8el secures £750,000 network contract from support services group New Dimensions Group opt for 8el’s converged voice and data network

Reading, UK, January 23rd, 2006 --- New Dimensions Group (New Dimensions), the UK’s second largest provider of support services to people with learning difficulties, has selected 8el to provide a new, converged voice, data and ISP network worth £750,000 over the next 3 years.

New Dimensions, who maintain 10 offices, staffed by 2,000 UK employees moved to 8el following their decision to replace their incumbent network supplier with a one-stop-shop for telephony, WAN and ISP services in order to lower total cost of network ownership, increase capacity and streamline efficiency. In addition, New Dimensions wanted a more strategic technology partner that could accommodate VoIP and future Next Generation Services.

Due to go live in February 2006, 8el will supply New Dimensions with indirect voice services and a Wide Area Network (WAN) across their multiple sites with a centralised Internet gateway using 8el’s ISP service. The latter enables New Dimensions to co-locate their applications and web servers, storage devices and Firewalls within one of 8el’s purpose built co-location environments, delivering direct Internet connectivity from the 8el core. This also allows New Dimensions’ end users to access their applications from remote offices and care worker locations through existing ADSL connections.

Ray Fletcher, Senior IT Consultant for New Dimensions Group commented “We decided to review our network due to the rising level of resources needed and complexity we were experiencing in managing our own. 8el due to their reputation in providing converged, resilient and well supported networks seemed an obvious choice, and at a tactical level, their ability to act as a single supplier for all our voice, data and ISP needs. Their expertise in convergence and in particular VoIP and emerging Next Generation Networking we also believe will prove to be valuable as our partnership develops”.

Another important contributing factor of New Dimensions’ decision to use 8el is the increased level and quality of support being provided to back-up the solution. Specialised Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), acting as a virtual on-site engineer, will provide increased visibility of the network and information that will help with better decision making. 8el’s Network Operations Centre will also provide 24/7 engineering cover and pro-active fault finding. 8el’s customer support is also backed up by a comprehensive Service Level Agreement (SLA) guaranteeing availability of service.

The New Dimensions Group was formed on April 2nd 2001 by New Era Housing Association and New Support Options. The two companies had been working together since 1999 and by forming the group were able to pool resources and expertise to become the second largest provider of support services for people with learning difficulties in England.

To learn more, visit www.new-dimensions.org.uk

8el is one of Britain’s fastest growing technology companies and was recently recognised in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 report. With leading UK corporates such as ADP, MORI and Centaur Communications as customers, 8el is and established and trusted supplier delivering voice, data and converged network services to over 35,000 users.

Pronounced ‘A-Tel’, the company is an innovative, specialist network operator providing a comprehensive range of voice, data and ISP services to the corporate market. 8el offers UK businesses a one-stop-shop approach; delivering complete solutions that satisfy the communication challenges presented by their office, home and remote worker communities.

8el’s focus is on listening to customers and providing tailored solutions that match exact requirements, better enabling strategic, financial and quality benefits to be realised.

Building on an established reputation for providing high quality networks backed by first class support, 8el’s next goal is to deliver the benefits of Next Generation Networks. This includes providing Voice over IP (VoIP), data and media rich services over a single more efficient and cost effective infrastructure.

www.8el.com

For more information on 8el's converged solutions contact Chris Sayer on 0845 33 000 93 or email [email protected]