1. © 2012 Data Continuity Group.
Version 1.0
Case Study | Northern Shellwww.dcggroup.com
FLEXIBILITY PUTS DCG IN THE NEWS
“With Data Continuity Group’s (DCG) Managed Services in place, we don’t have to worry about
our data – we know it is being backed up securely and is in safe hands. Only DCG were able to
offer us the flexibility in services which we need.”
Ben Dyer, Joint Head of IT at leading media group Northern & Shell.
Key benefits:
• DCG Support Desk - acts as
a single point of contact for all
fault calls logged, owning the
management, resolution and
closure of any issues
• Onsite assistance - from
DCG’s technical engineers and
consultants for
support-related issues
• True independent support -
with strong technical skill sets
that can significantly help in
resolving any “finger-pointing”
issues which may arise
• Named DCG engineers -
who understand the customer
environment and any
previous issues
DCG provides its data backup and disaster
recovery Managed Services to Northern & Shell,
owners of Express Newspapers, Channel 5, OK!
Magazine and a host of other successful fitles.
As well as providing flexibility in services, DCG
offer the assurance of the ISO27001 standard
for information security.
Northern & Shell Group
Northern & Shell was founded in December
1974 with the vision of becoming a significant
force in British and worldwide media. That
ambition was developed through a broad
portfolio of magazines and broadcast interests
and came of age with the acquisitions of
Express Newspapers in November 2000 and
Channel 5 in July 2010. Today, Northern & Shell
owns four national newspapers and is a 50 per
cent joint venture partner in two more in Ireland.
In Channel 5 the company owns one of Britain’s
leading national terrestrial television networks.
It is also at the forefront of digital media as a
key stakeholder in YouView, the world’s leading
internet television service. Northern & Shell
dominates important parts of the consumer
magazine market both in the UK and worldwide,
including OK! And Star! Magazines. It operates
in all major areas of publishing and has diverse
interests in new media, print, distribution,
investment and property. As Britain’s leading
independent publisher and a key player in both
broadcasting and digital media, the future is
brighter than ever for Northern & Shell, with the
launch of the Health Lottery scheduled for this
autumn.
Growth drives need for change
Northern & Shell has offices around UK and
overseas, with all operations run from the
headquarters building in London. A team of
23 people run IT services for the whole group,
operating at maximum levels of efficiency to
provide everything from programming to front
line support for an international workforce of
around 2,000 staff.
Rapid growth in the business was bringing
sharp increases in data volumes to be safely
stored and backed up. Ben Dyer, Joint Head
of IT at the Group, was looking at how best
to manage backup securely in the future and
provide for further growth in data volumes.
“We had previously used NetBackup on site
here, managed internally, using our own
hardware and purchasing necessary licences,”
he explains. “However, the system was at the
end of its life, already at capacity, with hardware
© 2012 Data Continuity Group.
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2. © 2012 Data Continuity Group.
Version 1.0
Case Study | Northern Shellwww.dcggroup.com
due for replacement. We were going to have to
upgrade and buy new software. We would need
to continue to use internal resources to support
and manage our backup.”
“We had also recently purchased a new finance
system, which was not compatible with our
existing backup, and the requirement from our
auditors was that we must achieve a viable new
solution for data backup and disaster recovery.”
Opting for Managed Services
Ben Dyer and his team reviewed the costs of
investing in their own new backup system and
managing it themselves but there would be
major challenges.
“The costs of going out and buying a new
system and operating it were high and
we particularly wanted to free up internal
resources,” he says. “Backup was very time-
consuming for the team – a two hour task each
morning changing tapes and dealing with any
issues that happened overnight.”
“We need our team to be working on more high-
level tasks.”
Ben decided to investigate alternative ways of
managing Northern & Shell data backup, with a
Managed Services provider, in order to reduce
costs and save time.
A clear solution
Northern & Shell maintains its products and
activities as benchmarks of excellence to its
readers, customers, advertisers and business
partners. It was therefore important that Ben
Dyer found a provider of Managed Services for
data backup who would be aligned with the
highest standards in its quality of service and
customer focus.
After presentations from leading providers,
Northern & Shell decided to award the contract
for management of their data backup to DCG.
“DCG is providing a completed managed
data backup and disaster recovery solution
for the entire estate of Northern & Shell on
an international basis,” confirms Ben Dyer.
