Sx3 aid IT oil and gas overhaul

An investment in the latest IT management system is playing a crucial role in the development of Northern Ireland's largest combined oil and gas distributor, DCC Energy Limited.

Due to its continued expansion programme DCC Energy Limited appointed local technology company, Sx3, to streamline its IT infrastructure.

Brian Faloon, Network and Applications Manager with DCC Energy Limited said: "From a single office with 35 users, the company has grown to the extent that we now have 100 people at 10 different office locations in Northern Ireland, each requiring constant access to the network.

"From a business perspective and to ensure efficiency, it was crucial that we were able to centrally manage our IT network, provide a common systems platform and utilise our existing network infrastructure in the most cost effective way possible."

In order to achieve these objectives across the company's locations, Sx3 has worked closely with DCC Energy to implement the latest Citrix technology from pilot scheme to post-implementation support.

According to David Patterson, account manager at Sx3, system replacement or a complete 'IT overhaul' is not always the best option for companies or organisations which are expanding on a rapid basis:

"Organisational growth in terms of number of sites and end users can often result in the expansion of the IT department as a whole, which can lead to significant increases in overheads and costs," he said.

Citrix technology, he said, was a cost-effective alternative as it creates a core IT platform that standardises and deploys all infrastructures from a central office environment.

DCC Energy Limited said that it regards Citrix Technology as instrumental to the development of its IT strategy and as an integral part of the company's on-going development plans.

(MB)