KCOM Group on cloud nine
The G-Cloud, a Cabinet Office initiative designed to encourage the adoption of cloud services across the whole of the public sector, recently released its third framework outlining a list of approved suppliers, including Kcom and Smart421, two of the Group’s brands. They have been successful in three areas including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Specialist Cloud Services.
The Group is in a very unique position; we have the network capability, flexible cloud solutions and systems integration skills to help organisations incorporate cloud successfully into their existing IT strategies.
Bill Halbert
Executive Chairman of KCOM Group
Kcom works already with public service organisations to help them with their journey to the cloud; earlier this year it was selected by The LINK to deliver voice, collaboration and contact centre services over cloud to public sector organisations in Sussex. Smart421 has been an Amazon Web Services (AWS) partner since 2011 and has designed and delivered a number of cloud based solutions to large enterprise organisations.
The concerns that organisations had about cloud are now moving swiftly behind us. The government is encouraging public services to use cloud to create new ways for their customers to access services. Cloud drives innovation; what the government is doing gives public services the ability to embrace new technology faster than before, without the usual expense and time constraints of traditional procurement processes.”
The public sector is under increasing pressure to save money whilst delivering IT programmes that will help organisations keep up with the demands of technology.” continues Bill. “CIOs are experiencing huge challenges such as having to refresh ageing infrastructures and adopt technology to create a much more flexible and agile workforce. This usually comes at a very high cost. Cloud is a cost effective way to address both challenges, whilst giving them the opportunity to be innovative, as well as use IT to drive change within their organisation.
Employees are becoming more collaborative, mobile and dynamic, breaking down previously established boundaries. In order to provide the best customer service, as well as create a flexible and dynamic working environment organisations are being requested increasingly to give them more choices about when, where and how they interact. With pressure to keep costs to a minimum and focus on core activities, outsourcing both expertise and functionality to the cloud is now essential.
Bill Halbert
Executive Chairman
Kcom uses its cloud based solution, Workplaces, to deliver a range of applications and services to support innovation, improve customer service strategies and enable business collaboration.
Editors’ Notes
Workplaces is a suite of hosted, managed communication services, powered by Cisco technologies. It provides organisations with a range of subscription based services including telephony, unified communications and contact centre which give them the capability to transform their customer contact or business collaboration capabilities. Using a flexible costing model, Kcom has been able to remove many of the barriers associated with investing in capital intensive on-premise solutions.
About KCOM PLC
KCOM Group PLC is a leading provider of communications services to organisations and consumers, serving customers through four market focused brands.
KC provides a range of telephony and broadband services to consumers and businesses in Hull and East Yorkshire. Our other three brands serve organisations throughout the UK. Eclipse provides communications services to small and medium businesses across the UK, connecting them to customers, partners and suppliers and improving their productivity and flexibility, and helping them to grow. Kcom works with some of the UK’s biggest names, delivering communications services that enable them to be flexible, efficient and more responsive to their customers. Smart421 delivers high-end consultancy, integration and management of business-critical systems for enterprise customers.
We apply the collective knowledge and expertise of our people and our partners to help our customers harness the power of communications. Our focus is on the delivery of inspiring customer experiences, and finding new and better ways to connect people.
About Smart421
Smart421 delivers high-end consultancy, integration and service management of business-critical systems for large enterprises operating in regulated markets. Its customers include Aviva, Telefónica UK Ltd (O2), Virgin Atlantic Airways, Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), Xchanging and Haven Power.
Smart421 has been on the G-Cloud Framework since it was launched in early 2012. Smart421 has been in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) since 2011 and is an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner and an AWS Direct Connect Partner. Among its recent engagements, Smart421 has been architecting and delivering cloud solutions for major enterprises including a UK power utility, a UK mobile telco and a UK retail bank.
For further information please contact:
Laura Cavanagh - PR Executive
Kcom
01924 882885/07738785435
Joseph Spear – Marketing Manager
Smart421
01473 408699 / 07912 578910