholls at axon IT on 0845 313 0025 or email alnicholls@axon-it.com.

axon has provided Lucas Credit Services with an on-premise virtual solution through the provision of two new physical servers – one of which runs a virtualised version of Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) which is accessed remotely by staff working on thin-client terminals.

Graham Fern, Technical Director at axon IT explained; “Thin clients, contain no physical storage space. Employees access their company data virtually via a secure remote network connection, and all the company’s sensitive information, applications, databases and emails are now stored safely on the virtual server. This increases security by maintaining network integrity and makes the information employees are handling more secure as data is no longer stored locally.”

Nick Ramsden, Director for Lucas Credit Services added; “As a new business in the financial services sector, we need to be able to demonstrate to our clients that our security provisions for dealing with their sensitive customer data are completely robust. We needed a solution that provided us with the best network integrity together with the latest technology to enable us to deliver a first-class service to our clients.

“Our core business system – CollectR™ – is a completely new collections platform developed in-house integrating compliance and best collections practice into the latest technology. Developed exclusively from Microsoft products, it is written in .NET framework 4 with the industry standard SQL Server as its database and CollectR™ integrates with the outside world through web-services. So, as a Microsoft Gold Partner with expertise in Microsoft technologies axon IT was a natural choice to support our needs. The solution recommended and provided by axon IT is based on Microsoft’s Small Business Server 2011 and protected by their Forefront Threat Management Gateway which completely meets all of our requirements to secure our client’s data and be PCI compliant.”

Press Information:-
For more information, photography or an interview with the senior management team please call Anna Nicholls at axon IT on 0845 313 0025 or email alnicholls@axon-it.com.

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axon IT has worked to migrate C&O Powder Coatings over to a cloud computing solution through Microsoft Office 365 – an internet-based hosted service which enables businesses to access email, documents, contacts, and calendars from anywhere with a suitable internet connection and on almost any device.

axon will now work to support the new solution through an initial 12 month IT support contract.

Tom Holmes, Director for C&O Powder Coatings commented; “Compared to a traditional on-premise server solution, Microsoft Office 365 was far more cost effective. Rather than the capital cost of purchasing a server, we pay monthly for the service and our company data and emails are stored on Microsoft servers, meaning no maintenance or repair bills.

“Office 365 also gives us the flexibility to let staff work from home if they need to and staff now have their emails coming into their smartphones which means they can provide a quick response to enquiries wherever they are, therefore increasing productivity.”

axon IT has also provided a load balance router and secondary broadband line to C&O Powder Coatings, protecting the business against costly downtime. Tom added; “We wanted a company that could look after every aspect of our IT needs – whether it be a hardware issue, software query, broadband problem or simply a question from one of our users. I see IT as a service that should just work, and with axon IT we have somebody working with us to keep that service running, who we can turn to for each and every issue that crops up.”

Press Information:-
For more information, photography or an interview with the senior management team please call Anna Nicholls at axon IT on 0845 313 0025 or email alnicholls@axon-it.com.

Technical Director at axon, Graham Fern, said: “There’s already talk of another bad winter ahead of us and when the snow falls, the roads gridlock and staff are stuck at home, businesses start to lose money fast. If companies act now and get set up for remote working through a cloud computing solution, they can ensure that productivity remains high and loss of earnings low, should we encounter another big freeze.”

Using cloud-based computing, businesses can put a remote workforce in place which enables employees to securely access and share company data, emails, calendars and contacts from anywhere with an internet connection – meaning they can work from home if the weather prevents them from getting into the office.

Microsoft technology also allows real-time communication between users via instant messaging, audio and video calling, live web conferencing and online meetings, while hosted telephony means business owners can receive calls made to their company telephone number, from anywhere they can connect to the web.

Fern concluded: “We strongly urge businesses to act now to safeguard against potential loss of earnings through the winter months. Remote working is simple to set up, cost-effective and offers increased flexibility and productivity while ensuring seamless business continuity.”

Press Information:-
For more information, photography or an interview with the senior management team please call Anna Nicholls at axon IT on 0845 313 0025 or email alnicholls@axon-it.com.

