“They are always looking ahead – they see things that could help us improve how we work or provide new services to our customers.”

Melanie Banks-Browne, Chief Executive, John Banks

“As a main dealer we are expected to provide more services for our customers than simply selling and servicing vehicles.” Explains Melanie Banks-Browne, Chief Executive of John Banks, a diverse motor dealership, representing motorcar as well as motorcycle brands. “These days people expect wifi everywhere. They want to carry on working while they wait for their cars to be prepared.”

Although John Banks initially hired Zen to supply telephony to two branches – using 3CX to improve inter-branch communications – it became clear that wifi was if anything the greater problem.

“We established early on that their network security and company wifi wasn’t fit for purpose.” Explains James Howard-Dobson, “The IT Manager at the time was moving a lot of staff to wi-fi connections to be mobile, and the existing system wasn’t coping.

So we started upgrading their network infrastructure by replacing the firewalls, switches and access points. Where possible we also upgraded their connectivity to FTTC.”

This was vital work for John Banks: “Communication over a multi-site business needs to be so much slicker than in the past,” Melanie believes. “People and opportunities won’t wait for you – you’ve got to be able to share information and contact one another across the business easily.”

Moreover, new types of seamless intercommunication are increasingly part of customers’ growing expectations – particularly among a new generation of car and motorcycle owners. “For us, that means tablets and video sharing, out of hours phone availability and applications in the cloud.”

To help John Banks understand the emerging picture of technology-driven communication and how it could best be put to use for their business is the essence of the Zen service, Melanie believes.

“They are forward-looking. They see what’s available that could help us improve how we work or provide new services to our customers. They see things ahead of us – we don’t need to worry about it, in fact we’re confident they’ll keep us up to speed.”

Solution technical details

• 3CX
• VDC – Virtual Servers
• Cisco Meraki Security Firewalls
• Managed Wi-Fi
• Connectivity
• SIP trunks