IT Support & Connectivity

Mother was invited to tender and won the contract after making an alternative service delivery suggestion which could better help Turning Point Scotland achieve their goals.

Challenges

• With many spread out offices and disparate IT systems served by a multitude of 3rd party service providers, Turning Point Scotland were struggling to manage communications, costs and cohesive delivery across sites
• The charity headquarters and branches had no shared data source, and little day to day visibility of regional activities
• Data and efforts were being unnecessarily duplicated across locations
• Managing hardware and user request supports had become problematic, with the internal IT team constantly firefighting issues and excessively dependent on 3rd party local providers
• Data security was a major issue with data spread across user accounts and devices across Scotland with minimal backup and data security measures in place
• Each site had its own domain name and therefore there was no consistency of corporate branding via electronic mail

Solution

Mother Technologies worked with TPS to design and install IT infrastructure delivering virtual desktops to all regional offices via a new MPLS network, with centralised internet breakout and connection of each site in a private wide area network.

Delivery

Contract Award Date: August 2012 | Head Office Go-live Date: Feb 2013

• Mother conducted a project consultation to establish all office locations, branch size, IT requirements and hardware usage
• A centralised comms room was created to house all new server equipment at the organisation’s headquarters in Govan
• A disaster recovery facility was constructed at a neighbouring site
• A completely new server suite comprising domain controllers, Exchange, SQL and virtual desktop servers was built on VMWare’s VSphere platform
• Each remote site had its local data relocated to Head Office in Govan and populated within the new centralised network security model. Legacy hardware was removed, Wyse thin-client terminals deployed where appropriate and PCs with remaining life were thinned to emulated terminals with using Mother’s thin-client shell, Huski
• IT systems were tested and ready in advance of each site going live and migrations were rolled out over an 18 month plan

Results

• Turning Point Scotland users, irrespective of their location, have been united with a standardised set of business tools and applications
• The centralisation of the previously distributed network has significantly reduced support costs which are now shared jointly between Turning Point Scotland’s internal IT and Mother Technologies
• The simplified network model allows for straight forward access to business information that’s centrally secured
• There is no requirement to synchronise data or replicate between sites. Users have immediate access to files as soon as they are published
• Internet access is channelled through a single point on the network making content easy to control with granular policies applying at group and individual levels
• Multiple parties, their costs and the associated communication issues have been eliminated and there is simpler transparency across all sites
• Turning Point can now more easily communicate between locations, better manage their regional operations and ensure all teams are working towards a cohesive vision
• The centralisation of day to day IT processes such as setting up user accounts and email, changing file permissions, introduction of security groups and distribution groups can all be managed immediately without the need for site visits by 3rd parties
• IT management has been brought back under the control of experienced IT staff, both internally and by Mother Technologies, allowing service administrators to get on with their actual jobs
• A centralised exchange system has enhanced corporate branding and improved internal communication

“In 2012 Turning Point Scotland embarked on a major overhaul of our IT systems together with Mother Technologies. Mother have been pivotal in the success of the new system design and roll out across our entire estate of around 500 devices. We worked closely with them to design a consistent experience and secure work environment for staff. They listened to our needs and with their knowledge of thin client systems, together with MS server and other 3rd party software, have enabled us to create a robust platform on which our entire company manages and communicates its data. Our sites are now supported efficiently and effectively by both our own IT department and Mother engineers. Mother have always found solutions and been proactive in driving our IT processes and systems forward.”

Michelle Ronald, ICT Manager, Turning Point Scotland

Case Study