Founded in 2001 by business partners Graham Fern and Mike Agutter, the firm has successfully grown to boast a predicted turnover of £1,000 000 for the current financial year, 14 employees and an impressive customer base including Macclesfield Town Football Club, Bolton Arena, Gascoigne Halman estate agents and Keele University.

Co-owner of axon IT Graham Fern commented; “We have come a long way in the last 10 years and seen a lot of industry change. We feel the key to our success has been accepting and keeping up with that change, remaining one step ahead of the competition and growing with the times.”

During the last ten years the firm has also gained a number of industry accreditations including Microsoft Gold Partner with Virtualization Competency, Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Partner, Microsoft Small Business Specialist and Cisco Select Partner.

Fern concluded; “axon IT’s success is testament to our dedicated staff and we are looking forward to seeing what we can achieve as a team over the next 10 years.”

Press Information:-
For more information, photography or an interview with the senior management team please call Anna Nicholls at axon IT on 0845 313 0025 or email alnicholls@axon-it.com.

The initiative comes on the back of an earlier campaign which provides free IT support to start-up businesses in the town.

Graham Fern, Technical Director for axon IT commented; “Of late, we have received a number of enquiries from local companies wanting to bring business back into the town. To help fit in with budgets and encourage firms to make this move, we decided to price match any existing IT support contracts on a like-for-like basis.

“The 12 Months Free IT Support scheme for start-ups has proven a big hit so far, and we wanted to expand on this by offering something to more established businesses as well. We hope that by offering a no-quibble guarantee on price, we can help bring more business to Macclesfield and help fuel the local economy.”

The axon IT 12 Months Free IT Support scheme was designed to help give new businesses a boost and is available to any company based in Macclesfield which has been incorporated within the last year.

Fern added; “The success of local businesses is crucial for our town’s economy and we want to see them succeed. Macclesfield is a great place to do business and after 10 years successful trading in the town this is our way of giving something back to the community that has supported us so well.”

For more details or to discuss an quotation, business owners should contact axon IT on 0845 313 0025 or info@axon-it.com.

Press Information:-
For more information, photography or an interview with the senior management team please call Anna Nicholls at axon IT on 0845 313 0025 or email alnicholls@axon-it.com.

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The accreditation comes just six months after a previous Microsoft endorsement, when axon IT became the first business in the North West to be awarded Microsoft Gold Partner status with virtualization competency.

Launched in 2010, the exclusive Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Partner programme is designed to recognize and reward high performing companies who have a proven track record of delivering Microsoft cloud solutions to their customers. axon IT met the required criteria through its promotion and implementation of Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite (BPOS), which is now known as Microsoft Office 365.

Microsoft Office 365 is an internet-based hosted service that gives users the option of remote working from any location with an internet connection. Including Microsoft Office Professional Plus, Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online and Microsoft Lync Online, the solution is hosted in the cloud and offers in a cost effective alternative to purchasing hardware and software upfront.

Graham Fern, Technical Director at axon IT commented: “To be recognised twice in six months by Microsoft for our business achievements is a great honour. Cloud computing is revolutionising IT as we know it so it is vital to the success of our business that we keep up with these emerging technologies. The recognition is testament to the hard work of our engineers and we are proud to be leading the way in this ever-changing industry.

“Although still a new concept to many businesses, cloud computing offers a far more cost effective alternative to traditional on-premise solutions, increasing flexibility and productivity, and ultimately contributing to business growth.”

As a Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Partner axon IT will now benefit from internal technology use rights, preferred partner pricing, marketing resources, pre-sales and technical support and other business benefits.

In January 2011, axon IT became the first business in the North West to be awarded Microsoft Gold Partner status with virtualization competency, making the company the only provider of virtual and cloud computing-based systems in the region to be endorsed by Microsoft at that time. The firm also provides its own virtual solutions through a data centre in Manchester, including a fully managed online backup solution – axonBackup24/7.

Press Information:-
For more information, photography or an interview with the senior management team please call Anna Nicholls at axon IT on 0845 313 0025 or email alnicholls@axon-it.com.