“Just before I took over as CEO, we had decided as an organisation that our previous makeshift arrangement around IT wasn’t really doing the job any more.
We had 20+ staff on a mixture of different software platforms and equipment and two volunteers who used to help us out when something broke. And we had been backing up files to a dusty old box in the corner that was probably not achieving much!”
Simon Templeton
CEO
The Organisation
Age Concern Canterbury is a charitable organisation dedicated to advocating for the rights, wellbeing and quality of life of the older members of our community since 1952, looking after a region that includes Canterbury, South Canterbury and the West Coast.
the I.T. team has been working with Age Concern since 2013 and we spoke to CEO Simon Templeton about how the experience has been for the organisation, and what impact the business relationship has had.
Details
Location: Canterbury, West Coast and Timaru
Sector: Social Services
Users/Seats: 20-50
Services provided: Managed Services, Online Backup, Office 365
The Challenges
“Just before I took over as CEO, we had decided as an organisation that our previous makeshift arrangement around IT wasn’t really doing the job any more,” Simon said.
“We had 20+ staff on a mixture of different software platforms and equipment and two volunteers who used to help us out when something broke. And we had been backing up files to a dusty old box in the corner that was probably not achieving much!”
Age Concern had successfully applied for funding that made it possible for them to go to the market and find an IT provider who could help with the process of purchasing and setting up new hardware and IT systems for the whole team, and they chose the I.T. team to do the job.
The Solution:
the I.T. team started the relationship by carrying out an audit of existing systems and requirements of different staff members, then recommended the most suitable solutions and put them in place, along with a monthly contract for Managed Services, Online Backup (Shadow Protect) and Office 365.
Simon says that with a team spread between Christchurch, Timaru and the West Coast, he sees huge benefit in the I.T. team’s 0800 service desk. “The call centre staff are brilliant – we find them very responsive and you can always get someone. They either talk us through how to fix the issue or jump into our machines and fix it then you are back underway working again.”
“To be honest, without the I.T. team’s service I don’t know what we would do for our staff on the West Coast if they were having IT issues – they would probably call me and it’s not my area of expertise! But it’s been gold for them – they know they can call the helpdesk at any time and be well looked after.
One of the other benefits of the service the I.T. team provides for Age Concern is the ability for team members to easily work from home or remotely when they need to.
A recent example was a staff member who injured her elbow but was able to work from home via Office 365. Staff can also work from home easily if they have to stay home to look after family members due to illness or other factors.
When Age Concern Canterbury recently shifted into a new building, the I.T. team were closely involved in the process.
“Mark and Brett helped us out by liaising with the builders and the electricians to make sure everything we needed was in place. They knew what we needed as an organisation and helped the transition go smoothly.”
Simon says one example of how highly he values the service provided occurred recently when another charitable organisation was sharing Age Concern’s office space temporarily. “When they were ready to move on, we recommended the I.T. team to them and they are now also using their services.”
From a financial perspective, Simon is conscious that the annual cost of having the I.T. team taking care of all IT requirements is less than half the cost of employing someone in-house. “I have talked this through with other organisations and we know we couldn’t get this level of service by paying someone to work for us full time.”
As CEO, Simon also appreciates having a business management relationship with Mark as Age Concern’s account manager. “It’s great to have someone so friendly and approachable who knows how we work and what we need.”
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