One in five businesses in the East of England reported that they had no website, internet connection or way of contacting people on the move.
By investing in a new approach to connectivity, one company in Bedford enabled its workforce to work more effectively when away from the office. 
BMH Construction Company in Bedford is a 97-strong, regional design and build contractor operating throughout the Home Counties.
As most of its employees work on construction sites, they often don’t have access to office-based communications, like email. For BMH’s directors and contract managers – who are responsible for a series of projects, often based around the country – being unable to access their emails carries a hefty penalty.
BMH’s IT and support services manager, Jason Bedford explains why: “Apart from the delay in responding to any information, which was horrendous, they also had to sift through hundreds of emails and meeting requests that had built up over time,” he says. “It also took their secretaries an inordinate amount of time to get more than 15 people together.”
Another problem BMH had was with the cost of communications. “We deal primarily with subcontractors, who tend to use mobile phones, and it was hard to find a tariff that handled that,” says Bedford.
IT solution:
BMH invested in BT’s Office Anywhere solution to help its employees stay connected when on the move.
BMH initially trialled one Office Anywhere handset, but the company was so impressed that this has now been extended to ten users with more likely to follow.
Office Anywhere gives employees real-time access to email, calendar, contacts, and documents, as well as voice calls through a smartphone handset. This connectivity means that users can now manage their inboxes when and where it suits them, resulting in gknock-on benefits for company decision-making and administration which have sped up. They also don’t have to come into the office simply to access their email account, but can check it on the move.
BMH was also attracted to the Voice over IP (VoIP) capability offered by BT and has programmed the handsets to first search for a WiFi network for voice calls. This has a significant cost benefit too, not just because it’s brought down the cost of mobile phone calls, but also because all sites have wireless broadband installations, so call costs are practically non-existent as voice calls use the same data network.
Furthermore, there were no significant capital costs at the outset of the implementation, as BMH pays for the service on a monthly basis over its two-year contract. The handset was also offered free as part of the deal.
BMH is already looking at other areas where it can maximise connectivity, while minimising costs. “We’ve started to replace the mobiles of guys working on site with a BT product that uses a reduced tariff when they’re in the range of the wireless router, so that’s proving beneficial as well,” explains Bedford.
“Overall, I envisage savings of 30 per cent to 40 per cent on our costs, which is important, but the biggest benefit by far is giving our managers real-time communications,” he adds.
