Truly Great PM!
Virtua supplies Project Management resources and support to a leading telco:
Femtocell Expertise
Virtua support leading technology provider as Femtocells hit market:
Keeping the Underground on Track
Virtua supports infrastructure of London's key transport network:
People and Partnerships
The power of long term relationships leads to long term success:
Greenwoods
FMC - The future of mobile communications:
Emergency Services
In life and death situations - every minute counts:
Truly Great PM!
Virtua supplies Project Management resources and support to a leading telco:
One of the biggest challenges large corporate organisations face from time to time is finding the right Programme or Project Managers that can be relied on to deliver large complex projects on time and on budget.
When one of the UK’s biggest Telecoms companies needed a number of exceptional Project Managers to work together on one of their largest projects it was to Virtua they turned for assistance.
Considerable Challenges
For this particular project the challenges were considerable, involving not only the day to day management of large numbers of people in distinct project teams but also a deep understanding of the technical and logistical elements that needed resolution.
The Telco client in this case supplies a range of complex business services to some of the UK’s largest companies. These are business services that include contact and data centre’s employing hundreds of staff with integral technical hosting solutions. A lot of these service elements were deliberately created as bespoke or customised solutions as they can bring huge benefits to the organisation but can also be very complex to deploy. The skills required of the Project Managers were therefore much more significant than for an “average” project.
Great People With The Right Skills
Virtua were approached to help with the challenge. The first part of the proposition – working to deliverables rather than just a daily supply of resource was attractive. Of course at the heart of that project management service is great people with the right technical background and interpersonal skills. Our reputation for supplying PM’s who have the knowledge and experience to ‘hit the ground running’ was well known to the operator.
In order to make sure the deliverables happened on time, in addition to Project Managers Virtua were needed to provide a number of other specialists to work within the project teams based on their reputation for solution delivery. Our ability to flex the resources (in other words being able to supply resources when needed and remove them during other quieter periods) as well as keeping focus on the deliverables rather than the timesheets is of great value to our client.
Many large Network Operators use specialist companies like Virtua to supplement their project teams. Where Virtua differentiates itself is by providing the very best people in the industry with the highest credentials and experience. Coupled with our flexible deliverables based approach and ability to deploy teams of varied sizes at short notice it is little wonder our clients return to us time and time again.
When one of the UK’s biggest Telecoms companies needed a number of exceptional Project Managers to work together on one of their largest projects it was to Virtua they turned for assistance.
Considerable Challenges
For this particular project the challenges were considerable, involving not only the day to day management of large numbers of people in distinct project teams but also a deep understanding of the technical and logistical elements that needed resolution.
The Telco client in this case supplies a range of complex business services to some of the UK’s largest companies. These are business services that include contact and data centre’s employing hundreds of staff with integral technical hosting solutions. A lot of these service elements were deliberately created as bespoke or customised solutions as they can bring huge benefits to the organisation but can also be very complex to deploy. The skills required of the Project Managers were therefore much more significant than for an “average” project.
Great People With The Right Skills
Virtua were approached to help with the challenge. The first part of the proposition – working to deliverables rather than just a daily supply of resource was attractive. Of course at the heart of that project management service is great people with the right technical background and interpersonal skills. Our reputation for supplying PM’s who have the knowledge and experience to ‘hit the ground running’ was well known to the operator.
In order to make sure the deliverables happened on time, in addition to Project Managers Virtua were needed to provide a number of other specialists to work within the project teams based on their reputation for solution delivery. Our ability to flex the resources (in other words being able to supply resources when needed and remove them during other quieter periods) as well as keeping focus on the deliverables rather than the timesheets is of great value to our client.
Many large Network Operators use specialist companies like Virtua to supplement their project teams. Where Virtua differentiates itself is by providing the very best people in the industry with the highest credentials and experience. Coupled with our flexible deliverables based approach and ability to deploy teams of varied sizes at short notice it is little wonder our clients return to us time and time again.
Femtocell Expertise
Virtua support leading technology provider as Femtocells hit market:
Virtua work closely with the company that are the world’s leading developers and suppliers of ‘femtocells’. Femtocells are tiny 3G network access points which have until recently tended to remain on the sidelines, waiting patiently for the market to explode and change the face of workplace mobility forever. This year that certainly looks like being the case.
Leading Experts In "Femtocells"
Up until today though, because femtocells were not regarded as ‘mainstream’ the early adopters have needed a lot of support and hand holding from specialists in this field. Fortunately, Virtua have been leading the field in femtocell technical expertise since the very start and have gained an enormous amount of experience in this relatively new technology. Virtua and their associate company have been working together for over four years deploying the femtocell networks in both France and Japan. During the time they have worked on these projects the 3G experienced Virtua engineers have developed a huge expertise in surveying, testing, installing and commissioning dedicated solutions for their clients.
