CAMDEN AGE UK

Age UK Camden had contacted us for an initial consultation and audit of their systems back in May 2019. After review and several discussions, help4IT had highlighted that the next step for the company would be to move its data and device management into Microsoft 365.

The virtual servers were hosted on end-of-life physical servers using an older version of Hyper-V and required immediate attention for the integrity of the company’s data. The infrastructure consisted of a Domain controller, several file servers and an Exchange server, all core services which were essential to the operation of the organisation.

Information is at the core of the services and support that Age UK Camden provide, so we had to act diligently and with minimal disruption to enable the staff and volunteers at Age UK Camden to continue their work unhindered.

The plan was to conduct the project in several phases in order to allow for users to adjust to changes gradually, and to reduce down time for users as changes were being rolled out. During phase 1 the Exchange server mail services was migrated to Microsoft 365 to begin, this also allowed us to complete the ‘groundwork’ for the migration of users and device management at a later stage. We also took this opportunity to implement a mail disclaimer solution to centrally manage organisation signatures as these were previously applied manually and lacked uniformity and didn’t represent the identity of the organisation.

As part of phase 2 the file server was decommissioned, and the company data was migrated to SharePoint. User devices were configured, and users were provided with training guidelines and documentation on how to access company data and how to make use of OneDrive.

For Phase 3, devices were removed from the local domain and joined to Azure Active Directory and configured for central management via Intune. This enabled users to use company devices without restriction and in remote locations as the dependency on the local hosted servers had been completely removed. Finally, we had addressed their local network infrastructure providing support with the existing firewall and switch configuration and deployment of their wireless connectivity on the network. This was previously managed by the office facilities team, we implemented their own wireless network infrastructure separate of the building network for improved security and monitoring.

In addition to our ongoing partnership with Age UK Camden, we have also assisted them with their office relocation and have been instrumental in maintaining and supporting their IT infrastructure. We have been providing comprehensive helpdesk and technical services that adhere to ISO 9001 (Quality) and ISO 27001 (Security) standards, handling both routine support incidents and after-hours assistance. Additionally, we have undertaken additional projects for their affiliated charities and sub-organizations.