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From bedroom to office, the steps to success for business support company First Office Systems provide critical technological support to businesses throughout Kent, Sussex, London and the south east. They have provided small, medium and large operations with office assistance since 1991. With a large range of products and services designed to help business function, Nick Brandon tells us why they offer a unique service… Tell us the history of First Office Systems Ltd. How did it begin? What is the company ethos? It started in 1991 from nothing when John Donegan and Andy Brett decided to get together and form First Office Systems, initially working from their spare bedrooms! They originally started supplying photocopiers and fax machines to companies. Now, the business has grown organically to 25 people, plus numerous other contractors. Each division of the business has specialist staff in it, experts in their field, and we have various accreditations with leading vendors such as AVAYA, Canon, Gamma, Microsoft, Mitel and Samsung. The company ethos is simple – to
ON TOP OF SOLUTIONS Managing Director John Donegan
constantly deliver exceptional service and give customers the wow factor with every interaction. There are more staff dedicated to technically supporting customers and resolving problems than anything else. How do you keep up-to-date with technology? We have always invested heavily in staff training, and we continue to do so to keep our people trained in the newer leadingedge solutions for our customers. We keep our clients well informed as soon as something becomes available – and with the instantaneousness of life that we all live with, they expect things to be deployable when they want it.
How does your service differ from your competitors? In what way are you unique? Firstly, we have more technical staff available per customer than our competitors are likely to have. This means we can respond much more quickly to faults and problems – our average response rate is 58 minutes. We seriously doubt any of our competitors can compete with this. We have quite a few other things which differentiate us, including ISDN Trend testing and Network Fluke testers, a bespoke Computerised Management system, a permanently-manned Support Centre and our Quality Management System due to our ISO accreditation. What advice would you give to smaller businesses for getting online, and how can it help them run more efficiently? Internet connectivity is critical in any business! It’s important to research what connectivity options there are at your premises – the broadband you see commonly advertised is not as good as is suggested, and you’d be better off opting for a better, faster connectivity with direct fibre. With the move to The Cloud, the internet connection you use becomes even more critical, as does the ‘need for speed’, reliability and bandwidth. What do you highly recommend to small businesses in order to help them develop? Marketing is of huge importance; getting new customers and keeping existing ones. Finding what works for your business
Wednesday 19th October 2016
‘We have more technical staff available per customer than our competitors are likely to have. This means we can respond much more quickly to faults and problems – our average response rate is 58 minutes’
and what is affordable is key to the success and promotion of your business. However, I would focus on staff. Staff and employees are the business. They are what makes it fail or succeed. So focusing on your staff, ensuring they are happy, fulfilled, empowered, challenged, rewarded and listened to is key. Of course, they have to have the right tools for the job and that is where we come in – giving your staff the tools to excel. We are hearing more and more about The Cloud, how can this help businesses, and how do they make the move to it? Every business and organisation is different, so there is a not a ‘one-size fits all’ answer on cloud technology and adoption. Certainly, for a new start-up, loud technology can often cloud be a ‘no-brainer’ as start-up costs can be low or zero and scalability is often a key consideration. Cloud technology should enable staff SALES DIRECTOR and employees to work Nick Brandon