Atech

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Chief Financial Officer at Parkwalk which are one of the UK’s leading growth fund managers backing world-changing technologies emerging out of UK universities and research institutions with the aim of delivering world-class returns.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Atech Support Ltd?

For Parkwalk, the company has gone from start-up to one of the UK’s leading growth fund managers with £1.2bn net assets. But despite backing world-changing technologies that have emerged from some of the UK’s best universities and research institutions, the company itself was built on yesterday’s IT. The on-premise infrastructure that was cutting edge five years’ ago, was aging and starting to place the company at a disadvantage. To access the files they needed to perform their job, staff had to either be physically in the office, or connect via a VPN, which was slow, cumbersome and made remote working a challenge. Entering into the next phase of the company’s growth, Parkwalk relocated to new premises.

But not making sense to uproot the legacy systems that were in desperate need of capex investment, the company decided the time was right to reinvent itself for the modern age, which would enable the business to scale with ease. Taking its fixed, old-school physical infrastructure and transforming it to an agile, cloud-based model, Parkwalk could leverage the best technology to service its clients, while wrapping everything in the principles of good governance to safeguard and retain control of its data, and ensure its compliance with the heavily regulated FCA

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to create a technology platform that enabled our business to scale, while leveraging the benefits that modern tech has to offer. We got all that and more. Through Atech, they showed us the possibilities of the cloud, sharing a vision of how modern companies work and then helping us to see how our business could be transformed in a way that met our exact requirements. The bonus was it eliminated the need for any capex investment, since everything is included within our MS365 license.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Recommendation from another CFO that has worked with Atech for 5+ years.

Describe the project in detail.

Through a series of deep-dive workshops, Atech’s technical cloud specialists could understand the company’s requirements in detail. As well as considering the basics, such as how data is used and processed within the company, they also needed to understand their regulatory obligations to remain compliant with the FCA.

And promote the principles of good governance to attain ISO accreditation. Specifically designed for companies that are transitioning from small to medium-size businesses, Microsoft 365 (MS365) was chosen as the basis for the new IT infrastructure since it provides an all-encompassing package, which includes Office 365, Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility, and Security.

Parkwalk would experience the real benefits delivered through: SharePoint Online With all its files moved from its traditional onsite server and placed into the cloud, Parkwalk’s consultants can now access the information they need any time, anywhere with ease, without battling the VPN to gain access. Teams A central hub designed to integrate people, content, and productivity tools, Teams facilitates better collaboration within Parkwalk’s existing team.

But more than that, it futureproofs the business by demonstrating the flexibility in how its staff operate to attract the best talent. Enterprise mobility and security Comprising Azure Active Directory (AD) and Intune Microsoft Application Management (MAM) the security posture of Parkwalk is significantly strengthened; for a company operating with financial investments, ensuring robust security is the highest priority.

Azure AD is smart technology that takes compliance to the next level. It allows the business to set control policies, for example, preventing staff from sending certain types of data outside the organisation. It automatically records who’s viewing or downloading the data, and what they’re doing with it. And sets alerts to notify key personnel when the policy isn’t being adhered to. MAM is designed to better support ‘bring-your-own-device’ (BYOD) since it allows the business to control what people can do from within an app, rather than installing anything on their phone.

What was the team composition?

1 x Account Manager 1 x Exec sponsor 2 x project managers Various cloud and desktop consultants as and when required. Atech had the staff to be able to meet the deadlines of moving new offices.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The six-week project was completed out-of-office hours so it didn’t affect business-as-usual. As a result, Parkwalk encountered zero downtime during the trandformation process. By creating a modern workplace, the team now has the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world, and still feel connected to the office through a single sign-on for a seamless working experience. Through its enhanced security posture, and by staying on top of its risk profile through the managed service, Parkwalk maintains an above average security score in its Office 365 environment.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Atech are very easy to work with, they worked around my schedule to minimise the day to day impact on myself and the rest of the business.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The knowledge of modern technology and the skills/processes they have to seamlessly implement in the ever changing technology world.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No they are a great technology company to work with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

OXVR are Virtual Reality specialists, based in Oxfordshire, who are dedicated to creating immersive, unforgettable experiences. Our company was born out of a passion for innovative 3D technology and an understanding of the true potential of this 3D technology in the real world. The role I hold at OXVR is Head of IT & Compliance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Atech Support Ltd?

Managed services for infrastructure and modern desktop, to include security posturing, maintenance and patching. Day to day interaction and support for our staff, whilst delivering improvements on security and compliance as the company continues it’s fast growth.

What were your goals for this project?

Managed services for infrastructure and modern desktop, to include security posturing, maintenance and patching. Day to day interaction and support for our staff, whilst delivering improvements on security and compliance as the company continues it’s fast growth.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Recommendation.

Describe the project in detail.

