Access Point has been a customer of Holker’s for more than 15 years. But what is it that stands Holker apart from the competition?
We asked Amanda Shaw, Resource Director of the Southport-based company, who work with the UK’s leading retailers, shopping centres and retail parks, specialising in providing high footfall promotional spaces, street food & catering sites and brand experiences.
Amanda said: “We have been with Holker since the beginning. They have seen us grow, and we have seen them grow.
“We have a very open and honest relationship with them. We find everyone very approachable, and the team have helped and advised us on our infrastructure as we have grown and evolved.”
Amanda said that during the pandemic, the company had staff working on desktops, laptops, terminal servers and a mix of operating systems, which was difficult to manage when it came to security updates and licensing.
Access Point’s infrastructure consisted of physical on-site servers but is now nearly fully cloud-based.
Amanda said: “Our transition was expedited due to Covid-19 but now we’re in a better position than a lot of other businesses.
“Holker were able to get us working remotely quickly and we worked together to take our security to the next level. We are now set up with Multi Factor Authentication across the board as well as being Cyber Essentials certified.”
Now, via Intune, updates can be managed remotely, and, thanks to the use of SharePoint, the team no longer have challenges with version control, or costly and vulnerable servers on premise.
Amanda said there was one key reason the company has stayed with Holker for over 15 years.
“With Holker, we’re not just a number. Even though Holker has grown, they are always focused on helping us when we need it and have enabled us to get to the position we’re in now.
“Now, Holker advise us on futureproofing the business and addressing our future needs as a business rather than firefighting when IT breaks down.
“It’s a collaborative relationship which is far more proactive than reactive. It’s focused on improving processes rather than being issue-led.
“Their knowledge and expertise is so valuable. As a company, they invest in training and promote from within – which is great to see.
“I would definitely recommend Holker to others.”
