Case studies

The Client

Black & White Bridging (previously Bath & West Finance) was established in 2013 to provide short-term, non-regulated lending solutions to property professionals in the South of England, with a focus on the South West where they are based.

Black & White Bridging approached WestSpring in 2020 looking to partner with a reliable MSP to take care of all aspects of IT/technology at their new office in Wick. There were several business challenges being faced, largely caused by sustained business growth but also adapting as a business to a world with COVID.

OBJECTIVES

• To have a manageable and secure infrastructure, ready for staff to use both from the office and remotely.
• To have an IT partner that recommends equipment and solutions to improve reliability and performance
• To implement a new disaster recovery solution capable of getting the business back online and operational – fast

SOLUTIONS

• A new cloud-based solution to store and backup data and business-critical apps
• SaaS protection to securely backup up their Microsoft 365 environment
• Secure, managed network with use of an enterprise grade WatchGuard firewall and UniFi network equipment.
• A full review and license audit of their existing Microsoft Office 365 environment
• A new comms cabinet
• Unlimited IT Support
• Removal of local admin rights on all company devices, ensuring all new software installs are authorised
• Removing default passwords from any networking equipment and lockdown of new firewall

RESULTS

Black & White Bridging now have everything in place to effectively work from home or office. They have an IT partner who takes care of their support needs and all built on a rock solid, secure foundation which is scalable with their business plans.

The Client

ForrestBrown is the UK’s largest specialist R&D tax credit consultancy. They are passionate about helping innovative businesses grow. ForrestBrown have been a WestSpring client for many years now, and they have grown from 40 users to now over 150, we helped them move from their office in Clifton to a more central Bristol location.

ForrestBrown tasked us with project managing an office move and ensuring the process was smooth with minimal disruption to the business. We already knew the business challenges, ForrestBrown were experiencing with their current office space, one of which being meeting rooms always being double booked.

OBJECTIVES

• Assist ForrestBrown in a office move with minimal disruption
• Provide detailed project and keep management updated throughout the whole process.
• Deliver the project within the agreed budget

SOLUTIONS

The latest digital innovation for their office including:

• Meeting room management technology; WestSpring Rooms installed outside all meeting rooms
• Main flight board displaying all the meeting rooms availability, interactive touchscreen boards for team-working and collaboration
• TVs that all machines can connect too
• A sophisticated audio visual conferencing solution in the learning lab complete with projector, speaker and wall mounted control panel.
• WestSpring Lobby for visitor sign in management
• Cloud-based CCTV solutions
• Smart door-entry systems
• Hosted Voice including conferencing phones and call reporting dashboard for the sales team

RESULTS

The goal of this project was simple, to provide ForrestBrown with the smoothest possible move and to wow them with innovative IT solutions that make their day-to-day operations easier.

For more info on the move check out ForrestBrown’s article: Click here

The Client

Rockpool Digital are an independent digital agency based in the Paintworks Bristol. They specialise in the designing and building of digital experiences for a multitude of channels.

Due to a number of changes to their structure, Rockpool needed to realign their IT with their business requirements. Managing Director, Bruce was looking for a local and trusted company that could provide an IT service to match their crucial timescales and deadlines.

OBJECTIVES

• Refresh IT infrastructure streamlining systems
• Move to the Cloud
• Refresh hardware
• Reduce monthly costs.

SOLUTIONS

• Full IT and business review to identify changes which needed to be made.
• Utilise more Cloud technology to help increase efficiency.
• Removed and decommissioned all outdated hardware and replaced it with the newest state-of-the-art technology.
• Installation of WatchGuard Firewall
• Server replacement
• Full fit of a new secure comms cabinet.
• Consolidation of Rockpool’s IT environment to reduce the number of servers and therefore reducing their IT footprint and ongoing costs.
• Implemented managed encryption to protect mobile devices and installed a new secure remote access solution.

RESULTS

Rockpool Digital now have a streamlined IT solution that has enabled them to be more self-sufficient and provides them with peace of mind that their important data is secure. WestSpring delivered the project for a fixed cost and within the set timeline.

