Bowmer + Kirkland

That early collaboration helped establish a strong working relationship and ensured that the final design reflected B+K’s technical, operational and security requirements.

Following a successful pilot, B+K and Node4 jointly refined the design and developed a standardised deployment template. The teams then worked together to roll out the solution across B+K’s locations, using central management to maintain consistent configurations, policies and monitoring while accommodating site-specific connectivity requirements.

Jonathan Mellon, IT Infrastructure Manager at Bowmer + Kirkland, worked closely with Node4’s engineers on the technical design, testing and rollout. This included defining B+K’s requirements for security visibility, local internet breakout, bandwidth, resilience and ongoing administrative control.

Jonathan says, “This was not about replacing a network that did not work. It was about designing the next stage of our network strategy. We wanted greater insight into traffic and security events, more resilient and higher-capacity connectivity, and a model that gave every site secure internet access without losing central control. The design work with Node4 allowed us to achieve that while retaining the level of technical access our team required.”

“Everything slotted together properly; the advanced connectivity, the next-generation firewalls, and the reporting. It all made sense,” Mike recalls. “It wasn’t over-complicated. It just worked and was easy to manage without needing a load of extra work.”

A key design principle was to avoid treating every location in exactly the same way. Each site needed appropriate bandwidth, resilient connectivity and its own secure internet breakout, while still operating within centrally governed security and network policies. This allowed cloud and internet traffic to take a more appropriate route while giving B+K and Node4 consistent oversight across the estate.

Now in place, the new SD-WAN connects offices and project sites across the UK via a secure, cloud-based connection that’s centrally managed by Node4. That connection extends to all B+K sites and provides the option to support hybrid and remote workers. In addition, continuous monitoring from Node4’s UK-based Network Operations Centre (NOC) means any issues are detected and resolved quickly, with proactive alerts and automated responses that keep services running smoothly for Mike and his team.

“The 24/7 monitoring complements our internal capability,” Mike explains. “It means our team retains visibility and control, while Node4 provides continuous operational monitoring and first-line response outside normal working hours. Knowing someone’s watching the network day and night takes a massive weight off my shoulders.”

For phase two of the project, Mike and his team turned their attention to B+K’s on-premises setup, moving the company’s servers, storage and backups from a single comms room into Node4’s Tier 3 Leeds data centre. In practice, this means B+K’s servers run in Node4’s facility, with Node4 providing the building, power, cooling, security and resilience, while Mike’s team maintains remote control of the systems.

Mike reflects: “It’s controlled, secure and monitored 24/7. Node4 added dual fibre connections – each from a different service provider – at our head office to prevent downtime and keep the business running.

“If a digger goes through one cable, the other keeps us running,” he notes. “Before, one accident like that would have taken the whole office offline; now we’ve mitigated that risk. It’s a totally different way of working, a new way of thinking.”