TECHNOLOGY
Contract – Materials Processing Institute has saved money and felt more secure since Aspire became its IT partner .
keep up with the current trends in terms of cybersecurity and knowledge of operating systems . By outsourcing to the experts at Aspire , our team are free to concentrate on their ‘ day jobs ’.”
The institute ’ s contract with its previous IT support company ended earlier this year , and after putting the contract out to tender , it was impressed with the services put forward by Aspire .
“ We sat down with Aspire ’ s Nicola Mogie-Pickering to talk about where we , as a company , wanted to go ,” continues Chris .
“ Among other requirements , we discussed improving cybersecurity and Nicola proved to be very proactive in terms of suggesting new approaches and guiding us forward .
“ We ’ ve been really happy with the service Aspire have provided since we awarded the contract to manage our IT support in April .
“ There really is nothing better than feeling safe and secure in the knowledge that a team of experts is looking after us . Aspire ’ s knowledge level is outstanding .”
Engaging Aspire on a full-service contract has proved not only confidenceboosting for the institute , but a costsaving move , as Chris explains .
“ We are a technology-based , cuttingedge development organisation with the best materials knowledge in the country and we can ’ t afford to have a slow IT system .
“ But we are a small company , and outsourcing has actually cost far less than employing an IT team of multiple skilled people on campus .
“ Aspire get to grips with things and worked through difficult problems swiftly . They keep us on track .”
Another benefit of working with Aspire is that they are a local company .
“ We wanted a local company so they could get to our campus quickly if we needed them , but it ’ s also an ethical choice . The institute has an emissions monitoring group and a team who are focused on reusing materials , and part of our ethos is to use and support local businesses .
“ Our previous IT provider was out of the region , so if someone from Aspire has to travel to us from Stockton , it ’ s much less of an issue in terms of CO2 emissions .”
Since Aspire came on board , the general service level at the institute has improved greatly .
“ The response time is quicker and Aspire are very proactive in flagging up issues if , say , a system has gone down ,” Chris explains . “ Things are much more joined up now . There is also the added bonus of a secure portal , which gives greater visibility to see what ’ s going on .”
While Chris and his team have not had to use Aspire ’ s services outside of the institute ’ s 8am to 5pm office hours so far , he is confident in the knowledge that a team of experts are always on
hand .
“ We have a great account manager , but the wonderful thing about the service is that there is a huge team of specialists who deal with different aspects of our IT needs . I know they are available 24 / 7 should we need them , which is really reassuring .
“ Since we handed over to Aspire , the team have freed up so much time and the institute has already won a number of large contracts and is actively recruiting , so it was a decision well made .”
Nicola is one of Aspire ’ s Tees Valleybased account managers .
“ I really enjoy working with local businesses and organisations , helping them improve efficiency through the most up-to-date technology ,” she says .
“ The Materials Processing Institute is a brilliant new customer , and it was a joy to work closely with them on a technology roadmap , which we do with all our RealCare clients .
“ The roadmap futureproofs a business from a technology perspective , avoids unnecessary costs and helps the team budget for the next few years .
“ At Aspire , we focus heavily on the customer experience , which we monitor using the Net Promoter Score ( NPS ) global measure . I ’ m proud to say our score consistently averages + 82 which is deemed ‘ world-class ’.”
aspirets . com
The voice of business in the Tees region | 159