An IT partner - not just a supplier

Based in the UK and employing well over 100 staff, Jaltek is a leading international electronic manufacturing service provider with a 20 year track record of delivering effective end-to-end services in the design and manufacture of complex electronic assemblies. Jaltek’s extensive capabilities take its clients from concept through PCB design, PCB layout, prototyping, and New Product Introduction (NPI), to electronics manufacturing (PCB assembly, box build), PCB test, warranties, spares and repairs and logistics. Jaltek serves a wide range of highly diverse and demanding market sectors including aerospace, defence, civil aviation, healthcare, audio visual and semiconductor development.

With an ever-growing number of clients - from start-up through to blue chip OEMs – Jaltek has pioneered IDMS (Integrated Design and Manufacturing Services), eliminating the communications gap between electronic design and manufacture and ensuring that new product designs evolve with the manufacturing process firmly in mind, to deliver total solutions to budget with shorter lead times and a reduced time to market. Jaltek’s expansion leads the company to re-evaluate the relationships and levels of service received from its IT suppliers. “We were becoming aware that some of our suppliers were not providing us with the levels of service that we needed,” explained Dale Gavin, Jaltek’s Group Systems Manager. “In contrast, I had been in touch with Softcat on a fairly regular basis during the previous months and had been impressed with their attitude and willingness to provide assistance should we ever need it.”

The Challenge

When Dale realised that Jaltek’s existing e-mail management system was no longer able to cope with the increasing volumes of e-mail that the company was sending and receiving, he realised serious action needed to be taken. “Our existing solution was gradually grinding to a halt” continued Dale. “The spam filtering system wasn’t doing its job and with over 100 e-mail users, our e-mail storage problems were becoming critical.”

The Solution

Dale approached Softcat to see if they had a solution. By coincidence, Softcat was in the process of implementing its own unified e-mail managed system – Mimecast, and demonstrated this reliable, fast, secure and scalable system to Dale and his colleagues. “Within a few minutes I knew that Mimecast was the solution we needed,” explained Dale. “And the fact that our potential partner had also adopted the system gave us added confidence.”

The Benefits

The successful implementation of Mimecast throughout Jaltek was the start of an extremely successful relationship. Mimecast has given Jaltek a complete e-mail management solution that allows for the efficient archiving of e-mails (with immediate access), reducing e-mail storage space on the server to manageable proportions and improving overall server performance. Spam filtering has also been vastly enhanced. Indeed, so impressed has Jaltek been with Mimecast that they are now in the process of upgrading to the premium version – relying upon Softcat to manage and oversee the transition.

“Ever since we started working together I have always found Softcat a pleasure to deal with,” continued Dale. “From the outset, Softcat was not an IT supplier, they were our IT partners and always went that extra mile in giving us the advice, support and services that we needed.”

Why Softcat?

Although the partnership between Jaltek and Softcat has delivered operational improvements and financial savings, it is not this aspect of the relationship that most impresses Dale.

“It’s not just about the amount of money that we are saving,” explained Dale. “It’s the added value that we are getting. I am particularly impressed with Softcat’s Software Assurance Team – I have never come across a similar service before. They are always available, they know our business and issues, and are always able to give me honest, considered and accurate answers and advice.”

In support of his claim, Dale cites several further examples of the services and support that Softcat delivers. “We had implemented Microsoft Dynamics NAV in our head office and needed to provide our two satellite offices in Bracknell and Cambridgeshire with access,” said Dale. “We looked at a variety of solutions, but it was Softcat that proposed, and then implemented Citrix – an elegant, efficient and reliable solution that delivers the precise capabilities that we required.”

Even with something as straightforward as hardware purchases, Softcat delivers. “We now source our HP kit through Softcat,” continued Dale.

“I know that if I place an order with them, Softcat will have the specified kit in our offices before 9.00 the following morning.” The successful partnership continues with Softcat now established as Jaltek’s partner of choice.

“From major IT projects right down to the administration and management of the accounting processes, Softcat continues to provide levels of service that most other IT suppliers can never achieve,” concluded Dale. “I don’t see Softcat as a supplier – I see them as an extension of the team.”