The ‘Femto-Engine’ software system that the development company have pioneered creates a complete ready-to-deploy 3G femtocell, providing proven off-the-shelf self-organising capabilities. Also the ‘hardware blueprints’ that are produced enable manufacturers to rapidly produce low-cost ‘Engine-Ready’ femtocells for Consumer, Business, Enterprise Self-Organising Networks (SONs), Metro and Rural applications.
Now that the femtocell market is starting to rapidly expand there is an increasing demand for knowledgeable engineers and Virtua are therefore well placed to provide the specialists the market needs.
Leading Experts In "Femtocells"
Up until today though, because femtocells were not regarded as ‘mainstream’ the early adopters have needed a lot of support and hand holding from specialists in this field. Fortunately, Virtua have been leading the field in femtocell technical expertise since the very start and have gained an enormous amount of experience in this relatively new technology. Virtua and their associate company have been working together for over four years deploying the femtocell networks in both France and Japan. During the time they have worked on these projects the 3G experienced Virtua engineers have developed a huge expertise in surveying, testing, installing and commissioning dedicated solutions for their clients.
The ‘Femto-Engine’ software system that the development company have pioneered creates a complete ready-to-deploy 3G femtocell, providing proven off-the-shelf self-organising capabilities. Also the ‘hardware blueprints’ that are produced enable manufacturers to rapidly produce low-cost ‘Engine-Ready’ femtocells for Consumer, Business, Enterprise Self-Organising Networks (SONs), Metro and Rural applications.
Now that the femtocell market is starting to rapidly expand there is an increasing demand for knowledgeable engineers and Virtua are therefore well placed to provide the specialists the market needs.
Keeping the Underground on Track
Virtua supports infrastructure of London's key transport network:
The London Underground provides the public transport arteries of the capital that millions of commuters rely on 24/7 in one of the busiest cities in the world. The infrastructure that supports the underground network relies on a number of critical systems including the radio communications system that is provided by a leading systems integrator.
A Helping Hand
The systems integrator is a competent and dedicated network company and the team fully understand the technical complexities of their network and how to optimise its performance. Sometimes however, even the best organisations need a little help and that is why they turned to Virtua for assistance.
One of the company’s objectives was to utilise an effective measurement tool to monitor and track the performance of the operational behaviour of the network. This would provide them with key statistical data that could then be used to improve specific elements of the network.
After selecting the most appropriate tool for the job and starting to use it for network monitoring it soon became apparent that the tool was not being fully used to its full capability. That’s when they decided to call in Virtua to help them.
Getting The Best From A Tool
Virtua were quickly able to deploy people who fully understood how to get the best from the network monitoring tool. They were then able to fine tune the tool in order to get the best results from it. Once the tool had been fully optimised Virtua then spent time training up the on-site tool operators so that they could continue to use the tool functionality to achieve everything that was needed.
Our customer was not only delighted at the service Virtua were able to provide at short notice, but also with the honesty involved in respect of what was delivered. Rather than propose a grandiose project to analyse, propose and then outsource the network management we soon realised that the skills already existed and it was a simply a matter of providing training from the very best experts. Today the network radio system continues to support the needs of the London Underground and its thousands of daily users.
A Helping Hand
The systems integrator is a competent and dedicated network company and the team fully understand the technical complexities of their network and how to optimise its performance. Sometimes however, even the best organisations need a little help and that is why they turned to Virtua for assistance.
One of the company’s objectives was to utilise an effective measurement tool to monitor and track the performance of the operational behaviour of the network. This would provide them with key statistical data that could then be used to improve specific elements of the network.
After selecting the most appropriate tool for the job and starting to use it for network monitoring it soon became apparent that the tool was not being fully used to its full capability. That’s when they decided to call in Virtua to help them.
Getting The Best From A Tool
Virtua were quickly able to deploy people who fully understood how to get the best from the network monitoring tool. They were then able to fine tune the tool in order to get the best results from it. Once the tool had been fully optimised Virtua then spent time training up the on-site tool operators so that they could continue to use the tool functionality to achieve everything that was needed.
Our customer was not only delighted at the service Virtua were able to provide at short notice, but also with the honesty involved in respect of what was delivered. Rather than propose a grandiose project to analyse, propose and then outsource the network management we soon realised that the skills already existed and it was a simply a matter of providing training from the very best experts. Today the network radio system continues to support the needs of the London Underground and its thousands of daily users.
