IT improvements with Microsoft 365 for non-profit

Successful implementation of SharePoint, Teams, Azure AD and Intune resulted in efficiency improvements and cost savings for the charity.

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Customer: Ripon Community Link
Locations: Ripon, North Yorkshire
System Installed: Microsoft 365 SharePoint Teams

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Overview

Ripon Community Link (RCL) is a UK-based charity that provides support and care to adults and young people with learning disabilities. Based at Ripon Walled Garden, a historic Victorian Walled Garden, Orchard, and Woodland, where the beautiful surroundings provide the perfect environment to support individuals with work-based learning and day care activities. 

Primary Technology were selected to provide Managed IT Services for RCL in 2022. After a successful onboarding period that involved stabilising the IT environment, RCL’s IT roadmap was put in place to identify key areas for improvement. 

Key outcomes

  • Streamline use of cloud file storage services into one SharePoint site
  • Improve the ability for departments to manage data and collaborate
  • Enable staff to use different devices across the site
  • Improve the management and deployment of mobile devices
  • Make improvements to cyber security across the organisation
  • Enhance the ability for staff to work from home or the office
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The challenge

RCL was facing several challenges with their Microsoft 365 environment. The system was initially set up without a structured folder or Teams groups, with data stored across various cloud file storage services, making it difficult to manage. Additionally, RCL’s Microsoft Windows devices had no centralised management and staff could not access different devices across the site. As the charity’s data and staff continued to grow, it became apparent that a new solution was required to ensure information was stored centrally and securely.

The solution

After initial discovery meetings with the senior management team, Primary Technology recommended implementing a new SharePoint structure within Microsoft 365. Working closely with the RCL team, Primary Technology created a new SharePoint structure with Teams created for each department. In collaboration with senior management, all existing data was migrated to the correct SharePoint Teams.

All RCL staff were assigned Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses with Primary Technology as their Cloud Services Provider. As a registered UK charity, RCL also benefited from non-profit staff pricing and 10 free licenses from Microsoft. Upgrading to Microsoft 365 Business Premium allowed all staff to access SharePoint and Microsoft Teams, resulting in a unified location for staff to share and manage content seamlessly from any location.

To help with the management of devices, Primary Technology configured all RCL devices to Azure Active Directory (AAD), allowing staff to use different devices across the site, resulting in a more efficient use of hardware across the estate. Microsoft Intune was also configured to allow remote management of RCL mobile devices, enabling improved administration and deployment of new applications.

In addition to improved efficiencies across the organisation, the Business Premium upgrade also provides further cyber security benefits with the roll-out of multi-factor authentication, data loss prevention policies and Microsoft Defender for Office365. Business continuity and disaster recovery was also enhanced with the implementation of Barracuda 365 cloud-to-cloud backups.

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Testimonial

  • Our experience with Primary Technology has been extremely positive from day one. Within just over 6 months, we have been on a real journey with developing our IT systems and processes, particularly around data security. Mo and the team have fully understood our brief and this is largely due to spending time in our service, getting to know who we are and what we do. Our team are now working with growing confidence and whilst the changes have been daunting for some, we know that we can pick up the phone and will be supported at the appropriate pace by a friendly and knowledgeable technician. We have experienced excellent response times, professional and knowledgeable support and guidance throughout, and we are very much looking forward to further developing our relationship with Primary Technology as we grow our IT offer within the Charity.

    Lindsay Roome, PA to Chief Executive Officer, Ripon Community Link

The outcome

With the help of Primary Technology, RCL successfully transitioned to fully utilising the features within Microsoft 365, removing the need for various external file storage services. The successful implementation of SharePoint, Teams, and Intune resulted in cost savings for the charity as they did not require any additional services or software.

Staff have seen improved team collaboration, with the ability to access work from home or the office, thanks to SharePoint's document tracking and management capabilities.

Overall, the solution provided by Primary Technology has improved efficiency, collaboration and data security for RCL.

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