Case Studies
SuperControl SuperControl is an online booking system and complete management tool used by self-catering accommodation and businesses in the UK and across 30 countries worldwide; as far afield as Dubai, Japan and Australia. Today it has more than 1,300 clients including the owners and managers of over 20,000 cottages, villas, caravan parks, glampsites, canal boats, yurts, campe rvans and more. Founded in 2007 by Robert and Melinda Kennedy, the company has gone from strength to strength and now employs 18 staff at their office in Castle Douglas.
Case Study: Web development
“We will be able to make significant cost savings as a direct result of connecting to fibre broadband.” Robert says: “We connected to fibre broadband a month ago and already we are seeing some fantastic benefits. We will be able to make significant cost savings as a direct result of connecting to fibre broadband.”
Savings thousands of pounds Robert explains: “Our business depends on a massive amount of data, which we back up every four hours. This is stored partly on servers at various data centres and partly in the cloud. Now we have a superfast fibre connection, we can fire the data back to our own servers in house overnight. This was simply not possible before we had a fibre connection and this alone will save us thousands of pounds a year.”
Work from anywhere “Another big benefit is that our virtual private network is completely robust and reliable now that we have superfast fibre speeds. This means we can connect into the office from wherever we are in the world. One of our developers lives in Poland and now he can work as part of our team just as effectively as if he were in our office in Scotland. It is also great to know I can connect to all our files and systems from my mobile with absolute reliability, when I am overseas or away from the office.
Face to face communications “Looking ahead, we have identified many other ways in which our fibre broadband connection will help our business grow. We are excited about being able to make more use of Skype or other videoconferencing in future. With over a thousand clients around the world, it will be brilliant to be able to speak to them face to face. This will help us build a more personal relationship than we have been able to do so far and will be a terrific boost for the business. Of course, making more use of online video conferencing rather than telephone calls is also likely to lead to big cost savings. “We are also planning to move to VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) for our telephony which again will lead to terrific cost savings over the medium to long term.”
New opportunities
This was an improvement at the time, but now being able to make the next step up to superfast fibre speeds is amazing. We can now count on speeds of 70Mbps download and 19 Mbps upload. This opens all kinds of new opportunities for us and the improvement in upload speeds in particular really transforms what we can do, improving our productivity and taking the business to a new level. “With such significant cost savings to the business, it is really incredible that our fibre broadband connection costs us no more than we were paying for our previous broadband connection! Fibre broadband really has been great news for our business. Now that we have superfast fibre connectivity, the world really is our oyster. We can continue to expand the business and run a successful global business from our base here in Castle Douglas.”
Robert adds: “As we are an internet business selling cloud based services, broadband speed is a critical issue for us. When we first set up the business, we were working from an office at our remote farmhouse, with download speeds of around 2Mbps. This was barely viable and so we moved to Castle Douglas in 2012, as there we could enjoy speeds of 15Mbps download and 0.5 Mbps upload.
DSSB–CS–SW–14–001
www.digitalscotland.org
Bonkers Bonkers is a gift and card retailer, with town centre stores in St Andrews and Edinburgh. Set up by Lindsey Adam thirty years ago, the business has grown steadily and also now offers online sales to its customer base, who appreciate the refreshingly different, quirky product range. Bonkers is one of the first businesses to sign up to fibre broadband in St Andrews and within days, the business experienced real benefits.
Case Study: Retail
“Since we have had fibre broadband, we have seen a fantastic improvement in response times.” Improved business management Lindsey’s partner, Patrick MacEwen, who manages the IT systems for Bonkers, says: “Fibre broadband is already making a huge difference to the efficiency of the business. We are now enjoying broadband internet speeds of over 38 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload. Amazingly, this upload speed is ten times faster than we had previously. Having fibre broadband is really transforming a number of important operations for us. Firstly, it is making it so much faster and easier to transfer data between our two stores and our Head Office in St Andrews. We have a sophisticated till management system and all data from the shops gets uploaded to HQ. This process is now practically instant and having better access to live data is enabling a dramatic improvement to our business management, as we can keep track of stock so much more effectively.” Patrick continues: “As for all businesses, reliable back up of our files is critical. We back up all our data every night onto the cloud. Thanks to fibre broadband, the speed of this has been drastically increased. This means we no longer have to worry about back up at all. We can also now make the most of all the other benefits the cloud brings to small businesses, such as affordable access to cutting edge software and services such
as ‘Dropbox’ to transfer large documents between our three sites.