“This includes backup of all data for Express
Newspapers, OK! Magazine, Star! Magazine,
Channel 5, and now for the new Health Lottery
to be launched this year.”
Flexibility is the key
Essential to the operations of Northern & Shell
is the building of dedicated teams with pride in
what they produce and a willingness to respond
to customer needs. This spirit is matched by
DCG, who demonstrated the willingness to
offer flexible services to win Northern & Shell
business.
“Only DCG could offer us the flexibility in
Managed Services which we require, with
several options which we can tailor to our
needs,” says Ben Dyer. “This is a big factor for
us, as the expectation is that we will grow, and
need to adapt services. Other suppliers could
provide us with only one fixed solution.”
“DCG has already provided us with a seamless
upgrade to the services estate as our data
volumes have increased – it’s a great example
of how scalable and flexible they are.”
“It’s a classic example of not knowing what’s
round the corner. The DCG team understands
our requirements, gives us options in services
and a contract with flexibility.”
Accreditation Matters
Another key factor for Ben Dyer in selecting
DCG to provide Managed Services to Northern
& Shell was the requirement of company
auditors that data backup from the new finance
system must be carried out to recognised
standards.
“The auditors on their annual visit are looking at
our finance systems to check that data is being
backed up consistently and retained securely,
and that we can restore data in the case of any
corruption or loss,” explains Ben.
DCG proved that their technical skills and
standards for data backup and disaster
recovery were at the highest level.
“Only the Data Continuity Group could offer
us the flexibility in Managed Services which
we require, with several options which we
can tailor to our needs. This is a big factor
for us, as the expectation is that we will
grow, and need to adapt services. Other
suppliers could provide us with only one
fixed solution.”
Ben Dyer, Joint Head of IT at leading
media group Northern Shell

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© 2012 Data Continuity Group.
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“Also, we have peace of mind, knowing that
our data backup is not only running but is being
checked. DCG’s technical engineers are pro-
active on any failures overnight and notify us in
the morning – they fix it for us before we even
know we have a problem.”
“We are comfortable our data is in safe hands
and the business benefits from the cost
savings as well,” concludes Ben Dyer. “Without
question, I would recommend DCG and we
are exploring buying extra services from them
already.”
Customer Options
“We are committed to matching our customers’
requirements and have the technical skills
to be able to offer flexibility to fast-moving
businesses like Northern Shell,” says Peter
Wilks, Director, Data Continuity Group.
Case Study | Northern Shellwww.dcggroup.com
Key benefits:
• DCG escalation - ability to
escalate rapidly and effectively
into vendors when required
• DCG’s technical engineers
cross-trained - in all aspects
of backup and recovery
infrastructure
• 24 x 7 x 365 call logging
• DCG assurance - you only
pay for the licence support you
require as all licences are pro
rata to a single end date for
ease of administration.
“The fact that DCG holds the ISO27001
standard for information security was important
for us and for the auditors,” says Ben.
Cost Benefits
“DCG costs are also competitive,” adds Ben
Dyer.
DCG Managed Services are charged on a
regular subscription basis and this made it
easier for Ben Dyer to get Board approval to go
ahead with the DCG contract.
“It was going to be big capital expenditure
project for us to replace our backup hardware
and purchase new backup licences,” he
explains. “It was a big advantage in winning
our case with the Board that there are no
big initial costs and regular predictable
monthly instalments rather than a lump sum
investment.”
“We are spending less and getting value for
money.”
“Because of the flexibility of our contract with
DCG, we know that we can adapt services as
the business changes, without having to go
back to the Board for increased payments.”
Business Benefits
“The biggest benefit for us in our contract with
DCG is that we have freed up resources in the
IT team which are expensive and which are
valuable to us,” says Ben Dyer. “
“Routine backups are crucial and with the
managed service provided by DCG, our IT
support team are on hand to focus on business
priority tasks - as a result we are getting added
value from the service.”
For more information about DCG or other DCG Managed Services,
call 0845 226 8173 or email sales@dcggroup.co.uk
or check out the website www.dcggroup.com
DCG Group ISO Accreditations:
ISO27001 - The international best
practice standard for information security
management
ISO20000 - The international standard for
IT Service Management benchmarking the
delivery of Managed Services, measuring
service levels and performance assessment
ISO9001 - The international standard for
providing assurance about the ability to
satisfy quality requirements and to enhance
customer satisfaction