ABOUT CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU

The Citizens Advice service is a national organisation of 416 independent charities in England and Wales which advise the general public on any aspect of law. It aims to give its clients free, impartial and confidential advice, and to improve the policies and practices that affect peoples lives. In the past year alone the organisation helped 1.9 million people to solve six million problems.

With a Citizens Advice Bureau in the community, everyone has somewhere to turn should the unexpected, the awful or the inexplicable happen.

SUPPORTING IT REQUIREMENTS

The Cheltenham, Cirencester & Tewkesbury branch of Citizens Advice has seventy seven staff and volunteers, and is split over two sites with twenty nine desktops in one office and thirteen in the other. Both sites have a server, and there are an additional six laptops for outreach requirements. As well as the ubiquitous Microsoft Word and Excel the biggest programmes run by the bureau are CASE, a case recording system, AdviserNet, a database information system with a separate web based router which the advisors use to advise their clients, and Advice Guide, a cut-down information database which the general public can access themselves.

Zoe Holland is the Bureau's Admin Monitoring & Compliance Manager, and as such IT falls within her area of responsibility. For Zoe, the role of IT in the organisation is clear: "The biggest programme we run is CASE, and without it we wouldn't be able to advise our clients. On that basis IT is extremely important to us".

MANAGING THE BUDGET

Before Zoe joined the organisation a volunteer looked after the IT and had implemented a Linux system, but for Zoe this was no longer fit for purpose: "Being a charity we had to think about cost and the Linux system was good at the time. However, as we introduced more and more IT we needed a decent back-up system, and it became clear that we needed something more progressive than we had. I looked around and Equanet's Managed Service looked ideal and was very reasonably priced".

Zoe also considered using a local IT provider but the pricing model didn't suit their needs: "Local IT providers often offer bundled hours at a reasonable rate which at first seems attractive. However, if a client needs to buy additional hours it can work out to be expensive. As a charity it is important for us to know in advance what we're spending each month and Equanet's fixed fee is very good value".

ONGOING SUPPORT

Impressed with the service she received when Equanet installed a new server at the CAB's site, Zoe signed up to Equanet's Managed Service for ongoing support of the network. "Equanet were here for a day putting in the new server. Downtime was limited to just one hour; the guys are very efficient at what they do".

The bureau now outsources its IT support to Equanet. The support covers the bureau's PCs and servers. It gives Zoe peace of mind knowing that the systems are monitored constantly and support is just a phone call away. "If we even forget to put in a back-up tape the guys at Equanet will phone and let us know. I can't fault them; we're very happy with the work they have done. Whilst I am fairly IT literate I do not have the time or expertise to look after our IT infrastructure, and we cannot justify employing a full time technical expert. That's where Equanet adds real value. It frees me up to get on with my job whilst leaving me safe in the knowledge that the network is being looked after by professionals. Since Equanet came on board I save at least an hour of my time each day".

HOW EQUANET SUPPORTS CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU

Equanet has been monitoring and supporting the bureau's PCs and servers for over five years. Here is what's covered:

SCOPING THE RIGHT INFRASTRUCTURE

Equanet produced a Design and a Scope of Work document which included replacement of the network infrastructure, configuration of secure VPN connections between Cheltenham Citizens Advice bureau's two offices, installation of a new SQL server, and a managed anti-virus solution across the whole network.

SUPPORT

Equanet provides remote management of the bureau's IT systems with on-site visits as necessary and supports over a hundred desktop users acting as the system administrator. Support operatives are organised into account teams, providing network-specific knowledge.

MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT OF HARDWARE AND NETWORK COMPONENTS

Servers are monitored for performance and early warnings are given which minimise down-time and disruption. As well as desktops and notebooks, the bureau's printers and other network peripherals are supported both remotely and through the helpdesk. In the event of a failure of mission critical hardware, Equanet provides the Citizens Advice Bureau with an eight hour guaranteed hardware fix to ensure uptime.

DISASTER RECOVERY

Back-up's are managed by Equanet as part of the organisation's formal Disaster Recovery strategy.

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

A number of applications such as Exchange Mail, Microsoft Office and specific applications bespoke to the organisation have been integrated onto the network. This has included a managed email filtering solution which reduces spam, improves security and scans for viruses. A further anti-virus solution is deployed and updated daily across the network.

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

The Citizens Advice Bureau has a dedicated account manager. Periodic management reviews are held with the bureau's team to ensure the required standards are maintained.