Has anyone heard of any of these?

[Jambo_C]

Hi,

 

We're looking for new switches, servers and virtualisation and have spoken to a number of companies. I'm trying to do some research on the companies.

 

Has anyone heard of, or had any dealings with any of the following companies?

 

Lanway.

Orchid IT based in Derby.

C24 Ltd based in Halesowen.

DTP Group based in Leeds.

EBM Office Centre based in London.

CSE Education Systems.

ADA Networks Ltd based in Newbury.

IP Integration Ltd based in Reading.

European Electronique.

Smartedge Solutions.

CC Communications Ltd in Burnley.

Stone Computers

Specialist Computer Centre in Warwick.

Centerprise International in Basingstoke.

ROCC Computers in Surrey.

2and7 Limited.

9ine Consulting Ltd.

Nextira One.

Pinacl Solutions UK.

Basilisk Data Ltd.

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for any information. I know it's a large list but thanks to anyone who helps.

Edited May 17, 2011 by Jambo_C

[FN-GM]

I have used CC Communications in my old school. They installed and looked after our CCTV system. Really good company never had any issues at all.

[featured_spectre]

Another Vote for CC...they did a decent job in my old school also....avoid stone at all costs, whilst the install is good, the warranty support and service is shocking.

[Brpilot99]

CSE is run by ex RM people and offer a similar managed service .... Cant comment on thier track record I'm afraid ...

[MatthewL]

Out of that list Stone is the only one I know. I have had some of their PC's but we inherited them from the LA.

[pete]

We've used Orchid once to source some kit. Price, delivery and salessimians were all fine.

Most of the rest send me spam about offers, but they're not particularly memorable.

[Iain.Faulkner]

Same for us with Orchid, box shifters essentially, but decent pricing, nothing wrong with delivery and the salesman was fine.

 

One company I'd recommend you have a chat with is Ergo based in Nottingham. They provided all our kit for when we went fully virtualised. Very good all round (pricing, after sales, delivery, quality etc).

[Mr.Ben]

+1 for Orchid here too, no constant sales calls, the salesman I deal with is polite and professional and willing to help research options if needed. Good pricing and acceptance if they are beat. Quick delivery of all goods.

[AngryTechnician]

I've had a some dealings with ADA Networks, but not a huge amount. Always seem very knowledgeable and competitively priced.

[FragglePete]

Have dealt with Stone, Centerprise and CSE. You will get some aggressive pricing from Centerprise.

 

Pete

[gshaw]

We used ADA Networks for our big Procurve order a few years back, good service and pricing

[Marci]

Go direct to manufacturers (eg: HP) and let them cherrypick their best retailers. You'll get best poss prices on hardware and more value-added stuff than you can shake a stick at.

[john]

Had dealings with Lanway, one engineer left a very bad taste in my mouth (and if it had been term time probably been thrown off site by the SLT as the language one was using was completely unacceptable!), found them to be rather hit and miss at times in terms of service, get the right engineer great service, yet a week later for a similar fault it would take days to fix and need chasing at times.

 

I also found them very expensive and the kit is very much over-priced and poor quality, another warranty complaint on the custom PCs they sold, if we paid for big name parts in the spec, such as Asus, I don't expect it to be swapped for ASRock with not the same features, firstly when we paid a premium for Asus rather than saying I want this CPU in any old board, I expect Asus back again, and the fact that some features, for example choosing a board with firewire and then returning a machine which no longer had it on the replacement is rather annoying. Its like swapping my Diesel engine out of the car for a petrol and saying its similar the car goes what more do you want! So I wouldn't recommend them.

 

I would however recommend talking to Insight who I notice are not on your list, they are a CITHS framework supplier, and I notice an Edugeek sponsor they do know there stuff and do consultancy and support services so well worth talking to them

[RavehDaveh]

I've never ordered from Orchid, they've never given great prices for me (although the salesman keeps offering me vouches and games consoles).

SCC seem to be fairly good. They mergerd or took over IT247 a while back and I've used them a few times.

Stone Computers phoned me 3 times in 1 week to "introduce themselves" (three different salesmen) - Never used.

European Electronique have always been good to me, but don't seem to care too much about smaller orders.

[achedgy]

I use Orchid and always found account manager (Simon Hulland) to be very competitive, helpful and knowledgeable.

[DT2]

I can vouch for European Electronique....

very very good at what they do.

 

DT

[localzuk]

I've dealt with:

 

Lanway.

CSE Education Systems.

European Electronique.

 

Lanway were good, but I only used them for a couple of things.

 

CSE were my last places main cabling provider. Always good work.

 

European Electronique, used to be our preferred supplier at my old school but my account manager changed and they were not up to my expectations.

[Chris_]

We've had computers from Centerprise and Stone computers, they both have been fine and provide good pricing and support.

 

I've had quotes from Orchid and but not bought anything from them yet. One of the account manager came to introduce himself, was very pleasant and we don't get any spam or sales calls from them.

Edited September 29, 2011 by Chris_