Case Study - Advantage Group Solutions

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Bespoke Remote Working Solution for Payroll Company

What our customer says...

I’m not in the habit of writing testimonials but Pro-Networks have operated significantly above and beyond any contractual obligations throughout this whole process and I therefore have no hesitation in recommending them.

Chris Birkett, Managing Director

Customer Profile

The team at AGS Payroll UK has been involved in the Payroll Industry for over 35 years. They use software approved by HM Revenue & Customs and have a proven track record of helping businesses throughout the UK with their payroll needs. Their client base is around 200+ businesses of all sizes from one-man bands to over 600x staff per week and includes charities, pubs, restaurants & hotels, nurseries & schools along with both SMEs and larger organisations who all enjoy the excellent service AGS provides.

Background

AGS switched the IT support to Pro-Networks in July 2018 and benefited from improved IT support from this time.  Discussions to naturally replace the server infrastructure planned for 2020 were postponed due to COVID.  On 14th December the primary hardware catastrophically failed without warning effectively stopping the business.  Pro-Networks provided loan hardware and replicated the existing infrastructure to get AGS up and running.  This solution was put in place as a temporary measure until new hardware was introduced.

A Truly Remote Working Solution

AGS wanted a solution that allowed more remote working capabilities and a solution was provided which ran virtual workstations on server hardware meaning staff really could work from anywhere and on any device.  All network shares and user data were migrated over to the new hardware along with line of business applications. The solution has given AGS an improved work experience and more resilience and reliability.

In The Customers Words

“I have been a client of Pro-Networks since July 2018 and have always enjoyed a really responsive level of service – their helpdesk and problem solving have been excellent, and I’ve never had to wait for more than an hour or so before a technician remotes into my server to resolve any IT issues. However on 14th Dec 2020, my decision to move to Pro-Networks was validated in the most extreme circumstances; my server failed without warning in the middle of a working day in our busiest week of the year – we are an outsourced payroll bureau and two weeks before Christmas is our busiest week, so all of our clients were in danger of not being paid. Pro-Networks remotely accessed my server, diagnosed the problem, and sent an engineer to recover the server for third-line testing in Deeside. Overnight testing diagnosed that the server was completely dead so Pro-Networks immediately lent me a replacement server, already loaded with my backup data, and I was back up and running within 24hrs. Without being melodramatic, my business would have collapsed without that level of support, meaning several thousands of staff not being paid before Christmas. In January 2021 I agreed on a deal with Pro-Networks to buy a new server, along with `Virtual PCs’ embedded within the server, which now allows my business to operate Sage Payroll at a significantly enhanced speed, ultimately giving my clients a better service. The installation process was meticulously handled, overseen by Ray Hicks, and was seamless from end to end. I’m not in the habit of writing testimonials but Pro-Networks have operated significantly above and beyond any contractual obligations throughout this whole process and I, therefore, have no hesitation in recommending them.”

Takeaways

Pro-Networks understand that all companies are different and we pride ourselves on offering the best solution for our customer at all times.  The solution introduced for AGS was not one of our standard recipes but was uniquely designed with their requirements in mind.  Speak to Pro-Networks today to find out how we can help your business with its IT challenges.