The Client:
JACK fm

Their Problem:
To have all the IT infrastructure and a web site up and ready in time for the launch of Oxford's brand new radio station - JACK fm.

Our Solution:
The solution came in several stages, through from the server right up to the interactive and utterly enjoyable website.

The Server:
Get Support designed, supplied and installed a state-of-the art IT solution for the station. Through a process of intensive conversation and through an assessment of the station's business needs we recommended, designed and installed a system to supply all employees with a feature-rich IT environment in which to work. This included standard features such as file sharing, diary sharing, and internet access as well as full remote and mobile access to emails and data 24 hours a day. The server is a central point where all files are stored and backup regularly.

The Network:
It is in the nature of a radio station that there are a number of freelancers using the facilities. To help support their work without impeding or endangering the core work of the station, Get Support set up two networks throughout the building - the office network for staff members to use with company-owned desktops and laptops and a guest network for freelancers and employees who need to connect to the internet using their own laptops.

he business machines have advanced security applications to keep the network nice and safe and virus free. It is extremely important that unprotected computers are never connected to the office network - this would be a sure way for viruses and other nasty things to enter the protected environment. The guest network provides secure access to the internet and there is no way for machines connected to this network to access the office network.

This useful system is devised using a surprisingly small amount of hardware - and even uses the same switches and wireless access points, a solution which is both elegant and cost-effective.

The Computers:
Of course, JACK already had a few of these, and Get Support worked to include them in the networks. Get Support also sourced a range of laptops and desktops from some of the world's leading manufacturers.

In doing this we have supplied everything from top-of-the-range laptops for directors use to cost-effective, more modest machines for general office use. Get Support never sells cheap hardware - all machines are true business-grade pieces of kit - delivered on time and to budget!

The Website:
JACKfm.co.uk has been developed by our team from scratch. Our brief was to create a very special site that users in the Oxfordshire area will want to come back and visit as their source for news, sport and current events in the area. Every page is made up with dynamic content that can easily be edited by station staff or pulled from other news sources. To keep the surfer happy the site is colourful and easy to navigate, with text content kept to a minimum. Should the user want more information, they just click a simple link and it is supplied.

The Audio Player:
No radio station is complete without the ability for visitors to listen online. For JACK we needed something special, something a little different. Get Support created a cutting-edge JACK fm live audio player. As soon as the site loads, the music starts to play. This is all controlled from a stylish JACK-branded flash-based player which is embedded into the right hand side of the page - no nasty popup boxes required!

Visitors can see in real-time the name and artist of the current, previous and next songs. There are some other really cool features in development. (Just like JACK, they are different to anything else out there, so we cannot to tell you about them just yet!)

Visitors can freely browse around the website while the audio continues to flow - uninterrupted! This is to do with some rather cool coding which allows us to update only part of the page at once.

To keep within JACK's broadcast license, only surfers from the UK are allowed to listen to the music content - JACK fm live is very clever and can work out which country the listener is in and let them down gently if they are outside the UK with a nice audio message and some text.

How the Client Benefited : Efficient IT systems at the radio station for staff and freelancers alike, without compromising security, and a superb public internet presence fully in keeping with JACK's quick, slick and fun-loving branding.

Recent Developments:
Watch this space!