COLLEGE RAISES MONEY ON FACEBOOK

August 2011
The National Star College in Ullenwood, Cheltenham has come up with the unusual idea of raising money using the social networking site Facebook, by attracting new members.  
The local College, which provides learning for people with disabilities, had initially set up a page on the social networking site to keep the friends and families of students up to date about their activities.  However, the page was so successful they decided to try and encourage other people to join the group and help with their fundraising efforts at the same time.
Converge Networks agreed to sponsor the Facebook page, donating £1 to the College for every new member gained. Martyn Smith, MD said: “We’ve helped with the College’s fundraising before so when they approached us we were more than happy to give them our support.” He added: “The idea is to increase the number of members to more than 1500 and we’re really hoping we can help them achieve this as it will make a big difference to them”.
So far the campaign has already increased the National Star College’s Facebook members by over 200. With it yet to go viral, this number looks set to go up again in the coming weeks. If you would like to help with the College’s fundraising efforts go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Star-College/136281008776?ref=ts or visit http://www.natstar.ac.uk/

CONVERGE HELPS REDUCE FUEL COSTS

August 2011
We’ve come up with an innovative solution to help businesses in the area dramatically reduce the amount they spend on fuel & Travel Costs.
We spotted the potential for local businesses after being asked by one of our clients to provide a conference system that would allow meetings between staff based at their international offices. We soon realised how this might benefit other businesses with more than one base or staff working from home, particularly in light of recent cuts and ever increasing fuel costs. Neil Hamilton, Network Division Manager said: “We were researching products for one of our clients who wanted something that would allow face to face meetings with overseas staff, and came across a system that was different from the rest, allowing multi person video conferencing on such devices as laptops, phones & even ipad all in striking HD quality . Most video conferencing systems will give you a basic picture but are often at the mercy of cutouts and poor sound and image quality. This one uses superior bandwidth that allows you to actually see facial expressions and body language in a clear way so you feel they are close by.”
The HD video conferencing system enables companies to organise face to face meetings and staff conferences with people from any location with an internet connection meaning they don’t need to all travel to be together. Neil Hamilton said “This will radically alter the way businesses operate in the area, especially those with more than one office. It also has huge implications for remote workers and could allow more people to work from home for a larger amount of the time without impacting on staff morale or communication, without the traditional high cost of video conferencing”.   
The solution is available across a number of different packages meaning that small as well as larger sized business can benefit, lessening the impact on the environment and saving them money on fuel costs. For more information about the solution contact us on 01452 858030

Helping Olympic Hopefuls strive for success

March 2011
We are helping top Olympic hopefuls who train at Sport England’s National Sports Centre at Bisham Abbey with state of the art IT systems.

We were delighted to be asked to be involved in this exciting project by designing a new wireless network system at the Bisham Abbey centre, which includes a manor house dating back to 1260. A number of national sports organisations have their headquarters at Bisham and the new network was needed to improve the capacity and speed required for the all the activity surrounding the forthcoming 2012 Olympics. Crucially, the wireless service also provides a ‘hotspot’ service to the top athletes and Olympic hopefuls that train there as well as members of the public and sports teams who use the facilities.

Athletes are increasingly using mobile technology to record and monitor their training progress for each session, as well as storing data to enable them to accurately assess dietary needs.  Having Wi-Fi also enables coaches to record and assess techniques in real time, allowing adjustments to be made that help optimise athlete performance and reduce injury risk. Some of the country’s leading sportsmen and women that train at the centre are hoping to take part in the 2012 Olympics and having access to technology that can help improve their techniques could make all the difference to them. 

Neil Hamilton, Network Services Manager said: “The system we designed had to be reliable and robust enough to cope with the demands of the 2012 Olympics. It also needed to be adaptable for indoor and outdoor environments to allow athletes and coaches access to the network wherever they were training.” He added: “So far the installation has been a great success and we are delighted to be involved in something that would benefit our Olympic hopefuls and the other athletes that train there.”

School Given Help with Languages

March 2011
Converge were pleased to be able help Cleeve School in Cheltenham when they recently needed a sponsor to help them qualify for capital funding towards a new language laboratory. 

When we heard that their application to the Specialist School and Academies Trust for capital funding needed additional financial support to succeed, we came forward with the offer of providing £1,950.00 for the new cabling.  Lee Sloan, head of Sales, said “We have worked on various projects at Cleeve School for many years now and have developed a good rapport with them. We were concerned to hear that they might not get the funding without the sponsorship, so we were more than happy to help.”

Our support enabled the school to receive the funding they needed and allowed the project to go ahead.  Lee continued “The structured cabling solution we provided means that all the equipment in the language lab not only has the capacity to run super efficiently but is also now ‘hooked up’ with the rest of the school’s network.’ He added: ‘The equipment was installed successfully and up and running in no time. I am delighted to report that since the lab was completed in September it has been a great success and is popular with students and teachers.” 

Business can now box clever

December, 2010

When you’re looking for a company to manage your IT AND save you money, where do you turn? Well, now there’s no need to look any further than Converge Networks, based in Staverton, Gloucestershire. They do IT with a difference! Yes, they do all the usual services you would expect from an IT provider such as Data Cabling, Secure Wireless Network, Voice Solutions and Managed Services, but they also seek out new technology that will help businesses.

Recently launched is literally ‘an office in a box’ where your telephone system, internet and all your Microsoft products you normally expert fits into just one small box and costs a fraction of the normal price for a business.
Neil Hamilton, Network Division Manager for Converge Networks said “We found a lot of businesses find it expensive to pay for 6 to 8 devices to manage their IT systems and phones which can also be costly to maintain.”
“The Office in a Box literally manages all your IT, phones and communications in just one small box,” he continued. “The box is a fraction of the cost of the many devices it replaces. We can also manage this remotely so we are aware of any issues before they arise.”
The system can serve small to medium professional and commercial businesses and their branch offices with between 1 and 300 users.
For more information or a free review of your IT, please call Converge on 01452 858 030 or email sales@convergenetworks.co.uk

Sign of the times

November, 2010
We’ve helped a Gloucestershire school embrace new technology by installing the latest digital signs.   We were asked by the Kings School in Gloucester to come up with an innovative and eco friendly signage system to replace their current memo and notice boards.  The school felt they were spending a lot of time using traditional methods of keeping parents and pupils informed and were looking for something creative that would help reduce this, as well as being environmentally sound.  
We’ve provided IT services for many schools and colleges in the area and were able to come up with a novel and innovative solution that would help bring the school up to date.  We suggested using the Samsung Magic Info Boards, a flexible signage system more at home in airport lounges than a school. However, the signs are so user friendly they allow organisations to create their own updatable signs quickly and easily and have attracted customers from other sectors, not just commercial.  The Kings School was quick to see its advantages and decided to have the state of the art system installed. 
Neil Hamilton, Network Services Manager, explained:  “The Magic Info signs allow the school to show video, animation, web content as well as presentations on single or multiple screens. They are even able to split what you display on them, which is even better as most digital signage systems can only send the same content to each display”. He added “The school now has a focal point for students, staff and parents keeping them up to date with events, making them more environmentally friendly and helping to reduce costs”.
The digital signage is already a hit with pupils who have embraced the ‘cool’ technology, but staff have also seen its benefits in freeing up their time to concentrate on more important tasks. Parents too are impressed as they see children paying more attention to the signs and are no longer faced with copious amounts of paper to deal with.