DietCheck Ltd - local agriculture business growing into a global consultancy

Better connected: better for business

After years of frustratingly slow Internet, a local businessman Jonathan Blake now has a global reach with customers as far afield as New Zealand, China and South Africa.

Here’s how the Superfast Broadband campaign has made a huge difference for him…

Left behind in a widening world

Jonathan's connection was so unreliable that he even considered moving his business out of the area to access a faster network. "Where there was broadband at best it was slow at worst there was no supply in the village. In the meantime the rest of the world was moving on in technology terms. I was concerned my business would suffer so began to consider moving it.”

Jonathan is a biochemist and his business DietCheck Ltd sells bespoke software providing feeding advice to animal nutritionists, farmers, vets and consultants. This specialist software could be a great benefit to a range of experts globally.

“It became obvious the internet was going to be increasingly important if you wanted to promote and provide products worldwide. The Internet effectively opened up the whole world.” said Jonathan.

Finding the best solution

“There was a very limited supply of the copper wires necessary to provide broadband in Little London where the business is based. We tried to look for solutions and quickly became technical experts as we tried to find the best one for us. Dial-up was frustratingly slow and connections would break down frequently. I tried satellite technology to boost the signal but while that improved download speeds for my business I also needed faster uploading speed.”

Help was on hand when Hampshire’s Superfast Broadband campaign came into being. “The intervention and investment from Hampshire was a godsend. They got other investors on board and eventually it did the job bringing faster broadband to Little London.” Jonathan now has speed downloading speeds in excess of 36Mbps and uploading speeds of 6 or 7Mbps.

Business revolution

With an improved connection DietCheck Ltd was also able to expand their services and add a consultancy element to their existing software package. Jonathan can advise customers from all over the world within minutes and from the comfort of his desk. It is also very helpful in dealing with any questions or complaints more efficiently: 'A great advantage has been being able to make use of applications such as Skype and TeamViewer to connect directly with customers, so if they have any problems I can support them wherever they are in the world. It has revolutionised my business!”

The new network also allows more efficient and seamless work: “We have an excellent service and it has been a breeze for business. It has saved us so much time and worry. It used to take an age to upload our software for customers and sometimes if there was a problem we would have to start all over again. All that frustration is gone and I can do it in a flash. It’s fantastic!"