Commercial IT splashes out on demo centre

VAR cuts the ribbon on state-of-the-art demo suite at Cheltenham head office

Commercial IT has taken the wraps off its brand new IT demo suite at its Cheltenham head office, marking the end of a swathe of investment in its capabilities.

The HP, VMware, Microsoft and Appsense partner has invested £95,000 in its demo suite, and recently refurbished its Network Operating Centre and server room.

Based on the concepts of the Desktop of the Future and Mobile Working, the suite enables the latest software and hardware to be showcased to customers, allowing them to try before they buy, giving Commercial IT's customers a new level of experience, claimed Mark Freeman, chief technical officer at the firm.

"With IT continually developing, companies are relying on new technology to remain competitive and efficient. With so many options available, it can be difficult to know the solutions that are right for your organisation," he added.

One customer who has already sampled the demo suite is Evan Smith, assistant head of IT at Coleg Gwent.

"We wanted to find out more about virtual desktop technologies and the new demonstration room was perfect for this purpose. Mark was able to use the wide variety of devices to demonstrate the flexibility of virtual desktops and show us some of the issues we would need to be aware of.

"The layout of the room was such that we could easily see how users could access the same desktop from a number of devices," he said.