We have been working with Atech over the last 2 years delivering exceptional user support to the business whilst building on a true partnership to develop a modern workplace environment where users can connect and work anywhere in the world.

We have deployed Microsoft security products, the likes of Intune, Bitlocker, ATP, MFA, Conditional Access have been used to increase the posture of the environment. There has also been a focus on speed of deployment and new users to be able to scale quickly with the use of Windows Autopilot for automated deployment.

What was the team composition?

Our team consists of the following: Account Manager Executive sponsor Service Manager (Desktop/Infrastructure) 1st, 2nd and 3rd line engineer for desktop, infrastructure and networking

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The perception of IT throughout the business has increased 70% when asked via a survey after Atech had managed the environment and our users for 6 months. Our net CSAT is well above industry average. Overall a successful service delivered.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication is key in the partnership which we have created with Atech, weekly calls with our account manager, monthly service reviews and continuous interaction with their security and cloud consultants on road mapping for the future.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The staff and the culture. They are always happy to help and have our best interest at the heart of how they support us as a business.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Self-service portal which is due for release in early 2020.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The multi-award-winning Hotel Operator, Great London Hospitality (GLH) is the largest hotel owner-operator in London. It's impressive portfolio boasts 14 amazing hotels featuring 5,000 bedrooms and 130 event spaces. A people centric organisation, GLH strives to provide the ultimate customer experience.

I'm the current lead project manager on the digital transformation journey GLH are undertaking, I'm responsible for the overall delivery, budget, and timelines for the digital transformation programme.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Atech Support Ltd?

Creating smart hotels with a high-tech customer experience just doesn’t work with an ageing, fragmented infrastructure. Being an industry leader requires you to remain on top of your game at all times. GLH earned its position through the consistent delivery of great hospitality, which was made possible by the technology foundations underpinning its organisation.

Over time, GLH’s organic growth created a fragmented infrastructure, with some elements on-premise, others in co-location data centres and the rest hosted with AWS. This disjointed service started to have a big impact on the business. Besides the high running costs, technical outages were starting to impact the customer experience and the volume of personal data held within the organisation created security concerns.

These issues were only intensifying... The industry as a whole is moving towards ‘smart’ hotels, where guests expect a high-tech hotel experience through added benefits, such as digital check-in, keyless room entry and in-room apps. However, despite wanting a richer digital experience, research suggests that three-quarters of travellers have privacy concerns over the technology needed to meet their demands. To retain its leadership status, GLH needed to update the infrastructure that would enable its business to transform for the new digital era.

What were your goals for this project?

- Consolidate the existing infrastructure. - Optimise for greater cost savings. - Secure customer data and ensure ongoing regulatory compliance. - 30% saving in the first year following migration to Azure

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had previously work with Atech Support in a previous role, knowing their technical capabilities in digital and cloud migrations. Combined with the teams dedication allowed us to put them forward for a small RFP to compare options available. Atech were the number one choice and have exceeded expectations on the project.

Describe the project in detail.

GLH Hotels had numerous workloads and services hosted at a datacentre managed by a 3rd party. Azure was chosen for it's IaaS and PaaS capabilities, Atech advised us on the different migration methods they had available, once the initial assessment of the environment has been completed it was decided due to the new digital transformation strategy that a re-platform would be the most appropriate for the environment and migration.

They also included the cost for supporting the environment once the migration has been completed, the costs were extremely fair and clear to understand based on a per server/instance basis which can scale in line with business requirements. - Microsoft Azure Design and Planning - Microsoft Azure Migration - Project Approach, Management and Governance - Full Azure Monitoring, Management and Support once the project was completed.

What was the team composition?

1 x Cloud Solutions Design Consultant 1 x Account Manager 3 x Senior Cloud Consultants 2 x Technical Project Manager 1 x On-boarding Manager 1 x Cloud Infrastructure Support Manager The team changed in size depending on requirements, Atech were able to scale up and down to meet the business requirements of GLH.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The migration was delivered on-time and on-budget. We have a truly world class platform with added security and compliance built into the design. This is the first step in our digital transformation to become a leading global smart hotel brand. The cost savings moving to the new platform will deliver a 30%+ saving year on year for the future. Enabling GLH to reinvest into modern technology such as robots into the hotels of the future.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The relationship we have at GLH with Atech is a true partnership and a real extension of our in house team. A scheduled fortnightly meeting and numerous video calls or face to face meetings defiantly enhances the engagement. I always felt that Atech will deliver no matter what challenges or changes are brought by the business, they are accommodating and are definitely a modern partner in the new digital world.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The people, the culture, the understanding of technology and Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365 is truly exceptional. The investment they have made in their robust migration tool, process combined with Microsoft Azure support after the migration is why they are on course to be one of the UK's best Microsoft Partners of the future.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing. Atech are a brilliant company with exceptional people.