Rockpool now benefit from:

• Massive reduction in monthly support tickets raised
• Reliable & scalable infrastructure
• Improved network security
• Full project documentation and diagrams
• Project completion meetings

The Client

SR2, Socially Responsible Recruitment is a rapidly growing local recruitment company. They believe that they can only call themselves truly successful if they go beyond pure profit and look at how they treat their clients, their candidates and their staff.

SR2 wanted to be tendering for more work with blue chip large enterprise companies and one of the tendering requirements was to have Cyber Essentials Plus. Put simply in order to deal with larger companies, they need to know you are secure.

OBJECTIVES

• Work with independent assessors to gain Cyber Essentials Plus certification
• Manage whole project and ensure client is kept updated throughout
• Ensure minimal disruption to business

SOLUTIONS

• Carefully planned project, with detailed risk and gap analyses which created a scope of works.
• Templates for IT & Information Security Polices
• Worked with the independent assessment company to complete the Cyber Essentials certification within 12 weeks.
• The project was carefully managed and the client keep updated throughout, our Technical Consultants managed every aspect meaning the client did not have any disruption to the business or any delays in gaining the certification.

RESULTS

The goal here was to ensure that Cyber Essentials Plus was implemented effectively, ensuring all boxes were ticked without any interruptions or headaches during their day-to-day operations. SR2 are now in a better position to win a range of clients.

The Client

Method Consulting are a group of sustainability professionals with a common goal to reduce the environmental impact of buildings, through sustainable engineering design and advice. With offices in Swindon, Bristol and Plymouth they offer a wide range of services, supporting an aim to provide intelligent engineering for sustainable, low-energy buildings.

Method Consulting needed to become Cyber Essential and Cyber Essential Plus certified to meet the requirements of some of their tenders. These certifications would help them to provide the evidence of implementing sufficient measures to protect their business and customers against cyber attacks.

OBJECTIVES

• To improve cyber security and in doing so gain Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials plus certifications.

SOLUTIONS

• Manage the process of gaining the certifications from start to finish
• Full review of Method Consulting’s existing security.
• Informed recommendations for new hardware and network equipment to help improve IT security
• Help the firm to gain the Cyber Essentials certifications.
• 3-4 days onsite to lockdown Method’s network to ensure it was secure and in compliant with Cyber Essentials guidelines.
• Design and implement the appropriate IT policies and procedures

RESULTS

Method were successful in gaining both their Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications. They now have a secure and well managed network and improved security policies and procedures. They are now in the position to tender work and appease the requirements of prospects and customers.

The Client

The Somerset Toiletry Company, based in Bristol design and manufacture luxury bath and body products.

Being based in the beautiful rolling Somerset countryside can cause some IT challenges when it comes to broadband connection. The Somerset Toiletry Company were looking for a solution to improve their internet connection and paved the way for a cloud future. Removing the need for a costly server migration looming…

Remote working for a global company is also vital. This was a key driving force behind a new solution allowing the team to work from the office, home, coffee shops or even the airport.

OBJECTIVES

• Improve internet connectivity and their remote working experience.

SOLUTIONS

• Installed a new internet connection which was faster and more reliable and at a sensible cost.
• Upgraded the firewall solution. This provided The Somerset Toiletry Company with improved security and helping to future-proof their IT systems.
• Emails were migrated to the Office 365 platform providing a scalable, efficient and reliable cloud platform. Emails are now primed for remote working and uniting the global team.
• The full Office 365 product suite adds bags of value to all the team. From instant messaging and conference video calling via Skype For Business to the Microsoft Teams platform providing a hub for the team to communicate.

RESULTS

WestSpring delivered this Office 365 project enabling The Somerset Toiletry Company to take advantages of a rapidly growing platform with new features. With emails now hosted on a cloud platform, this provides a reliable, robust and scalable solution that will support the continued growth of the business.

The Client

Fastlane Paint & Body are a high end paint and body shop for brands such as Mercedes, Tesla and Rolls Royce. Discover what they had to say about having WestSpring as their IT partner.

The Client

Talentia is an employee-owned, award-winning recruitment agency, and now the parent company to Dovetail & Slate, Innotech Partners and Prince Talent & Resourcing.

The Client

Saragossa are a technology recruitment firm, specialising in helping investment businesses extend their technology capability.