Faster credit card transactions “There is a great benefit to us as a retailer, as all credit card transactions are made over the internet. Since we have had fibre broadband, we have seen a fantastic improvement in response times. For town centre retailers like us, this is really significant as it means that customers get faster service and there is less build up of queues at the counter. At busy times such as Christmas, the benefit of this is immense, and in some cases, it may even mean we can retain a customer we could potentially otherwise lose, if they were put off by queues. So this is a marvellous advantage for us.” “What’s more” says Patrick “Fibre broadband is speeding up communications with our online store, which is of course reliant on robust internet connections and which is becoming an increasingly important part of the overall business.”
New ways to connect with customers Patrick adds: “The list of benefits goes on and on! We encourage our staff to make the most of the internet and they are welcome to use it during breaks.
We believe that having motivated staff is a vital component of business success, and so having access to superfast fibre broadband is likely to add to their satisfaction at work. We also encourage our staff to get involved in posting to the business Facebook and Twitter accounts, and it is now so much faster and easier for them to upload images or short videos. This will all help us keep the business fresh and build connections with our customers, keeping our business top of mind.
New ways to train staff and communicate “It is also now viable to make use of interactive online training for our staff, helping us create an even more highly trained and motivated team. Videoconferencing could now be part of our training plans in future. We are also going to investigate using Skype or Voice over Internet Telephony as a replacement for telephone calls which will also help us reduce the cost of our telephone bills.” Lindsey concludes: “In so many ways, fibre broadband is revolutionising our business. Across the board, it is allowing us to increase our efficiency and productivity. This will help us continue to improve our profitability over time and continue to build a vibrant, successful business.”
DSSB–CS–BO–14–001
www.digitalscotland.org
Rollos Rollos are a long established solicitors and estate agents, with offices in St Andrews, Cupar, Auchtermuchty and Glenrothes. They offer a wide range of legal, financial and property services across Fife, Tayside and further afield, nationally and internationally. Rollos were one of the first businesses to order fibre optic broadband, when it became available in Cupar, which is where the Rollos principal office is based.
Case Study: Solicitors
“Fibre broadband really is great news for our firm. It is improving our productivity, helping us provide better customer service” Practice Manager Heather Davidson says: “Fibre optic broadband is already having a huge impact on the way we do business as well as opening up exciting new digital opportunities, which we believe will allow us to provide an even better service to our clients in the future.” Heather continues: “We are now enjoying broadband speeds of over 30Mbps, which is about thirty times faster than we had before! A great deal of our work for clients across a wide spectrum of disciplines requires us to interact online with government, local authority and commercial agencies on a daily basis. In the past, this could often be a highly frustrating and cumbersome task, particularly if the connection were to crash out half way through.
Faster and more efficient “Now, these routine online tasks can be completed in a fraction of the time. This increases our productivity enormously. Ultimately, it means we can process work much more efficiently and communicate clients and other solicitors such that business can be transacted more quickly and, hopefully, with less stress all round”.
Heather adds: “The central servers for our five branch offices are at the Cupar office, with the other offices linked in through our virtual private network. Now that we have a superfast connection, our network is considerably faster and more robust and reliable. Once we are able to have fibre broadband installed at all the branch offices too, the whole system will become even more effective and we will be able to share data instantaneously.
New opportunities “Fibre broadband also paves the way for our firm to use cloud computing. This has been an ambition since cloud technology was introduced, however the physical limitations of the network made that unreliable, if not impossible. Cloud computing will bring significant benefits to us. At present, our case management systems are manual. We are planning to introduce a cloud based case management system, which will offer us fantastic amounts of storage, as well as save us time and money.
