Operating and supporting customers in the North-West, Stepping Stone Projects (Stepping Stones) specialises in providing accommodation for care leavers, people who are homeless, and those at risk of losing their homes. With a modernised IT provision, and new offices, the charity can take the first steps towards an even brighter future.
Challenge.
Following a series of successful contract wins, Stepping Stones had secured new premises to better accommodate its growing team. However, with a small internal IT provision, the company did not have sufficient resources to manage the relocation of infrastructure on its own.
In addition, positive traction with new projects meant that the organisation’s ageing infrastructure lacked the sophistication required to keep pace with the business’ ambitious plans — leaving the company seeking an alternative.
Solution.
Having successfully worked with Central from an IT support capacity since 2018 — utilising everything from the managed help desk, to support services, engineering, to upgrades and more — the company was the natural choice when it came to requesting assistance with the move.
Not only did Central support with physical elements of the re-location, but the team utilised its expertise to recommend solutions which would future proof the company as it continued to expand. The seven-year old infrastructure was upgraded to encompass modern servers and storage, new switching, and improvements to end user connectivity.
With budget a concern due to the charitable element of the organisation’s work, and a significant investment required to switch to the cloud, together the teams opted to retain on-premise provision – which enabled them to maximise the value of their investments.
Outcome.
Despite encountering some national supply shortages on key equipment — an after effect of the Covid-19 pandemic — the Central team was quick to call upon their expertise to source alternatives, ensuring the project stayed on time and within the agreed budget. This also prevented any hindrance to the company’s recruitment and growth plans, and any wider financial implications.
Stepping Stones’ strategic plans are now firmly on track, with new contracts providing more homes to vulnerable adults, along with a growing workforce delivering service excellence to their customers. The firm saw an increase from 55 colleagues pre-Covid to nearly 200 three years later. This growth will continue for the foreseeable future as Stepping Stones’ strives to support more vulnerable adults, preventing homelessness and allowing them to live independently and to thrive.
With an enhanced IT provision in place, the organisation can push towards its goals safely in the knowledge that its newly modernised infrastructure can grow alongside it — with a design that will meet the business’ needs for years to come.
"Central assisted us in relocating our head office Infrastructure to our new location. They did a fantastic job with the coordination and made sure everything ran smoothly on the day. We were sent two highly skilled engineers, who scoped out the work and provided us with full documentation post-completion of the head office move. “Alongside the relocation work, the team helped upgrade our core network and server infrastructure, which has considerably improved system performance and provided additional capacity for future growth at Stepping Stones."
– Andy Mount, ICT manager, Stepping Stone Projects
