Atlas Director Celebrates Special Birthday!

We just thought we'd share a few pictures with you today: from company secretary, Daphne Butler's birthday celebrations no less! Daphne was presented with several items of bird-related paraphernalia to adorn the garden of her and John's new house in Hay-On-Wye, which no doubt they'll enjoy upon their return from holidaying on the continent. Everyone at Atlas would like to pass on their best wishes to Daphne for her birthday and the people who run the blog would particularly like to point out that nowhere in this article does it reveal her exact age... we take it the cheque is in the post?!

15 Years Service For Atlas Sales Manager

This month we celebrate Joe’s 15th anniversary of working at Atlas. Joe joined Atlas back in August 1995 straight from school when he was just 16 years old. We recruited Joe as a junior administrator performing day to day clerical tasks such as answering the telephone, reception duties, sending sales statements etc. As part of his remuneration package Joe successfully completed a two year BTEC National course in Business Studies at South Cheshire College and we were delighted with his Diploma result.

Joe displayed a keen interest in computers and was very customer focused and as such after just a short period of time we promoted him to the help desk team. Joe picked up the product portfolio very quickly not only showing a good understanding of how the products worked but also the forensic approach on how to investigate problems when customers experienced issues. Joe proved very popular with our customers many of whom passed on lots of complimentary feedback. On a couple of occasions the sales team recruited Joe’s assistance for demonstration preparation, one thing led to another and before we knew it Joe was joining them for customer account manager meetings, and then prospect demonstrations.

When asked, Joe said that he quickly caught the bug for the sales life when some of the prospects gave him tours around their offices and factories to explain who they were, what they do and the nature of their requirements. This helped him to piece together how the clients use the Atlas solutions on a day to day basis and the important role the applications play in helping management make informed decisions. Joe has now been part of the sales team for approximately 8 years and currently wears the Application Sales Manager’s hat. “I really enjoy getting out and about and meeting representatives at organisations from a wide spectrum of industries. No two days are the same. The thrill of the chase and the tight deadlines keep me on my toes, and as the software industry is so innovative there is always something new to learn”.

Atlas have an excellent reputation as a local employer, with a majority of the team having worked at the company for over ten years. We would like to publicly thank Joe for his long and loyal service, and again congratulate him on the birth of his first child Sofia. John Butler, Group Managing Director said “Joe has been with us man and boy, over the years we have seen him achieve many goals and he has picked up many high achiever awards along the way. He represents an excellent role model to others.”

Atlas Swap Keyboard & Mouse For Cheese At The Nantwich Show

Atlas joined other local firms at The Nantwich Show this month, the largest single day agriculture show in the UK, which was set in the beautiful grounds of Dorfold Hall in the heart of the rich Cheshire countryside.

As a member of the South Cheshire Chamber Atlas sent Ruth Doe, our Customers Service Manager, to take advantage of our VIP tickets and attend the pre-show evening event where she got to see a sneak preview of all the exhibitors from around the country and a chance to sample some of Cheshire’s finest foods. The Nantwich Show attracts tens of thousands of visitors each and every year and is a must attend event in the horticultural calendar.

At the pre show Ruth was not only networking with other South Cheshire Chamber members such as Bentley, Wulvern Housing, Banks Sheridan Ltd (one of our customers) etc, but she was also 'hob-nobbing' with the Chain of Mayor’s of Crewe & Nantwich. Atlas always enjoy supporting local events, but especially those that provide delegates with fine food and wine!

Talking of fine foods, this year’s pre-event was sponsored by another of our customers: Joseph Heler Cheese.... 'I highly recommended their Original Reserve' Ruth said whilst wiping the crumbs off her keyboard!!! Nantwich Show is now the biggest Cheese show in the world with 3,200 entries coming from 25 countries and Atlas were once again, delighted to be a part of it.

Picture courtesy of The Nantwichnews Blog

Special Delivery For Sales Manager!

Atlas are delighted to be able to pass on our best wishes to Sales Manager, Joe Jardine and his wife Marilys, who gave birth to their first child on Thursday 5th August.

Sofia Louise was born weighing 6lbs 10oz and both mother and baby are doing well, although Joe is beginning to think that there is something wrong with his eyes as everything continues to turn pink!

Everyone at Atlas would like to pass on our warmest wishes and loving congratulations to Joe and Marilys and look forward to seeing Sofia grow up over the next few years!

Don’t Be An ADSL Salmon - Get Upstream Faster With C2!

Excellent Hot News! As of today Atlas can offer (via our Business Networking company C2 Internet) increased and enhanced upload broadband capabilities to our clients.

ADSL is always geared for downloading files, and so, if your need is for uploading data you will regularly experience bottleneck frustrations. Those of you who subscribe to C2 ADSL2+ can benefit from a new option now provided to C2 by BT Wholesale across their network.

Annex M is the name of this new product which allows the user to substitute a portion of their download speed to increase their upload speed.







Who would benefit from more upload speed?

Annex M is most suited to customers that require greater upload speeds, such as:

- Remote Workers – Companies that have remote workers connecting through either VPNs or Remote Desktop Services / Citrix

- CCTV - Companies who have CCTV security systems linked to central monitoring via ADSL2+.

- e-commerce - Companies with an online presence requiring frequently uploading of images to catalogues.

- Upstream Guarantees - Companies needing guaranteed upstream throughput are particularly suited to Annex M as most throughput guarantees only apply to downstream traffic. Annex M carries a BT guarantee ensuring an upstream throughput of 85% of the upstream sync rate, 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday (excluding UK public and bank holidays).

What will this upgrade give me?

Annex M provides up to 3Mbps upstream.

What are the costs?

The additional charge for Annex M is only £10 per month.

How do I find out if it is available to me?

If Annex M is a service you need, call 0333 666 3330 and ask to speak to an Atlas engineer, or email tsm@atlasbiz.com .

It takes about 24 hours to activate Annex M onto an already-active ADSL connection. Also your router needs to support Annex M; when you talk to us we can confirm the status of your existing router.

Annex M is currently only available on selected exchanges.

Testing Times For QA Engineer

Atlas are delighted to announce that our QA Engineer, Samantha Moss, has had a bouncing baby boy. Harry arrived weighing 8lbs 2oz. Both Mother and child are well (albeit already feeling sleep deprived).

Sam works as part of our Quality Assurance team (QA) ensuring that all our customised solutions or Atlas developed products meet their original specifications and exceed our customer’s expectations. Sam will be off on maternity leave for the next couple of months. In the meantime Steve Webster and Kelvin Redmile have been sharing her workload. Steve is reported to have less hair as each day goes by, and there has been mutterings heard along the lines of “come back Sam all is forgiven, I’ll even share my doughnuts!”.

Congratulations Sam! Enjoy these valuable first few months bonding with your baby!