Overview
Ionix Systems Limited specialises in the design, manufacture and service support of high-performance wiring systems for aerospace, defence and commercial applications. Customers include BAE, Rolls Royce and a key project has been the manufacture of engine harnesses for the Airbus A380. Ionix is headquartered in Lancashire and employs 530 people across the UK and Europe.
Cross-continent IT issues and system complexity has been a challenge for Ionix. Early on in its company formation, it engaged in a 12-month agreement with a third party for its hosting requirements to use BPCS software running on an IBM iSeries system, situated in the USA. With the time difference it could easily be midday before issues were addressed, so it sought a new IT partner.
Business Challenges
There was an initial project meeting where the scope was defined and a schedule for project delivery was set. This was all set out in accordance with Frontline’s Connected Delivery service methodology; a combination of industry standard ITIL frameworks and Frontline’s own in-house expertise.
Frontline implemented the network infrastructure and set up a test environment very quickly, with any issues encountered along the way being handled by Frontline’s knowledgeable technical team.
As well as the managed hosting solution put in place by Frontline, Ionix found it reassuring to talk to Frontline staff who were knowledgeable about iSeries technology. Also, as Ionix runs a fairly lean IT department, it relied on the Frontline team to ensure the migration went smoothly.
“Frontline’s operators monitor the system 24hrs a day, if any system is down then it is addressed immediately. We have never had any instances where we have come to the site and the systems are not fully operational,”
I found the Frontline team to be very friendly and extremely professional people. We visited their datacentre and were very impressed. We spoke to a couple of existing Frontline customers who gave glowing references. Frontline were very competitive in terms of what they could offer.”
Ian Bilsland, Information Technology Manager, Ionix Systems Ltd
Results
The new solution has enabled Ionix to put in place a Disaster Recovery plan. The ‘warm standby’ version of their IT system ensures everything can be up and running in 24-48hrs after a period of downtime whereas previously this would have taken a week.
“Frontline has provided us with a secure, reliable hosting solution which has delivered a 50% cost saving on our hosting spend. I found the Frontline staff knowledgeable, professional and friendly people and recommend them highly,”
Ian Bilsland
