Node4 Provides Private Cloud Platform For EMiR Software
Founded in 1994, EMiR Software (Solutions in IT) is a market leader in specialist business management software. Available as an on-premises or hosted solution, EMiR is designed for electrical and mechanical engineering businesses that install and service large-scale industrial and commercial equipment, including motors, pumps, gearboxes, compressors, control panels, wind turbines and variable speed drives.
EMiR supports the UK’s vital infrastructure. In fact 45% of the UK membership of the Association Electrical & Mechanical Trades have purchased EMiR Software. These include hospitals, power stations, chemical plants, food manufacturing and utility companies. Integral to operations, EMiR shapes how electrical and mechanical engineering businesses service their client bases. At its core, EMiR empowers electrical and mechanical engineers to manage and resource all aspects of their complex and challenging business needs. It covers system build, installation and commissioning, repairs and servicing, sales and marketing, distribution and financial systems.
The Challenge
Initially, EMiR was installed directly onto servers at client locations. However, around five years ago, the company developed a cloud-based version of its software for customers that would prefer a managed service offering.
Gary Downes, Managing Director at EMiR Software, explains, “We developed a solution that allowed customers to access their own dedicated virtual server, or fleet of virtual servers, via a private cloud platform. We installed our EMiR software and Microsoft Office in each customer environment and offered the option to include any other software that clients might require. Customers would then pay a monthly per-user fee. In return, we’d free them from day-to-day system admin responsibilities and manage the entire environment — delivering first-line hardware support and 24/7 x 365 availability.”
This arrangement worked very well for some time. But as EMiR Software’s business and solution continued to develop, the company started to outgrow its original IT services provider.
“The amount of unscheduled downtime and service interruptions increased to an unacceptable level,” recalls Gary. “It impacted our infrastructure and caused problems for our clients — problems that we had no control over and could not fix directly. It was extremely challenging for us, and it was apparent that our clients were also frustrated. We needed to act decisively and find a new IT provider.”
The Solution
An IT partner that listens
Gary and his team chose Node4 after assessing several cloud service providers, noting that Node4 stood out straight away in terms of pricing, support, speed, performance and flexibility. “Node4 had the right mix of technical and commercial experience, and this instilled confidence from the first meeting,” he remembers. “They also listened to us and learned about the intricacies of our operations. They didn’t try to push us into an ill-fitting box like many vendors. Instead, they devised a bespoke solution and pricing structure that matched how we serviced and billed our customers.”
Improved resiliency, proactive monitoring and enhanced security
Following a seamless migration, all EMiR Software’s managed service customers have been relocated to virtual servers in one of Node4’s data centres. Customers still have a managed private cloud environment containing EMiR, Microsoft Office and any other software they’d like to run on their networks. But with Node4 on board, customers now benefit from improved performance and resiliency that come from superior backup, recovery, antivirus protection and security functionality.
“Node4’s network monitoring capabilities are on a totally different level, too,” notes Gary. “We get automated hardware, software and key service alerts — plus daily performance reports for each server. And we’re immediately notified about potential IT security breaches or cyber threats. Node4 deals with these before customers are even aware of an issue. It’s all extremely impressive, proactive and responsive — and it makes our lives a hundred times easier.”
The Results
Round-the-clock support
Node4’s private cloud platform delivers the 24/7 x 365 support EMiR Software and its clients had always needed. “Although our previous provider had out-of-hours alerting, they didn’t start working on any fixes until 8 am the following morning,” Gary recounts.
“By contrast, with Node4, the alerts are monitored and dealt with round the clock, so issues never escalate or cause outages.”
Speed and performance gains
In addition, Gary continues to be impressed by the superior speed and performance of Node4’s infrastructure: “Our clients have noticed too, which we’re delighted about. These days, when I demo the cloud-based version of EMiR to clients still using their own hardware, they are always blown away. This makes it much more certain that they’ll migrate to the cloud-based version when their current infrastructure reaches end-of-life.”
Delivering flexibility and agility
Node4’s public cloud infrastructure also gives Gary and his team much more direct control over their servers. “This allows us to add users, licences, RAM, or disk capacity ourselves,” comments Gary. “Administrative changes that used to take our provider around 48 hours to deal with are now handled by us within an hour. We don’t need to raise a ticket and wait for our provider to respond. This makes for more efficient operations and enables us to deliver a very smooth customer experience.”
Summing up, Gary offers a snapshot of how life has changed since he engaged Node4: “The relationship with our previous provider was very stressful — we felt like we were moaning all the time, which isn’t a good place for anyone to be. That’s all changed now, and we have a very settled, positive relationship with Node4.”
He concludes: “Having Node4 as our trusted IT provider and partner means we’re more confident when promoting the benefits of our cloud-based solution. We’ve also been able to take on more of a leadership and educational role — which helps our sales and marketing efforts and elevates our standing within our sector. For all these reasons, I believe we have built a strong foundation that will enable our business to continue growing and evolving.”
