Two-page case study showing how OCS helped this customer refocus on their core business by simplifying their IT infrastructure.

1. Case study 4thd LandsCape serviCes Page 1
The problem
The geographical spread of the business means
that 4thD Landscape Services personnel operate
The ClienT away from the office for much of the time. Having
4thD Landscape Services Ltd is a thriving, remote access to email and documentation is
Oxford based business covering all aspects critical to operations.
of garden creation including design, hard and
In order to meet their initial requirements for email
soft landscaping and complete year-round
and file-sharing, the management team were
maintenance, for both residential and corporate
correctly advised to purchase a Microsoft Small
customers. Experienced landscaping teams work
Business Server. This was installed as a favour
across the South East of England and adopt a
by a friend of the business but became unreliable
personal, tailor-made approach to each project
over time and caused an increasing number of
whether it’s a small city garden, a multi-site contract
problems on a daily basis. The situation became
or a country estate.
untenable and managers were left with the choice
of replacing their five year old hardware, or seeking
professional advice to improve the system without
having to scrap all of their existing equipment.

2. Case study 4thd LandsCape serviCes Page 2
The SoluTion The FeedbaCk
On the basis of personal recommendation, Oxford ‘We’re still learning the full capabilities
Computer Services (OCS) were appointed to of our Small Business Server, but it’s given
assess the feasibility of retaining and improving us the confidence to start exploring all sorts
the performance of the malfunctioning server and of possibilities to make our operations more
existing office PCs. Upon further investigation it efficient. I’d now like OCS to help us explore
became apparent that the existing server was PDA based communications with centralised
technically capable of doing the job and much more, diary management that can viewed by our
however outdated software and issues relating to landscaping teams out in the field.’
the original set up were inhibiting its ability to function Douglas Reeve, MD, 4thD Landscape Services Ltd.
correctly. To minimise disruption the improvements
were scheduled for completion over a weekend ‘The flexibility of the Microsoft Small Business
and all data was archived before work began. Server makes it ideally suited to the dynamic
The existing server was cleaned of any old and requirements of 4thD Landscape Services.
unwanted software and data. OCS then re-installed The ability to be able to access email, files and
the Microsoft Small Business Server software and applications remotely, securely and reliably
in doing so were able to re-configure the entire was pivotal but their existing server is now
network to function more securely. All existing PC capable of delivering much more.’
software was re-installed as part of the service and Howard Aiken, Oxfordshire Computer Service
the business was back up and running with very
little impact. In addition OCS recommended the
4Thd landSCape ServiCeS limiTed
implementation of the Small Business Server’s built-
Canal Yard, Canal Road, Thrupp, Oxon, OX5 1JZ
in ‘Remote Web Workplace’, which greatly improved
Tel: 01865 842708
the simplicity and reliability of remote access. Email: admin@4thdlandscapes.co.uk
www.4thdlandscapes.co.uk
oxFordShire CompuTer ServiCe limiTed
50 Saint Johns Road, Tackley, Kidlington, Oxfordshire OX5 3AP
Tel: 01869 331288
Email: service@oxfordcomputerservice.co.uk
www.oxfordcomputerservice.co.uk