Background to the organisation

The Safety Assessment Federation (SAFed) is a not-for-profit trade association which represents the engineering testing, inspection and certification (TIC) sector in the UK and Ireland.

SAFed is therefore a key player in workplace safety across the country, employing a collaborative, stakeholder-led approach to delivering guidance and driving standards for the sector. SAFed member companies now employ over 2,600 highly skilled engineer surveyors, who are performing thousands of inspections on a daily basis on electrical systems, local exhaust ventilation systems, pressure equipment and more, providing a comprehensive risk management service to British and Irish business.

SAFed are a client of our Sussex team, and inTEC are proud to be a key partner to the Federation, supporting the vital role it plays in helping to keep us all safe at work.

The organisation’s requirement

SAFed had been managing IT internally, relying on staff to self-support on an ad-hoc basis when issues arose. This approach was leading to the loss of many productive hours and frustration among the team, creating a need for a single IT support provision from an experienced, reliable service provider. SAFed were already working with inTEC on a limited basis, and now trusted our team to provide the all-in-one IT Managed Service the organisation needed to free up their staff from cumbersome IT failures.

First steps

Our priority was to deliver a plan which would bring all elements of SAFed IT under a single support provision. This vastly simplified the management of the SAFed IT estate, and allowed us to provide the Federation with a single point of contact or all IT issues. Throughout, we understood that such fundamental changes to IT management would require careful Change Management, and our team were sensitive to this, providing extensive support to users as they adjusted to a new normal.

Our solution

SAFed are supported by a comprehensive inTEC Managed Service, streamlining their IT support experience. Having established a strong baseline of effective support and reliable service, we have since been able to support SAFed further by delivering several projects. Most recently, we have updated the networking equipment in the SAFed London Office to provide a solution which supports proactive monitoring and management of the main internet connection and the failover connection, making it easier for our team to ensure that the SAFed team are online and able to work.

Delivery and outcome/benefits

Our work with SAFed has brought about marked improvements in the organisation’s digital experience, with both IT and internet failures becoming far less frequent. When hitches do occur, SAFed staff are able to communicate directly with our expert team who are on hand throughout the working week to assess and resolve issues, allowing the SAFed team to stay focused on their work, rather than on sorting IT problems.

“inTEC provided exactly what we needed, as well as additional solutions which have added further value. Before partnering with inTEC, IT was managed rather ad-hoc in-house and we had constant internet and IT issues, with staff spending hours on the phone resolving problems. Now, we have a single point of contact for all IT issues, which has hugely reduced the time being wasted by the SAFed secretariat, an our overall IT and internet stability has improved.”

“Additionally, some of our team were resistant to change, and the inTEC staff spent many hours explaining and working through their concerns. This in turn created better buy-in and acceptance of the changes, which were to benefit everyone but we did have sceptics!”10/10 – would definitely recommend working with inTEC.”

Caroline Hamilton, CEO, Safety Assessment Federation (SAFed)

Background to the organisation

Burgess and Co are a leading local estate agency in East Sussex, based in the Bexhill community they have served for the last 25 years. The team offer 132 years of combined experience to a strong base of local clients who trust Burgess to handle their property sales with care and expertise.

inTEC are proud that our teams across the country have built successful, lasting partnerships with leading, local businesses, and our Sussex team’s work with Burgess and Co is yet another great example.

The organisation’s requirement

Burgess and Co were keen to embrace the Cloud when they onboarded with inTEC as a full Managed IT Support client. The team were keen to work with a local IT provider who could deliver consistently prompt support to keep the business running, while also supporting them to take a long-term view of their IT by offering further solutions to strategically enhance their digital experience in the long-term.

First steps

The inTEC Sussex team worked with Burgess and Co to understand the full extent of their requirement to allow us to scope a future-proofed Cloud solution.

Our solution

inTEC implemented a Microsoft 365 Cloud solution for Burgess and Co. This has included Microsoft 365 for device management and SharePoint for file storage and sharing. This environment has been the foundation of the core solution we have provided, on which we have layered dependable user support and proactive fixes, allowing the Burgess team to rely on their IT and embrace, modern, cloud-based working practices to take their team efficiency to the next level.

As our partnership has progressed, we have layered on inTRUST Premium to our Managed Support, and have recently been supporting our client to improve their internet connectivity to rectify a major business challenge. Having previously been utilising a copper SoGEA line, we have since recommended and implemented an upgraded Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) connection, providing the company with its own dedicated fibre line.

