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Knightsbridge Financial Solutions increases capacITy through IT

Knightsbridge Financial Solutions in Chelmsford is a firm of independent financial advisers (IFAs), offering advice to people on their savings and investments. The company was formed from the merger of three IFAs two years ago. One of the original founders, Terry Proudfoot, has since taken over the running of the company, which currently employs three people.

When the merger occurred, there were the inevitable cultural and practical difficulties in learning how to function as one organisation. One key difference in this merger though, was that although the three IFAs had plans to market their products and services across their customer base, they each wanted to continue working from their own base in Essex.

Consequently, they needed an IT solution that would help them work together virtually, if not physically, and an IT provider that would help them get the most out of their IT infrastructure to maximise efficiencies.They turned to IT provider, Computer Confidence, to deliver IT support, bespoke applications and a website to generate online sales.

Knightsbridge Financial Solutions identify IT needs:

Knightsbridge's most pressing requirement was creating a network so that each adviser's computer could 'talk' to one another. "Computer Confidence set up a remote server system, which we all access over the Internet from wherever we are," explains Terry Proudfoot, owner of Knightsbridge Financial Solutions.

Computer Confidence is also building a central Access database, so the team can combine their customer data in one repository. It's a unique requirement of their industry that IFAs have to keep a vast amount of information on each of their clients in order to comply with Financial Service Authority (FSA) regulations. Without merging their IT systems and data, the IFAs would have continued to operate as three separate companies and not enjoyed any of the benefits of the merger.

"Being able to access the same data is absolutely crucial really," adds Terry Proudfoot. It was also important that the system was easy to use, especially as Knightsbridge has plans to scan all its paper documents as well, and link these to the relevant client's details in the database, "so that we have all our documentation in the database and can get rid of paper as well."

Knightsbridge's next intention is to add a processing application onto the system, "so when we do a mortgage we can do a fact find on the database, then we'd like to link through to a supplier's system," Terry says. He admits they are still some way from making this a reality, but only having to input a client's information once into the database already streamlines the way Knightsbridge works. "We'll be able to increase our volumes cost effectively," he says. "We've got to be competitive and all these things help us work smarter."

Whenever he has a problem, Computer Confidence is on hand to help. Most problems can be solved remotely, but Terry says, "I've even phoned them on Sunday when I've had problems and they've sorted them out." Computer Confidence is also building a website for Knightsbridge to give them a visible presence online and drive sales through this channel.

Knightsbridge's owner is on a continual quest to find more ways of making IT more effective to increase his business' capacity. "I couldn't function now without the IT, and gradually we'll become more sophisticated as we go along," he says.

Need to Know: Key Lessons

  • Identify your needs: list the areas of your business where IT solutions could improve your efficiencies and working environment for your staff.
  • Seek help: by working with Computer Confidence, Knightsbridge Financial Solutions discovered the most effective way to get the most out of its IT infrastructure.
  • Review: Once you have initial systems in place, keep looking for new ways of how IT can help your business grow.

The Top Line: Professional IT support

  • Tailored solutions to meet your individual business needs
  • On-call support so your business can operate 24/7
  •  Streamlined systems for maximum business efficiencies

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