Royal & SunAlliance case study

Benefits

Ensures business continuity, protecting key customer services

With business processes developing in complexity and Royal & SunAlliance becoming ever more dependent upon technology to deliver them, it is paramount that the systems involved deliver uninterrupted service. As Steve Allen confirms, REM Enterprise is playing an essential part in protecting Royal & SunAlliance’s core business by ensuring this remains the case.

He says, “The stability of our systems was an essential requirement. In particular, ensuring the continuous availability of our MORE TH>N web site, now so central to the success of our business, was a key driver for this project. We wanted to make sure that if it failed we knew immediately what the problem was and how to resolve it. The REM solution has ensured we have bolstered the protection of the key components of our business processes.”

Minimises lost revenues, delivering fast ROI

With the potential costs of lost business accruing at thousands of pounds per minute, threats to the Royal & SunAlliance communications network are taken very seriously. REM Enterprise delivers measurable, quantifiable benefits to the business each time an alert helps avoid a problem escalating. In its first year of operation at Royal & SunAlliance, the system identified and avoided two major potential threats to the company’s communications network.

Steve Allen is in no doubt about the value of the REM Enterprise solution, “At the start of the project we considered how we could quantify the business benefits and, consequently, the ROI of the REM Enterprise solution. We quickly realised that by preventing only one or two failures the financial benefits to us and the service continuity benefits to our customers would very quickly cover the costs of the system.”

Facilitates collaboration, accelerating resolution

Co-ordination with system integrator and facilities management partners can be a cause of delay when problems occur. As Kelvin Ager explains, the REM Enterprise solution is helping Royal & SunAlliance avoid this, “By providing alert notification to third parties, REM Enterprise helps prevent disputes and facilitates collaboration between partners to achieve the early resolution of potential threats without the unnecessary involvement of Royal & SunAlliance staff.”

Steve Allen confirms the benefit, “REM Enterprise helps identify the cause of an alert straight away, whether it is a problem with the network, a server or the facilities. This eradicates confusion between partners that might otherwise delay resolution. Now they can respond immediately to protect our business services with the right person to resolve the issue, ensuring a fast, first time fix.”

Minimises business-hours lost, protecting productivity and service to customers

Having avoided two major potential incidents in the first year, when a failing air conditioning unit was discovered and the source of a power failure identified, REM Enterprise has already made a significant contribution to business continuity at Royal & SunAlliance. However, identifying and helping to resolve both risks before the start of the working day delivered further advantage by protecting productivity and service to customers.

As Steve Allen confirms, this is an important benefit, “REM Enterprise proactive monitoring has increased the number of incidents detected during night time hours by 45 percent. The ability to fix problems out of hours minimises business-hours lost and maximises the productivity of call centre staff in terms of sales and customer support.”

Enhances physical security, reducing threats to service integrity

The REM Enterprise solution also provides the ability to monitor and control physical access to equipment. Kelvin Ager explains, “We help Royal & SunAlliance control access to network racks with remote control of cabinet doors and electronic key fobs. In addition, we have created zones with specific time controls limiting access hours.”

Steve Allen adds, “We also took an option to install a CCTV IP camera in each of our communications rooms. These cameras allow us to instantly record images of any cabinet from which a forced access alert is received. This equipment has also proved very useful in neutralising risks at unmanned sites. In a recent example, a flood risk was confirmed by IP camera and appropriate facilities management staff were directed to the site much faster as a consequence.”

Delivers proactive response, controlling risk and avoiding failure

Before the REM Enterprise solution began monitoring the Royal & SunAlliance communications network, the operations staff could only react to problems once they had occurred. Now, thanks to the insight the REM Enterprise solution provides into the status of the network and the escalating alerts it delivers, staff can be proactive in responding to issues, reducing risk and avoiding failures.

“The REM Enterprise solution provides us with all we need to understand our environmenti. We can alert when faults occur and rectify them as quickly as possible,” says a delighted Steve Allen. “Without this system we would struggle to provide the service our customers have come to expect and rely upon. REM Enterprise simplifies and accelerates the management of our systems, leaving us more time to concentrate on our core business objectives of providing better levels of service to customers and increasing revenues.”

Contact

For more information about the REM Enterprise solution: call REM Probe Ltd on +44 (0) 1252 352280

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