April 1 2008

North East business solutions provider Knowledge I.T. is hitting the road to even more success following a spate of new business successes. Leading the way is a new managed services contract secured with the Springfield Motor Group while, in another exciting move, the fast growing Gateshead firm has scored a real coup with the recruitment of regional development agency One NorthEast’s former e-commerce manager to spearhead the push for growth.

The six figure deal with Springfield sees the Washington-based firm looking after all of the Citroen, Suzuki, Fiat and Honda dealer’s I.T. network and service support requirements across all of its North Eastern sites over the next three years.

Springfield, one of the fastest growing, privately owned companies in the North East of England, had relied primarily on in-house expertise for the maintenance and support of its networks and server infrastructure.

However, it recently made the strategic decision to outsource all its I.T. needs to Knowledge, which has been providing technical advice and support for the last four years. Under the terms of the new arrangement, Springfield’s I.T. staff are transferring across to Knowledge but will remain dedicated to the Group.

The move provides significant benefits and cost savings for Springfield as it looks to focus more closely on its core business activities while leaving experts to take care of its computer and network operations. More than 220 staff working across the Group can now plug-in to Knowledge’s extensive I.T. and networking resources, including 24/7 access to extensive engineering and technical support.

One of the key features of the new arrangement is that Knowledge is constantly looking at other ways of improving Springfield’s use of I.T. including areas where new added value technologies can be introduced to meet future needs as Springfield’s business grows. Work is already underway at upgrading the network to deliver more resilient high speed links between the dealerships.

Knowledge I.T. will also be introducing new fault tolerant internet connection and network security measures as well as hosting servers at its Data Centre and providing help desk support.

Mario Fantin, finance director of the Springfield Motor Group, said: “Our relationship with Knowledge I.T. is one of trust built up over a long time of working together. The move to outsourcing will allow us to focus on our core business of selling and servicing vehicles rather than worrying about I.T.

“We enjoy greater peace-of-mind knowing that any issues will be resolved by making a phone call to Knowledge, which has the resources and expertise to sort things out very quickly.”

George Sanger, Knowledge’s sales and marketing director, said: “We have worked for the Springfield Motor Group for a while, so we were able to recommend the outsourcing of their I.T. from a position of strength and understanding.

“Staff will benefit from access to a wider range of I.T. services than before, including the combined expertise of over 30 engineers and technical services personnel. This will streamline costs across the business and lead to smarter and more productive ways of working by all departments.”

New contracts like Springfield reinforce Knowledge I.T’s increasing pre-eminence as one of the foremost experts in its field not only here in its native North East but increasingly across the wider North of England.

For more information please call us on 0845 142 0020 or CLICK HERE to complete our online information request form.