Delivery and outcome

Burgess and Co are able to rely on a high-quality Cloud solution, supported by prompt access to the inTEC Sussex team. This has enabled them to embrace cloud-based collaboration and document sharing, as well as enhancing their IT security, further re-enforced by their inTRUST Premium package.

Recent work on their internet connectivity has had the desired impact, rectifying the business’ capacity to work efficiently and with confidence that their IT infrastructure will support their work.

“We had been having intermittent connection issues with the internet/broadband. This meant our business was not able to operate efficiently. inTEC have addressed this, providing exactly what we needed plus added value with additional solutions.

inTEC are local and always been very helpful. They have dealt with issues very quickly and promptly, which enables the business to function without worry. When any issue arises, we now we have inTEC on our side to help immediately – inTEC are an extremely efficient company and very reliable.”

Ben Davey, Director, Burgess & Co Estate Agents

Pearl Representation are a leading sales and marketing firm working to connect premium Destination Management Companies and exclusive hotels with the UK market. The Pearl team, based in Aldershot but with colleagues as far afield as Mauritius, have almost a century of experience setting the standard in their field. Today, they continue to lead the way, connecting both corporate and leisure travellers in the UK to world-class destinations right across the globe – from San Francisco to South Africa, Monte Carlo to Malaysia.

The inTEC Group are your UK-based IT solutions provider, but our teams from across the British Isles can support your users whether they are in Manchester, Mauritius, or anywhere in between!

Pearl Representation had not previously engaged with an IT Provider, but reached a point where their international operations required specialist technical support. Central to this requirement would be reliable, responsive support to give them confidence that technical faults would be handled promptly and effectively to keep their teams online.

First Steps

Pearl were referred to inTEC by an existing client, and are supported by our Sussex team, based in St Leonard’s-on-Sea. inTEC are proud to deliver a truly personal touch service, and a priority of introducing key Pearl stakeholders to their dedicated inTEC Account Manager. With a clear strategy for regular communication and reporting established, a carefully managed Onboarding Project could proceed. This delivered the key pillars of our Managed Service, including 24/7/365 remote monitoring and easy access to high-quality remote Helpdesk support and support.

“inTEC have provided exactly what we needed. The team are very responsive and ensure that any issues we face are dealt with quickly. We also feel the benefit of regular communications and check-ins, which are greatly appreciated. They deliver a 10/10 service which we would certainly recommend to other businesses looking for a great IT partner.”
– Matthew Walker, Managing Director, Pearl Representation.

Outcomes and Benefits

The team were experiencing issues using Microsoft Applications, specifically syncing files from OneDrive to SharePoint. inTEC Engineers investigated the issue and identified the specification of the existing hardware as the root cause of the syncing difficulties. inTEC took a consultative approach, working closely with the team to agree a path forward. The solution was to roll out several new devices (replacing all of their pre-existing hardware).

This was highly effective, almost immediately resolving the issue and allowing the team to work seamlessly, both independently in OneDrive and collaboratively in SharePoint. inTEC have also supported the business to proactively improve their digital working experience, installing an HP conferencing system into their office to enhance their meetings. The online meeting experience is key to a premium operator with teams working all across the globe.

Richard Body Law

Richard Body Law are an established, local legal firm with decades of experience practicing criminal, family and civil litigation across East Sussex from their St Leonards-on-Sea base. The friendly, hard-working team have represented clients in high-profile cases faced with the most serious of charges, as well as being continually available to advocate for local people charged with traffic offences, handling the fallout of divorce or in need of legal support in the workplace.

Company Requirements

Richard Body Law Ltd were beginning to experience challenges with their ageing IT, which they feared was fast becoming obsolete. To ensure that they could continue to work with the utmost sensitivity for client data – and to be compliant with key industry standards such as Cyber Essentials – they needed a fast-moving, well-planned series of IT upgrades.

First Steps

inTEC reviewed the existing infrastructure in place, identifying a Windows 2012 R2 Server as a key barrier to achieving Cyber Essentials, which the firm had recognised as a high priority. The infrastructure review also identified a range of end-of-life networking hardware, as well as a series of devices which would not be compatible with Windows 11. Off the back of this review, we pulled together a single proposal outlining the work needed to obtain Cyber Essentials.