Face to face communications “Fibre broadband also allows us to move over to an internet based telephone service. Again, the cost savings from this are likely to be massive. Skype now also comes into play and is something we are likely to use in future, now that we have fibre broadband. With our high speed connection, the video quality should be superb and it means we can use Skype for video conferencing with our more distant clients. This will help us maintain good client contact and relationships, wherever our clients may be in the world.” Heather concludes: “Fibre broadband really is great news for Rollos. Already, it is improving our productivity, helping us provide a better client led service. Once we have fibre broadband in all our branch offices too, it really will take Rollos’ operation to a whole new level, transforming our business and helping us to meet our clients’ expectations and stay ahead of our competition.”
DSSB–CS–RO–14–001
www.digitalscotland.org
Silver City Surfers Silver City Surfers is an innovative charity bringing digital skills to people aged over 55 in Aberdeen and the North East of Scotland. The organisation runs five free sessions a week in the city, where people can gain confidence in using IT, with one to one tuition from instructors at their own pace, all in a relaxed, social setting. Silver City Surfers are now benefiting from a high speed fibre connection at the Salvation Army Citadel in Aberdeen, where hundreds of people attend their sessions each year.
Case Study: Digital inclusion
Co-ordinator Liz Hunter says: “With the fibre broadband connection, the internet experience is dramatically improved. For example, the quality of the video on Skype or FaceTime is significantly better. It makes no difference how many people are online at the same time –everyone can still enjoy the same terrific high speed connection.” Liz continues: “Fibre broadband is bringing a whole range of brilliant benefits. It is helping older people stay connected with their family and friends, even if they live thousands of miles apart. It also helps everyone stay on top of the news, explore their interests and learn new skills, as well as access government services and shop around for the best deals for just about anything. A world of possibilities is just a click away, and fibre broadband is making the whole experience even better.”
“A world of possibilities is just a click away, and fibre broadband is making the whole experience even better”
“And when I am I am in the USA for a holiday, I can stay in touch with all the news from my friends and my Church.
Pam Lawrence Pam Lawrence received an iPad as an eightieth birthday present from her son and daughter and is now able to use high speed fibre broadband at her home in Aberdeen. Pam says: “It’s wonderful. Now I am able to have so much more contact with my daughter and three grandchildren, who live in Washington DC in the USA, than I ever could before.
“As I suffer from macular degeneration, it’s also a big advantage to me to read books on my iPad, as I can enlarge the print until I can see it clearly. I love reading and thanks to my fast broadband connection, I can download books instantly and read them in comfort.” Pam concludes: “With the support from Silver City Surfers, getting to grips with technology has been surprisingly easy. Now, high speed fibre broadband is making an incredible difference to my life. With my iPad, I can stay closely connected to my family and friends, as well as stay in touch with fresh ideas on subjects that interest me. Using the internet is helping me stay young!”
“Facebook is an amazing way of staying in contact with my teenage grandchildren. Because of the time difference, it would have been difficult to speak on the phone, as by the time they get home from school, it’s night time in Scotland. So it’s fantastic to be able to message on Facebook at whatever time is convenient for us all. It is so quick and easy that it means we can share photos and videos, and stay closely connected. “I also use FaceTime to video chat to my grandchildren. At special times like birthdays it is particularly thrilling to be able to see what is happening at their end and get involved. With fibre broadband, the video is crystal clear. I almost feel like I am in the room with my family.” Pam continues: “High speed fibre broadband also makes it easy to surf the internet, checking websites for recipe ideas and inspiration related to my hobbies, such as flower arranging. I get all kinds of tremendous ideas and information from the internet.
Chris Wright Chris Wright, 67, has been a regular visitor to Silver City Surfers for the past four years. He greatly appreciates the friendly atmosphere and the one to one tuition at the centre. Several years ago, Chris suffered a stroke and he has had to re-learn how to speak. He continues to find reading and writing difficult, so the internet has opened up new methods of communication for him.
Chris says: “I often use YouTube, as there are great videos on just about every subject under the sun. For example, I have a strong interest in the technical side of computing and I am teaching myself Raspberry Pi, learning from videos on YouTube.
“Another huge benefit is being able to use iPlayer and catch up on TV programmes at whatever time suits me, rather than when the programme is scheduled. With fibre broadband, streaming TV and films is instant. So you always have a wide choice of great entertainment at your fingertips.”
“I also have an interest in First Aid, and I use YouTube to increase my skills in this, as well as pursue my other hobbies and interests.