People and Partnerships
The power of long term relationships leads to long term success:
One of our partners was delighted when they won a major contract with
one of the largest mobile network operators in the world. The contract
was to design and install radio equipment which they were competent to
undertake, though it soon became apparent that there were simply not
enough resources to meet the demands of the project. In addition, the
nature of the work involved some peak activities at particular times. It
was at this point that they turned to Virtua for assistance.
Long Term Relationships
The managers of both companies had known each other for years so were quickly able to agree a way forward with minimum delay. We, in turn, were able to confirm that we could hit the ground running and plug the resource shortfall.
Virtua were very quickly able to assign a number of fully qualified and experienced engineers to assist the existing staff on the client site. The Virtua team already had sufficient background knowledge of the technology so they were able to commence site surveys and designs immediately without detrimentally affecting the project timescales.
This co-operation between the Virtua team and our customer was also quickly established because both companies already knew their respective capabilities and reputation. Because of this there was no need for a lengthy interview process or vetting procedure. Resources could therefore be assigned in a way that was transparent to the client and effective from day one.
Long Term Success
Based on the success of this venture the two companies continue to work together on other critical projects to this day.
Long Term Relationships
The managers of both companies had known each other for years so were quickly able to agree a way forward with minimum delay. We, in turn, were able to confirm that we could hit the ground running and plug the resource shortfall.
Virtua were very quickly able to assign a number of fully qualified and experienced engineers to assist the existing staff on the client site. The Virtua team already had sufficient background knowledge of the technology so they were able to commence site surveys and designs immediately without detrimentally affecting the project timescales.
This co-operation between the Virtua team and our customer was also quickly established because both companies already knew their respective capabilities and reputation. Because of this there was no need for a lengthy interview process or vetting procedure. Resources could therefore be assigned in a way that was transparent to the client and effective from day one.
Long Term Success
Based on the success of this venture the two companies continue to work together on other critical projects to this day.
Greenwoods
FMC - The future of mobile communications:
When a major UK Network Operator needed some specific expertise for the installation and commissioning of Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) technology for one of the world’s foremost supermarket retail chains and its associated businesses Virtua were there to provide exactly what was needed.
FMC
‘Fixed Mobile Convergence’ technology is set to revolutionise the way we do business. It won’t happen overnight, but over time, using FMC is quite likely to change perceptions of how office space is allocated and how organisational communication can be optimised. There are many advantages of deploying this technology in different business environments and sectors. In large retail stores the different floors of the building are able to communicate quickly and effectively whether to sort out a customer query or a stock order query. Also, individuals can be located quickly if they are needed urgently or messages can be quickly disseminated to all staff.
One of the Operators preferred suppliers was Greenwoods who are the UK’s leading independent provider of multi-vendor solutions for the communications infrastructure market. Greenwood’s have considerable expertise in Telecoms logistics, parts, storage and distribution and multi-level interface technologies.
Complexity
Such was the complexity of the overall Programme however that even Greenwoods could not provide the resources with all the skills required. They therefore turned to Virtua for assistance knowing that the Virtua team were both trusted partners and specialists in mobile radio design, installation and commissioning. This relationship was a particularly powerful one as the two companies realised that their different but complementary skills were the perfect combination to meet all the client’s requirements. In particular Greenwoods needed a partner who was not only familiar with this ‘new’ technology and had the necessary expertise available but also who could provide flexible and scalable resources in a dynamic environment.
The Best People For The Job
Because of their considerable experience in FMC technology Virtua were able to assign the best possible people to the task including people like system designers Mel Dainton and Mark Prictor, Installation Engineer Mark Jackson and Radio Frequency expert Ian Jenkins.
To date massive amounts of deployments have taken place. Many hundreds of sites have been successfully deployed and dozens more every week.
This partnership between Virtua and Greenwoods brings a combination of skills that puts us together in the forefront of FMC and Mobile service provision.
FMC
‘Fixed Mobile Convergence’ technology is set to revolutionise the way we do business. It won’t happen overnight, but over time, using FMC is quite likely to change perceptions of how office space is allocated and how organisational communication can be optimised. There are many advantages of deploying this technology in different business environments and sectors. In large retail stores the different floors of the building are able to communicate quickly and effectively whether to sort out a customer query or a stock order query. Also, individuals can be located quickly if they are needed urgently or messages can be quickly disseminated to all staff.
One of the Operators preferred suppliers was Greenwoods who are the UK’s leading independent provider of multi-vendor solutions for the communications infrastructure market. Greenwood’s have considerable expertise in Telecoms logistics, parts, storage and distribution and multi-level interface technologies.
