IT Champion were awarded the tender by EDP due to a highly bespoke and cost-effective IT strategy and support proposal.
EDP was recently awarded a government contract to provide a recovery orientated drug and alcohol service delivered across Devon County.
In 2014 EDP, in partnership with a national charity, secured a contract to deliver substance misuse services across Devon.
The service is known as RISE. This meant that they needed to gear up in only three months and significantly increase their team from over 150 staff based across 6 locations. The charity conducted a competitive tender process to choose a local IT partner who could help them through the transition and provide a source of advice as well as hardware, software and IT support services.
IT Champion were awarded the tender by EDP due to a highly bespoke and cost effective IT strategy and support proposal. This case study outlines how IT Champion worked closely with EDP to quickly develop and improve its IT infrastructure to cater for the rapid growth of the organisation, while improving efficiency and reliability.
EDP aims to improve the health, wellbeing and employability of individuals and their families affected by substance misuse, mental health issues, and other harmful addictive and offending behaviour.
EDP currently delivers services across Devon and Dorset, including in 6 prisons (HMP Channings Wood, HMP Dartmoor, HMP Exeter, HMP Guys Marsh, HMP/YOI Portland and IRC The Verne) and throughout the Devon and Dorset community.
Our strong and enduring presence across these counties has enabled us to build effective and enduring partnerships with local organisations, employers and housing providers. EDP invests in building active communities and working with communities to support those accessing our service to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Following the tender process IT Champion helped formulate a strategy for EDP to reduce headline costs significantly, while delivering the RISE contract on time and within budget.
Highlights of the project included:
- Provision for 150 additional laptops and 120 new staff to be set up across six sites
- Supply and installation of 6 x HP DL380 servers with dual redundant power and 24/7 onsite support
- Configuration of Microsoft Windows Server 2012, Hyper-V and remote desktop services (RDS) on all HP servers
- Deployed Altaro VM backup and direct-attached storage solutions for each site using Dell servers
- The existing infrastructure at EDP would not support 200 additional exchange users, so IT Champion applied for and won charity status for EDP from Microsoft, to allow them to benefit from free Office 365 licences. IT Champion then created a new service (RISE Recovery) on Office 365 and migrated nearly 500 EDP mailboxes from an on-premises Microsoft Exchange installation to Office 365. This element of the project alone provided a cost-saving of £29,100 per year
- Set up multiple SharePoint sites, and a bespoke facilities maintenance and IT equipment ordering solution in SharePoint, to remove administration costs from EDP to manage this function
- Replaced the primary EDP server and configured Terminal Service access for remote users
- Configured Terminal Services for 30 users at the Dorset office to access Sage and company data
“IT Champion has been a true partner to EDP through the implementation and delivery of the RISE contract. Their flexible approach, underpinned by outstanding customer service and true value for money, enables EDP to invest more in the local community.”
Charlotte Burrows, Director of Innovation and Growth
EDP
Industry sector
Not for Profit
Location
Devon and Dorset
Date
2013
Company size
250-500 users
