SEWS-E – an award-winning supplier of wiring and components for the automotive industry – has awarded Executel the significant £130k service provider contract which covers 34 sites located across the UK, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Phase one of Executel’s installation is recently complete and has linked Sumitomo’s headquarters in Newcastle-under-Lyme with offices in Sunderland, Swindon, Swansea, Paris, Turin, Kenitra in Morocco and Budapest, each of which have been equipped with their own integrated IP communications platform.
Meanwhile, Executel has seamlessly connected remote branch office users in France, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey to the corporate voice and data network, thus enabling them to operate and communicate as if under the one roof.
Executel’s solution also includes numerous cutting-edge applications such as Mitel Enterprise Manager technology which enables access to all sites and individual end-users via a single web-based interface. Consequently, moves, changes and add-ons can be made instantaneously from a centralised management system.
Hotdesking, PC-based softphones, quick conferencing and Mitel Mobile Extension – an application that unites desktop handsets and mobile phones through a single number – have also been deployed. The latter in particular has significantly reduced communications expenditure for the firm by cutting European mobile roaming charges.
Of the significant investment in new technology, Martin Boam, network administrator for SEWS-E, said: “Implementing the Mitel system has allowed us to significantly improve our communication throughout our dynamic and growing European operation. Our aggressive implementation plan has enabled us to achieve a return on investment within 12 months. We’ve also been able to cut mobile roaming costs with the use of soft phones, promote audio conferencing, introduce central administration of our entire voice network and reduce our legacy support overheads.
“Working closely with Executel has allowed us to maximise the benefits of our Mitel investment and introduce a voice network with the scalability to support our plans for future continued business growth.”
Account manager for Gateshead-based Executel, Stephen McNickle, added: “SEWS-E was previously operating with both ageing and disparate systems across its 34 European sites. Instead, they needed a standardised communications infrastructure with the flexibility to support the company’s wide geographical spread.
“After beating off stiff competition from global communications giant Avaya, we – in partnership with Mitel – have provided them with a complete IP solution and with it laid the foundations for future deployment and growth.
“The SEWS-E installation project itself has been, and continues to be, a complex one but one that has not only enabled us to extend our reach outside the UK into Europe and beyond but also provided us with a fantastic yet challenging opportunity.”