Martyn Gerrard Estate Agents was setup in 1968 and is now one of the longest serving and most successful Estate Agencies in North London spanning 8 sites across 4 boroughs of London.
During their 40 years of trading Martyn Gerrard have perfected their sales care, their company policies and their services. They have been successful due to their commitment, dedication and excellence in their fields.
The only part of their business which was letting them down was their IT.
Martyn Gerrard need permanently connected access to a stable central data system, they require each branch to effectively and efficiently communicate and share data seamlessly.
They require stunning but simple technology to show off their window fronts and need systems that can deal with their demanding daily requirements.
Our Service
Martyn Gerrard had become frustrated with their original IT provider. Downtime was in days per month, fixes for solutions were taking weeks, employees were resorting to pen and paper to record necessary information, emails were not being received and bouncing, each branch was working standalone to the other and communication was non-existent. Website usage was unmonitored and abused. Data was not backing up and systems were filled with viruses.
An ongoing issue with their email server which caused endless downtime and loss of data was resolved within a few hours by Xara and confidence was instilled in Martyn Gerrard. The system was working much more reliably within days of Xaras intervention and employees were back to normal working practices immediately.
When the time came to replace the servers, Xara planned a full overhaul and reconfiguration. The entire Head Office was stripped of IT and setup on Xara’s test- bench. The PC’s were backed up, upgraded where necessary and re-installed. The server hardware was improved to the correct requirements.
A reconfigured network, setup properly following Xaras procedures and policies ensuring efficiency and security on the network. Within 2 days Martyn Gerrard had a brand new, correctly configured, stable system which allowed them to operate in line with the technology available and increase revenues without worrying about loss of data and loss of services.
All the above was carried out over 36hrs, including collection, inventory, audit, backup, cleanup, upgrade, re-install, restore, reconfig and installation on site. Meaning little or no downtime during a critical time of the year.
Logs, CD’s and licence details are stored at Xara’s secure site, maintained and updated to ensure they are up-to-date.
The Unexpected
Xara don’t stop there. Any business can be improved with regards to technology and cost savings. If we can improve the functioning of a business’ IT infrastructure or reduce costs in anyway, then this frees up time and money in order for that company to focus on building and sustaining a profitable client base.
Excessive call costs were a major factor for the running of the business and Xara took it upon themselves to offer VOIP solutions in order to reduce phone charges, which totalled in the tens of thousands between branches.
The VOIP solution initially installed already bared fruitful. They have saved money, and freed up telephone lines for clients to call through on. Due to the initial success of the VOIP solution put in place a more widespread system has now been implemented furthering the savings on telephone calls.
Xara also introduced the use of Blackberrys into Martyn Gerrard and the employees now cannot imagine life without them. Having emails on the go for agents and the core business employees, means a connection to the Martyn Gerrard network regardless of location.
Their recent major office moves have been carried out within budget, within timelines and to a high calibre. The relationship is such that Xara have been contracted for most of the work, not just the IT, but also electrical work, cabling, CCTV, and more.
The Results
Martyn Gerrard have grown tremendously over the past 4 years and are now running a 9 server network, performing all types of functionality. All branches are linked directly to the head office where emails and management services are stored.
We have implemented uniformity across all branches including, internet restrictions, file permissions, desktop settings, software access and signatures. So each branch works together as one.
Xara are on hand no matter what the issue is. With a reliable system in place Martyn Gerrard employees have been able to extend their skill set in order to further their business through the technologies they have in place, maximising output and increasing usability.
Productivity has increased considerably, employees have been trained to be more technology savvy and have adapted brilliantly to the functionality available. They now rely heavily on the IT network and can trust that should there be an issue, Xara will go out of their way to make sure it is resolved quickly, quietly and to the highest level.
The Future
Martyn Gerrard continue to be a valuable client and have received the same expert service since day 1 with Xara. Whether Martyn Gerrard decide to open further offices in the coming years to broaden their market or whether they decide to stay as they are, they can do, safe in the knowledge their IT will enable them to work as one.
Martyn Gerrard
FurnitureCraft International
