As they were taking over an existing business, the Directors were keen to completely renew and reinvigorate the existing brand to represent their particular style and business direction. Initially they were looking for small business IT support assistance to create and install a new network for them, but once that had been completed, it was important for them to have a website which could be updated regularly with all the changes in their property.
Residential Sales and Lettings
Pickwick Estates was an existing brand that the current Directors bought, and modified to create a very particular presence with the local area. Their focus is upon quality, high levels of customer service and constant communication through the lifecycle of a sale.
As an established company without any IT support, Pickwick Estates needed to find a technology partner that could provide them with the right solutions for their particular needs, which were identified as the following:
¥ No current server based infrastructure
¥ No customer or client management database
¥ No website or online 'shop window'
NPIT proposed a server based solution using Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 with the email, calendars and contact collaboration being handled by Microsoft Exchange. The 4 PC’s connecting to the network were protected by Trend Micros’ antivirus solution, while the secure backup was taken care of by the Attix5 online backup service.
NPIT proposed a web design that matched the decor and style that the Directors requested, and then put forward a comprehensive database design that would allow for unlimited growth within the organisation in terms of properties and customers. During the consultation process, it became apparent that it was extremely important for the data held on the database to be automatically 'pushed' to additional websites that also advertised the Pickwick Estates property portfolio. Previously this had meant uploading the same information to up to four different sites, so the Directors were keen to reduce this if possible. NPIT created a service that would run on daily basis to upload the property information on the online database to these various sites (and in the end, even to their in house TV System!), cutting out the repetitive entering of information and also allowing work to be carried out from home or from another site.
Pickwick Estates now has a reliable, secure and scalable infrastructure that allows staff to work from anywhere in the world. It also has a quality website and online database that provides them with unlimited growth potential and reduces their workload by using its automatic update service. Its systems are fully managed and supported by NPIT, their online database and website is hosted on NPIT's servers and both companies work together closely to ensure that any required developments or changes are implemented quickly and efficiently.

¥ Full web design concept and consultation
¥ Complete back end SQL database construction
¥ Online CMS and product portfolio
¥ Daily export service of content to external sites
The NPIT team worked very hard to get the look and feel that we wanted. The database itself is amazing, we couldn't run our business without it!
P Ulivi- Director - Pickwick Estates Ltd
www.pickwickestates.com
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