Chris says: “Fibre broadband is fantastic as it is improving the internet experience, opening new doors and helping me continue to learn online, as well as speak to friends around the world.”
“With superfast fibre broadband, streaming videos is smooth and easy. The quality is amazing and there is no buffering, as there used to be in the past, with a slower internet connection.” Chris adds: “As I struggle with using a keyboard, I find the voice recognition feature on my iPad very useful indeed. This means I can use email and so on, without having to type anything. “I am now starting to use Skype and love the idea of being able to chat face to face with friends around the world. With fibre broadband, the video and sound on Skype is extremely high quality. I am sure Skype will make a big difference to me in future, it is such a great way of staying connected. “Skype also gives me the opportunity to practice speaking, which is helpful to me, as part of my stroke recovery.
“I am now starting to use Skype and love the idea of being able to chat face to face with friends around the world"
Margaret continues: “Another wonderful benefit is being able to borrow library books online. I have downloaded an app called ‘Overdrive’. Now I can choose library books, which are then downloaded to my iPad, from which I can read them wherever I am. This is a big advantage to me, as I used to visit the library regularly, but I am not quite so mobile now, so it is brilliant being able to use the library service without having to travel. “I also use Facebook to keep in touch with family and close friends. It is a particularly useful way of staying in touch with my 23 year old grandson in London. He is so busy, it is easy for us to stay in touch on Facebook, but I am not sure he would bother otherwise. Facebook messaging is so quick and easy. Facebook is also a great way to keep in touch with what is going on at my church, as they have a Facebook page too.” “I am a Christian and being able to use fast internet also helps me with my research and study. For example, I can now access different translations of the Bible instantly.”
Margaret Maxwell Margaret Maxwell, who is in her seventies, is finding that her iPad is making a difference in a vast number of ways. She says: “Recently I was able to use my iPad to talk with a friend who is working in South East Asia. My friend needed to find a document that she had left in my loft. Using the live video camera in the iPad, as we walked it through the loft, my friend was able to pinpoint exactly where she had left the document. Without the iPad, it would have taken ages to locate exactly where it was! It was also lovely to have a face to face chat with her. With high speed fibre broadband, the quality of the video connection will be better than ever in future.”
Margaret adds: “I am even using the cloud – I have uploaded all my photos onto Flickr. So now I know that all my photos are safely stored.” Margaret concludes: “There are so many advantages to the internet for people of all ages. It helps you stay connected. High speed fibre broadband will make it even easier for everyone to lead a full life, staying closely connected to their loved ones and pursuing their interests. Thanks to Silver City Surfers, I am able to take full advantage of the digital age.”
a few quick lines on email. Email helps you to keep friendships active that might otherwise tail off. “A friend of mine in his early nineties uses Skype to stay in touch with family in Australia and says it is great. It would be lovely to chat face to face with my friends on video in this way, so Skype is something I plan to try out. With high speed fibre broadband, the quality should be brilliant.
Ann Leith Ann Leith, who is in her early eighties, enjoys staying in touch with friends around the world through email and Facebook. Ann says: “I have friends in Hong Kong and I love to see photographs of their children as they grow up. Facebook is ideal as it is so easy to see all their very latest photos there. It is lovely to be able to share in what they are doing. It means you feel that you are still close to them all, despite the distance.” Ann continues: “I also regularly email friends in Tel Aviv, Denmark and the West Indies. I would not necessarily go to the trouble of writing letters to them all, it is just so wonderfully easy to drop
"The internet is also incredibly useful as a way of finding the information you need on any topic"
“At present, I am still quite mobile, but I am well aware of the benefits of online shopping, should that be helpful to me in the future. There may come a time when it would be really useful to order groceries online and have them delivered to my door. “Of course, the internet is also incredibly useful as a way of finding the information you need on any topic. I use it routinely to check out the location of places and get directions, for example.” Ann adds: “I am really excited about the arrival of high speed fibre broadband across Scotland. It will make it even easier to enjoy all the many benefits of the internet and open new possibilities as well. I believe you have to keep young at heart and to do that, you have to keep embracing new opportunities.”
DSSB–CS–SCS–14–001
www.digitalscotland.org