Morrison Utility Services

The challenge

As any IT Manager knows, getting the right communications solution to a new site is a complex and frustrating task. Delivering to a Green or Brownfield location only exasperates this. This is the daily chore of any IT project management team within the construction and utilities industry. Here’s how Comms365 and its Continuum Rapid Deployment Internet Access solution solves the problem.

When rapid means rapid

In the world of utilities and construction, requirements change with the flip of a coin, so having a communications supplier that is ready to deliver high speed, reliable internet access within 24 hours is critical.

Morrison Utility Services – Delivering what they promise

And so do we!

Q: Do you have a ruggedized, ‘construction site grade’ solution that can be delivered at short notice?

A: Our award winning Comms365 Continuum has been developed with feedback from a number of the leading construction and utilities firms in the UK including Morrison Utility Services (MUS), who were instrumental in suggesting enhancements that would result in the service becoming a plug and play hub.

Q: Is it really portable and how much control do you actually have?

A: Continuum is delivered in a custom built, fully transportable case, with wheels and pull handle. External power and Ethernet sockets enable the service to be used without even opening the case. Each individual connection within the solution is controllable, enabling latent connections to be optimised and with the Managed Service wrap, our support team are on hand to expertly advise users on the service.

Additional appliances such as Switches, Firewalls and Access Points can all be added within the case.

Flexibility is everything

Comms365 is used to flexible delivery, from contract terms, to functionality. Every customer is different and within the communications market it is often the case that inflexible and impractical solutions are deployed and this leads to issues. Our goal is to ensure that where a customer has a particular requirement, we aim to deliver against the criteria. That way, the customer is happy and ultimately more productive.

Contiuum bonded hubs can be moved from site to site with ease and are robust enough to be situated in the most unforgiving of environments.

Bonded 4G

Continuum can bond most technologies, but the most popular is 4G. Up to five 4G connections can be bonded together to create a single, fast connection. Quality of Service can then be applied enabling specific bandwidth to be allocated to voice, internet, VPN and more.

Where fixed lines such as Ethernet, FTTC and ADSL are available, these can be added to the bonded service and individually optimised for the best user experience.

Managed Wi-Fi Access Points, Firewalls and large capacity Switches are all available within the flagship Continuum build, creating a turnkey comms room in a box.

Fit for purpose

The most important consideration when deploying Communications services like Continuum into the field is whether they up to the job in hand.

There are many services that offer bonding, but more often than not, they fail to deliver against expectation. Often, this is down to the physical service not being right for the situation, but also down to the scope of the support that is offered by the provider of the service and their understanding of the main pain points.

Comms365 has been providing bonded services for many years and our customer base within this particular market is testament to the experience gained in supporting bandwidth hungry, demanding and fast paced businesses.Being the actual service provider, with the physical network under its full control also enables Comms365 to manage the service end to end without 3rd party intervention.

MUS and Continuum

Morrison Utility Services were in need of reliable, fast Internet Access and Disaster Recovery services.

Having worked with a number of different solutions, Comms365 was chosen due to its ability to interpret the needs of the business and turn them into practical services.

Regular feedback and suggestions from the MUS team has enabled Comms365 to further enhance its offering and fine tune it, to service particular needs.

Continuum has been deployed to a wide range of sites with between 10 and 40 active users at any given time.

Most sites have been deployed with a combination of 3G and 4G connectivity (direct into the Comms365 core network) and also ADSL.

“Not only did we need a solution that would work effectively in different environments, but a team who fully understood our requirements. Comms365 ticked all the boxes”

Graeme Cross – Business Systems Director – Morrison Utility Services