Complexity
Such was the complexity of the overall Programme however that even Greenwoods could not provide the resources with all the skills required. They therefore turned to Virtua for assistance knowing that the Virtua team were both trusted partners and specialists in mobile radio design, installation and commissioning. This relationship was a particularly powerful one as the two companies realised that their different but complementary skills were the perfect combination to meet all the client’s requirements. In particular Greenwoods needed a partner who was not only familiar with this ‘new’ technology and had the necessary expertise available but also who could provide flexible and scalable resources in a dynamic environment.
The Best People For The Job
Because of their considerable experience in FMC technology Virtua were able to assign the best possible people to the task including people like system designers Mel Dainton and Mark Prictor, Installation Engineer Mark Jackson and Radio Frequency expert Ian Jenkins.
To date massive amounts of deployments have taken place. Many hundreds of sites have been successfully deployed and dozens more every week.
This partnership between Virtua and Greenwoods brings a combination of skills that puts us together in the forefront of FMC and Mobile service provision.
Emergency Services
In life and death situations - every minute counts:
When it comes to high quality telecommunications services no
organisation needs constant reliability more than the emergency
services. Whether it is reacting to a major disaster or just getting
first aid to a single individual, time is of the essence and
communication between each of the frontline services is critical.
Public Safety Network
When a major public safety network operator decided to improve and upgrade the network the need to thoroughly test and prove the integrity of the service was paramount. For this reason the operator turned to Virtua to supply the expertise needed. The challenge was considerable; not only was the service extensive and complex, but the regional nature of the customers approving authorities meant that to build, test and then deploy its dedicated network configuration in many different control rooms across the country needed a lot of focus. These regional authorities have different set ups, configurations and people requiring bespoke technical solutions and configurations tailored to the geography and specifics of the area.
To achieve the project objectives by the deadline the operator required Virtua to not only supply teams of telecoms specialists to test every aspect of the end-to-end technology but also to undertake a wider role in the project management and reporting aspects of the Programme. The teams selected needed to not only have a deep understanding of the technical challenges but also needed to be able to rigorously test every component of the communications network, prove the overall integrity of the systems and resolve any problems that might arise.
Real Life Tests
Much of the testing needed to emulate real world situations as closely as possible – for example actually making calls from emergency service vehicles. This meant that not only did the Virtua team need to be technically competent but they also needed the essential diplomatic and social skills to interact with people - and at the same time cause minimum disruption to their day to day work.
In addition to providing centralised Programme Management Virtua also set up the testing functions and engineering support. They also took responsibility for the production of all the test results data with the assistance of a dedicated back office support capability. Over an eighteen month period the team have moved steadily across the country to cover each area in turn and are now moving towards completion.
Despite the technical challenges and the complexity almost all regions have now been successfully completed. This could not have been achieved without the enormous flexibility that Virtua provided to their client as many sub-projects tended to overlap which might otherwise have been a logistical nightmare. The results are clear and very reassuring. The emergency services now have a state of the art communications system that can, and will, save lives.
Public Safety Network
When a major public safety network operator decided to improve and upgrade the network the need to thoroughly test and prove the integrity of the service was paramount. For this reason the operator turned to Virtua to supply the expertise needed. The challenge was considerable; not only was the service extensive and complex, but the regional nature of the customers approving authorities meant that to build, test and then deploy its dedicated network configuration in many different control rooms across the country needed a lot of focus. These regional authorities have different set ups, configurations and people requiring bespoke technical solutions and configurations tailored to the geography and specifics of the area.
To achieve the project objectives by the deadline the operator required Virtua to not only supply teams of telecoms specialists to test every aspect of the end-to-end technology but also to undertake a wider role in the project management and reporting aspects of the Programme. The teams selected needed to not only have a deep understanding of the technical challenges but also needed to be able to rigorously test every component of the communications network, prove the overall integrity of the systems and resolve any problems that might arise.
Real Life Tests
Much of the testing needed to emulate real world situations as closely as possible – for example actually making calls from emergency service vehicles. This meant that not only did the Virtua team need to be technically competent but they also needed the essential diplomatic and social skills to interact with people - and at the same time cause minimum disruption to their day to day work.
In addition to providing centralised Programme Management Virtua also set up the testing functions and engineering support. They also took responsibility for the production of all the test results data with the assistance of a dedicated back office support capability. Over an eighteen month period the team have moved steadily across the country to cover each area in turn and are now moving towards completion.
Despite the technical challenges and the complexity almost all regions have now been successfully completed. This could not have been achieved without the enormous flexibility that Virtua provided to their client as many sub-projects tended to overlap which might otherwise have been a logistical nightmare. The results are clear and very reassuring. The emergency services now have a state of the art communications system that can, and will, save lives.
