Over the years, we have found that one of the most important tasks for the successful delivery of an installation contract (of any kind) is preparation and planning. We always prepare by researching and walking through an installation to identify any problems or issues before they happen, this way we are able to deliver a service to our client with little or no delay. One such contract was the recent job we completed at The YMCA Black Country Group in Carters Green, West Bromwich.
As part of a £9.5m redevelopment, The YMCA have created a bespoke, new campus in the Midlands; The Western Gateway comprises of three buildings over a large area. The Cadbury Building, The John Lees Building and The Hub have taken more than two years for the build to complete, and one of the final pieces of the jigsaw was the installation of a dedicated fibre broadband connection to the site (FTTP).
Planning for success
During the planning stage for The Western Gateway, we found that the site would require the installation of a 1Gbps dedicated fibre connection, as the site was large (making the use of a copper connection unfeasible), the potential number of service users could be too. A service which would be reliable, fit for purpose and able to protect its users from any interruption, slow-bandwidth or viruses was important. Through a complete survey of the site, we were able to make this recommendation and then drew up a comprehensive plan of works.
Getting the connection right
The broadband connection needed to service the following groups; staff, local community (gym, café and meeting rooms), residents, enterprise starter units and the social businesses, so it needed to be reliable, fast, and give users the security of use. When a data network spans different user groups, it is essential that it supplies security to its different, individual, users. When we were planning the installation, we needed to bear this in mind and thus the different users can only access those areas designated to them. Firewalls and other separation measures were planned and implemented so that security was sufficient for all users and a network filter installed. Finally, to make sure that there were no access issues from individual users using up all the bandwidth, Smarter Technologies supplied internet speed control devices, in conjunction with web content filters, then secured the user groups so that one group wouldn’t affect the connection of the others.
John Miller, Director of Smarter Technologies Ltd commented:
“In total, the installation time took two weeks, during which, we trained the staff at YMCA Black Country Group so that they could manage and operate the system effectively. We’re delighted to assist the development and give YMCA Black Country Group a system which they can be proud of.”
But the last word goes to Jim Gowman, YMCA Black Country Group’s Facilities Manager:
“Thanks to Smarter Technologies we have had a a very smooth transition into the 21st Century of IT with our upgraded equipment. All aspects of the installation have received positive feedback from day one.”
If you would like to learn more about the YMCA’s Western Gateway development, you can follow this link. The YMCA is committed to helping young people to realise their potential, based on their Christian values. You can read more here.
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