Our Solutions

The existing Windows 2012 R2 Server was removed and replaced with a Cloud solution, enabling colleagues to work securely and collaboratively on documents as well as addressing a key point of non-compliance with Cyber Essentials. The improvements to day-to-day working brought about through the Cloud solution represented a significant value-add to their Cyber Essentials pathway.

To ensure that the firm’s connectivity could support a Cloud solution, we replaced their existing SoGEA line with a Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) internet connection. The FTTP connection would benefit internet speeds, as well as the quality of their 3^rd party telephony system.

The end-of-life networking equipment was addressed by upgrading to UniFi networking hardware, which enabled us to remotely monitor and manage access points. This would allow for clear tracking of network demand and performance toward achieving improved system up-time. Lastly, we have recently agreed a plan to replace the existing hardware which will not be compliant with Windows 11 ahead of Windows 10 going out-of-support in October 2025.

The Outcome

Richard Body Law Ltd are now compliant with Cyber Essentials and have achieved this through a journey which has generated significant additional value through wider improvements to their operational efficiency and collaborative working potential. Throughout our work together, inTEC have been consistently available to support users at Richard Body Law to ensure that all of this change has been effectively managed.

“All the staff at inTEC are very professional and helpful. We are a not very tech-savvy firm and everyone at inTEC is very patient with us, assisting us with any queries that we have. They have also been amazing communicating with a third party that we use, to ensure that we get the best operating system for our firm. We would definitely recommend inTEC to other businesses needing IT support.” – Donna Foster, Richard Body Law Ltd

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Background 

Crowhurst Park is a 5-star holiday village set to the backdrop of the beautiful Sussex countryside, set 5 miles north of the Sussex coast at Hastings and just 2 miles from the site of the 1066 Battle of Hastings. The Park has been a premiere holiday destination in the South-East for over 70 years, offering luxury holiday home accommodation as well as their Manor House restaurant, bar and spa – with the Manor House itself tracing its history back to 1627.

Crowhurst Park maintain an excellent network of local suppliers and partners, and inTEC are proud that our St Leonards-on-Sea branch are a part of this.

Crowhurst Park requirements

Crowhurst Park required reliable, high-quality IT support to cover their day-to-day business operations, as well as the provision of telephony, networking and Wi-Fi for around 65 holiday lodges, the Leisure Club, Restaurant and Bar. In particular, the Park required a recent networking overhaul as well as connectivity for the redevelopment of certain areas of the site.

First steps

inTEC built a strong working relationship with key stakeholders at Crowhurst Park which has underpinned a thoroughly enjoyable and successful partnership built on dependable IT support.

In 2024, it was acknowledged that ageing networking infrastructure was beginning to undermine the performance of the Park’s IT, which is key to the management of their core operations. To address this, inTEC surveyed the site and proposed a comprehensive overhaul.

Our solutions

Our networking overhaul replaced all of the Park’s switches to cloud-managed switches with 10GB connections to the central infrastructure cabinet, located in the Manor House. Redevelopment within a number of areas of the site led to a need for enhanced connectivity, which we delivered through ethernet connections to each individual lodge, with a cloud-managed Wi-Fi Access Point within it. The whole Crowhurst Park network can now be remotely monitored, allowing for proactive management of faults and issues which may arise on the network.

inTEC have also upgraded a legacy telephony system to inTOUCH, our own innovative Unified Communications platform.

The outcome

Connectivity and telephony have both improved, and the networking infrastructure in place is now able to support all elements of the Park’s operations. The solutions provided directly addressed Crowhurst Park’s requirements, with each delivered seamlessly and continually supported by our remote teams.

“inTEC’s roll-out of their networking and telephony solutions has been seamless and they have provided us with exactly what we needed. They have helped provide us with the necessary IT, Phone and broadband services which are vital to the running of our business.” – Ben Simmons, Crowhurst Park

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St Leonards Motors transforms its IT infrastructure,
hardware and processes with a comprehensive
company wide move to the cloud and adoption of
Microsoft365 suite of applications

ABOUT

SLM are a successful motor dealership which began trading in 1959 and as of 2022, the family group consists of 12 sites across East Anglia, Sussex and Kent.

The business runs franchises with Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Fiat and Vauxhall, and includes two body shops and Sussex Used Cars.

BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS

Historically, both hardware and software had grown organically and without structure. Cloud technology was not integrated into the environment, limiting flexibility and capability. The SLM board felt it was time to take a more progressive approach and needed a solution to allow their team to work collaboratively in a secure and safe environment from a range of devices. Reliability and consistency for users was a key requirement, as was the need for centralised management and strategic development to support the future ambitions of the business.

SOLUTIONS

inTEC worked closely to understand SLMs’ specific challenges and future plans, allowing us to develop a robust IT strategy using technology road mapping. This process helped us to build and create a reliable, efficient platform which would enable the group to take full advantage of the benefits of a Microsoft cloud environment.

Microsoft 365 was key to this approach and as a Microsoft Gold Partner with competencies in Cloud Solutions, inTEC were able to work with SLM to unlock the value in the Microsoft 365 suite.

Cloud

Cloud technology was at the core of this digital transformation project. Although the existing servers were replaced with current generation hardware for on-premise management of Active Directory, these integrate with a Microsoft Azure cloud Active Directory environment, creating a hybrid cloud environment and joining all SLM sites into one centrally managed structure. SLM’s print management solution was moved into a Microsoft Azure hosted environment, for centralised management and control across the whole group.  inTEC moved SLM away from their existing legacy mail solution into Microsoft 365 to provide not only hosted email but a consistent, up to date desktop and cloud application suite.

Sharepoint Zone

 SLM’s SharePoint Zone, which inTEC developed as SLM’s central platform for business operations. Everything runs from here, shared internal document access, access to external cloud applications and it is all secured and centrally managed based on an employee’s job role, giving them access to everything they need for their job.  This allowed fully collaborative working across every dealership.

Infrastructure

SLM’s data cabling infrastructure and wireless networking was brought up to standard. The legacy wireless networks was replaced with a modern group wide, centrally managed Wi-Fi solution, providing a robust, reliable, secure and fast internal communications infrastructure.

Annual Leave

A custom built Annual Leave Management solution was built into the Microsoft environment allowing for simple and easy leave management across the whole group providing a transparent and frustration free process for the team.

         Hardware

Desktop and laptop hardware across the group was replaced with fast, new technology, removing performance bottlenecks previously experienced by end users and providing robust and warranted devices to ensure maximum uptime and interruption free working.

inTEC also deployed Microsoft Enterprise Mobility and Security (EM+S) suite to provide a range of security solutions to protect critical customer data and help protect devices and user environments from malicious attacks and data leakage.

With the new system deployed, inTEC now deliver their PromisePlus IT support and managed services agreement which gives all users a best in class central, friendly point of contact for all technology issues and saving the group £70,000 + per annum in internal staff costs. All technology is now centrally managed and pro-actively maintained on behalf of SLM and inTEC continue to work with the board in developing and implementing a technology roadmap to support the ambitions of the group.

OUTCOMES

Significant performance improvements across the whole business were immediately noticed and previous system reliability issues disappeared. SLM’s staff now access their shared data online from within their inTEC designed ‘Zone’ where their data is safely secured on Microsoft servers in the Cloud and is accessible from anywhere with Internet connectivity. A customised navigation structure makes getting to relevant information easy and logical. Staff can easily share and co-author live documents and collaborate effectively across the organisation regardless of their location.

Staff now feel that the technology is there to aid them in their role rather than being a hindrance to them. Combined with rapid and friendly support provided when issues or queries arise, a hugely positive impact on morale has been seen. Efficiency and productivity has improved as systems work as expected, every time and the workflow processes implemented reduce manual effort and wasted time. Data security is greatly improved and as a result inTEC were able to deliver Cyber Essentials accreditation for SLM Group following completion of the project.

There is a confidence in the environment and peace of mind for the board now that SLM has a partner that has taken away the technology headaches and is helping to drive the future strategy. But this is still only the beginning of the journey as inTEC work with SLM to further leverage the investments made to date.

“The decision to reform our IT was a big one, but it was the right decision, and getting inTEC on board was the right decision also. They share our goals, they share our ambitions, and with inTEC as part of the team we are thinking positively about SLM Group’s future.

From the very first meeting with inTEC they seemed to have an innate understanding of our business and our IT needs. The inTEC people were so reassuring, and it was quickly apparent that these guys were at the absolute top of their game.”

Mark Phillips, Managing Director, from SLM Group commented.

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