Bowmer + Kirkland has strengthened its network security, connectivity and resilience with Node4’s Secure SD-WAN and Tier 3 data centre services, supporting its growing reliance on cloud-based systems across UK sites.
Bowmer + Kirkland (B+K) is one of the UK’s most successful family-owned construction and development groups, with 16 subsidiary businesses and 2,500 employees. Over the past five years, B+K has secured projects with a value exceeding £4.3 billion, with over three-quarters coming from returning clients.
“Our MPLS network had served the business for a number of years, but our requirements were changing,” says Mike Hammill, Head of IT at Bowmer + Kirkland. “As our security strategy evolved and as our use of cloud services increased and our sites required more bandwidth, we wanted a solution that gave our internal team greater visibility and control. We also wanted clearer accountability and a more collaborative relationship with our network provider.”
With construction work starting on-site before sunrise and projects running to tight schedules, even short interruptions have an impact.
As B+K migrated more systems to the cloud, secure network connectivity and consistency became even greater priorities. This was most evident when bidding for Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Defence projects, which, understandably, required demonstration of strict data protection standards and protocols.
“IT is no longer a background issue in the construction sector,” Hammill said. “Reliable connectivity is operationally important across both offices and live project environments. As more services moved to the cloud, B+K wanted to reduce connectivity risk and ensure that the network architecture could support the growing dependency on digital systems.”
Prioritising security and accountability
As B+K’s network requirements continued to develop, the IT team took the opportunity to review the existing architecture and identify a more flexible, security-led approach. The objective was not simply to replace connectivity, but to gain greater ownership, visibility and accountability across the network.
“We wanted to take greater ownership of the service and have direct visibility of performance, traffic and security events. Clear accountability was important too. When an issue was raised, we wanted to be able to see its status, understand the response and work collaboratively towards a resolution,” said Hammill.
Hammill and his team ultimately selected Node4’s Secure SD-WAN, a solution that wraps network performance, security and visibility in a single managed service package – one that’s supported around the clock by a UK-based team and powered by integrated threat protection and intelligent traffic management.
Hammill recalls that, from the first conversations, Node4’s approach felt different.
“They listened, asked the right questions and focused on understanding the setup before suggesting anything new. We had a few early calls to talk through what we were trying to fix and what we already had in place. Then they came on-site and spent some time understanding how everything linked together. It wasn’t a case of them just turning up with a box and plugging it in.”
The solution
Part 1: SD-WAN testing and roll-out
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.
Mellon said: “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.”
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 Hammill and his team.
“The 24/7 monitoring complements our internal capability,” Hammill said. “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.”
Part 2: Switching the on-premises server room for Node4’s Tier 3 data centre
For phase two of the project, Hammill 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 the team maintains remote control of the systems.
The results
Together, Node4’s SD-WAN and Tier 3 data centre services provided immediate gains in speed, stability and security, giving B+K a network and colocation solution that scales with the business.
Faster, more consistent performance
Each site benefits from high-speed connections that are up to five times quicker than before.
“But it’s not just faster, it’s dependable,” Hammill said. “The old setup would crawl if there were a few big file transfers or Teams calls happening at once. Now it’s stable across every site. That’s massive for us.”
24/7 reassurance
The NOC provides continuous monitoring and responds to defined alerts and service events, escalating to B+K’s IT team where input or action is required. This provides additional operational coverage while allowing the internal team to remain focused on strategic and business-facing priorities.
Future-ready foundation
The new network design is repeatable and scalable, allowing B+K to integrate new offices or acquisitions quickly and securely.
“We’ve got a model we can roll out anywhere,” Hammil said. “If we open a new office or take on a new company, we know exactly what to do. It’s not just about keeping up; it’s about being ready for what’s next.”
