“Probado was recommended to Acorn by another charity in our region since they had an excellent understanding of multi-site organisations working with vulnerable people.”

Understanding Charities

Gordon Maclean, one of the directors at Probado explained ‘We understand the sector’s needs and the donor programs which are available to charities from leading vendors such as Microsoft and Cisco. We recognise the continual pressure to reduce costs, increase Service User satisfaction and payment by results by commissioning bodies’.

Economical Data Solutions

Probado’s approach was to have Acorn use the donor programs where appropriate and we then provisioned the service from Probado’s secure, highly resilient datacentre facilities. Further capital investment by Acorn was avoided at the desktop using Thin Client Terminals which they provided as part of their managed service. This was considered to be a more secure, cost-effective, less noisy and considerably less bulky solution when compared to traditional desktop computers. Finally, to keep costs down, Probado used Acorn’s existing equipment and networks where possible.

Supporting Acorn

All on-site visits and telephone support are covered in our monthly charge so budgeting is easy, no expensive call-out fees, keeping managers and provisioning staff client facing.

Clean Implementation

Probado worked with Acorn’s Senior Management Team so that it was clear the IT changeover project was being led from within the organisation. This helped cascade project updates and system familiarisation through the management teams to staff and key stakeholders. The implementation delivered on time and to budget.

As Hayley commented on the Probado account team, ‘Martin, Gordon and Jonathan have provided excellent support – they respond quickly if we need them, we feel really reassured that we’re working with providers who treat us personally and are looking after us as an organisation.’

“Martin, Gordon and Jonathan have provided excellent support – they respond quickly if we need them. . .”

Hayley joined Acorn after the implementation of the new IT system from a much larger social care business. ‘I was really impressed with the IT system, it was one of the things that worried me when I started but it compares easily with much more expensive and sophisticated systems. Maintaining data securely off-site means that we can always access it. Our staff share information more effectively and as a result we’re running a more efficient and cost-effective organisation.’

Hayley Boff and Gordon Maclean were interviewed by Mark Crowe of Mark Crowe Consulting

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“Probado discussed our options in plain English, at the time broadband performance was limited and our working environment did not lend itself to sensitive computer equipment.”

David Fielden, Director, explained ‘Probado discussed our options in plain English, at the time broadband performance was limited and our working environment did not lend itself to sensitive computer equipment. The proposed cloud solution addressed both concerns. In addition given the need for robust counter solutions we choose terminals rather than more expensive PC’s’.

Probado met and worked closely with Syrinx, EPS’s plant hire software provider and delivered the solution with minimum disruption in a timely manner. Further enhancements followed and the system now supports signature capture and barcode recognition. David commented ‘Paper is kept to a minimum, processes are quick, simple and accountable, helping EPS provide the best customer experience from start to finish.

Probado now provides EPS with a Voice over IP Telephone system to reduce costs. Gillian Fielden, Director, comments ‘The cloud solution has really brought the team together, I can work from either office or at home in the same way, Probado are friendly, helpful people that have made a difference!’

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Listening to Needs

It was obvious from an initial meeting that Probado were keen to work with not for profit organisations, had good values themselves, and listened carefully to SHAP’s needs. Essentially, they were able to explain things in English!

Probado then worked with SHAP staff on a project group, developing clear and accountable responsibilities between the two organisations. Probado attended management meetings to answer everyone’s questions, and they also trained staff.

Excellent Working Relationship

SHAP Managing Director, Mark Weights, said there was some resistance to change within the organisation, and a change of culture was needed. Andy Lee-McGurk said the excellent working relationship enabled them to talk through difficult issues and overcome teething problems as they arose. The positive nature of this relationship has been confirmed by internal feedback from staff.

Mark explained how Probado offered ways that SHAP could structure the work, and only do what genuinely added value – ‘they didn’t go for gold standard every time’ – always being clear and transparent about costs, benefits and limitations of different solutions.

System Reliability

SHAP now have a stable, cost-effective system, which is not reliant on one individual. For Mark, it’s much easier to performance manage, especially for remote and geographically distant sites which are very dependent on IT links.

Staff spend far less time accessing paperwork, giving them more time to spend with Service Users, who themselves have greater access to the net to look for job and accommodation opportunities.

On-going support is always a crucial component of IT work. Andy describes Probado’s support as ‘responsive and flexible’. Staff can contact them direct, and they don’t need to explain too much for Probado to identify and resolve the problem.

“they can explain, for the decision-maker, the options and benefits, in accessible language. . .”

Mark had no trouble saying what he most appreciated about working with Probado: ‘They are extremely competent and knowledgeable when operating technically. And they can explain, for the decision-maker, the options and benefits, in accessible language, which is a real skill. That’s very important.’

Mark Weights and Andy Lee-McGurk were interviewed by Rob Cook of Mark Crowe Consulting

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