We asked Phil Callow from our long-time education partner, ARK ICT Solutions, to tell us about how they use Netsweeper to improve the services that they offer their customers.
What does Netsweeper do for your business?
Netsweeper delivers an Internet filtering solution for us that is both robust and flexible because we have different customers with very different needs, predominately educational but some with business needs, and with Netsweeper we have a singular product that we can utilize across all our client base and for that reason it’s a flexible solution.
What gave you the confidence to choose Netsweeper?
We have been using Netsweeper as a product for the best part of 10 years now, from earlier versions to the newest version. They have such an internationally renowned reputation for Internet security it was a no-brainer as far as we’re concerned. There was no risk because they’re so well known in the market for delivering the right product for end users.
How was the customer experience?
Because of Netsweeper’s reputation within the marketplace, working with them is such a straightforward operation because you know you’re getting an internationally renowned product. From our local connection with the sales team through the local support system, as well as the guys in Canada who we do speak to and talk to regularly, particularly if we’re looking at a new product or even working with a product in a slightly more innovative way, we have found that experience to be an enjoyable one throughout our entire experience of using the Netsweeper product.
Was Netsweeper easy to set up?
To a certain extent we are very lucky because we have so many customers that use it, so the set-up for us is a relatively generic one now. It’s quick for us to roll it out from an ordering perspective as well as a delivery perspective. In the first instance, however, we did a lot of work with Netsweeper in two different products that we were looking to operate and certainly from our transparent products that we now utilize (that was a product that they worked with us to almost develop as a new product to the market) so we’ve actually found that whole process of working with them to develop a product really interesting and it has actually benefited us and what we offer our clients considerably.
Did you save money using Netsweeper?
When we look to introducing Netsweeper it wasn’t necessarily about trying to save money but finding the most robust solution. However, when we moved from being an indirect user of Netsweeper to a direct supplier of Netsweeper, we did happen to make a bit of a savings but that was mainly because we have around forty-five thousand users and can broker that kind of agreement.
Does Netsweeper meet your compliance needs?
As a safeguarding governor of two schools, one thing I can definitively tell you about any safeguarding related audit we’ve ever had to complete that includes Internet safety as a component, Netsweeper more than meets and in fact in most instances exceeds the requirements needed under the safeguarding agenda.
What is the best part about working with Netsweeper?
The fact that we can use one solution, no matter what scenario we have. So if we have a business that requires filtering, if we have an education customer that requires filtering, we don’t necessarily have the same solution in both, but both are Netsweeper products, and we just love the fact that if we need a filtering solution we don’t have to have a solution for business and a solution for education. We can use Netsweeper across all of our customer base no matter what their scenario is and for us it just makes life so much more straightforward.
Would you recommend Netsweeper?
If we’re talking to secondary schools or the businesses or indeed potential customers of Netsweeper, we would wax lyrical about the product and how robust it is for our clients.
We’re here to help. If you have any questions about digital safeguarding or implementing filtering or monitoring, please don’t hesitate to contact the Netsweeper team.