Introduction
How dedicated leased lines and a migration to Microsoft 365 provided RCI with a foundation on which to innovate and grow.
The Client
Established in 1971, Ralph Coleman International (RCI) is a leading retail support business, delivering the provision, washing, storage, haulage, and repair of plastic crates in the food sector. Plastic crates are a critical element of the retail food supply chain, enabling food producers to deliver produce in an environmentally friendly manner for retailers to package and sell.
The business’s main customer is the world’s leading supplier of reusable plastic crates, and are trusted by the world’s top retailers (including Morrisons and Waitrose) to deliver on their reusable plastic crate washing requirements.
RCI’s business model is based on a high volume of work, with a low margin. The business went through a buyout in late 2018, and new directors wanted to increase the efficiency of their operations, and therefore increase the profitability of the business.
The Challenge
The new directors of RCI were looking for a technology partner who could provide reliable infrastructure, as well as implement solutions to improve the operational efficiency of the business. Across their UK sites, most of their operations were running using spreadsheets, and the data was self-contained within each site. This caused problems with data accuracy, visibility, and integrity, and made reporting a very complex task.
They wanted to improve, simplify and centralise their foundational infrastructure, which encouraged better collaboration and more visibility within the business. That same infrastructure needed to also act as a platform to build automations, digitise processes and visualise their data. The model needed to be easily scalable if they expanded their operations to further sites.
The Solution
We proposed a cloud-first approach powered by Microsoft 365 to provide a stable, secure foundation for their operations. The first step we took with RCI was deploying dedicated leased line connections to all of the sites that didn’t already have one. This provided them with resilient internet connectivity so they could connect to their cloud services reliably, and at ultrafast speeds.
Next, we moved all of their critical infrastructure services to Microsoft 365 and Azure Active Directory. We migrated their files away from on-premise storage and into SharePoint, which we rolled out in conjunction with Microsoft Teams. Once all of the data was accessible across all of their sites, the individual site’s servers were decommissioned.
Once the foundational infrastructure was up and running, we used business analysts to understand exactly what was causing the efficiency problems in the business, and identify processes which needed automating and digitizing. We went on to build several Power Apps to modernize these processes and eliminate the spreadsheets, along with some Power BI dashboards for enhanced multi-site reporting.
"Emerge Digital understood our business goals and designed a set of best-in-class solutions in support of them. We’ve seen significant business improvements thanks to our new infrastructure – our employees are more productive, our systems are more reliable, and our Power BI dashboards have directly influenced our profitability. Emerge Digital have always put our goals at the heart of what they do."
Jon Graves, Managing Director - Ralph Coleman International
The Outcome
Running on infrastructure powered by the Microsoft cloud, RCI now have a strong foundation on which they can innovate and grow. Using ultrafast, dedicated internet connectivity, they can access Microsoft 365 – including SharePoint and Teams – which acts as a central hub for their digital operations.
Their new SharePoint file structure was designed to bring all of their data into one centralised location, which can be securely accessed from anywhere. Employees can spend less time searching for files and sharing them over emails, and more time on optimising the operations of the business.
RCI have been using Microsoft Teams – which is closely connected with their SharePoint structure – to collaborate across sites in a more productive manner. They’re able to chat to and call colleagues, find and edit files, view dashboards, and use bespoke apps all within Teams.
RCI are also benefitting with the advanced, enterprise-level cyber security features that Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses bring. Microsoft Defender for 365 is helping to guard RCI against viruses, spam, unsafe attachments, suspicious links and phishing attacks – reducing the risk of downtime and financial loss.
Having a fully cloud-based infrastructure on Microsoft 365 means that RCI have access to the Microsoft Power Platform. With Power Apps and Power BI, we created apps and dashboards that gave the management a better view at the utilisation of resources. Using this data, they were able to make important decisions which ultimately increased ulilisation, and therefore profitability.
Introduction
How a cloud migration strengthened data compliance at Thompson Taraz
The Client
Thompson Taraz is one of the UK’s leading fund services groups and has been supporting real asset fund managers for over 30 years. Fund services provided by Thompson Taraz include Full Scope Authorised Investment Fund Management and Depositary services as well as Custody and Nominee shareholder services and Fund Administration.
Thompson Taraz’s focus is on being adaptive and flexible to their clients needs and is in a period of growth. There is an increasing focus on new business development within the company and a high level of internal skill has driven specialisations. By drawing on a wealth of accounting, auditing and business advisory specialists, Thompson Taraz not only complies with financial regulations but adds value to their clients’ strategies including Property, Infrastructure, Debt, Venture Capital, Private Equity and Energy.
The Challenge
Thompson Taraz had a robust but aging on-premise infrastructure consisting of two physical host servers and virtualised storage, which was broken into eight virtual servers, each performing a different task (running their line of business applications, storing their files, running their network etc.).
The business is regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and information security is a top priority. In recent years, the FCA – and the Financial Services industry in general – has started to recognise cloud hosting as a more secure option to on-premise solutions.
To keep up with industry recommendations, and to enable better collaboration with their employees and customers, a migration to the cloud – including Microsoft 365 Services and Azure Cloud Services – was added to the business’s roadmap as part of our Digital Business Strategy process. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, plans for this migration were fast-tracked because remote working proved difficult on their existing infrastructure.
The Solution
We broke down the migration into three key phases, which allowed for a gradual changeover for the different parts of their infrastructure.
Phase One
The first phase involved the introduction of a hybrid cloud setup to start off the transition. We implemented resilient cloud servers to run the network, which were hosted in Azure and our data centre. We also developed a plan for the deployment of SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams based on Thompson Taraz’s business requirements.
Phase Two
In the second part of the project, we created a SharePoint and Teams environment based on the agreed design. We also deployed and configured the system and information security features of the Microsoft 365 Business Premium license to fit with the industry’s strict requirements. In preparation for the data migration, we implemented a 365 backup solution to protect data.
Phase Three
The final stage of the project involved the migration of their line of business apps to a cloud hosting platform, as well as data migration from the legacy file servers to SharePoint. Backup systems and policies were tested, and a second cloud domain controller was set up.
"The cloud migration project has helped transform our business. Keeping our customer’s data secure is a top priority for us, and with our new Microsoft-powered cloud infrastructure, this has never been easier to manage. Plus, these new foundations have made a whole host of innovative solutions possible, enabling us to grow our business by staying ahead of the technology curve."
Martin Heffernan, Chief Executive Officer - Thompson Taraz
The Outcome
The project has provided significant benefits to many areas of the business, as well as aiding simple remote working – something which was much harder on the old infrastructure.
Cyber Security
Their IT cyber security defences have been improved thanks to Microsoft Defender for 365 – which helps to block to spam and phishing emails, and scans attachments and links to check for anything malicious before giving the user access.
Data Security and Compliance
Data security, which is crucial for their sector, has been solidified by Azure Information Protection and Microsoft Intune – paired together, they are a powerful tool for classifying and protecting data to ensure that the most sensitive information never leaves company devices. Compliance for ISO 27001 re-certification has also been made simpler thanks to the implementation of Azure Information Protection.
Costs
The migration has meant significantly reduced capex. There’s no spending money on replacement parts or warranty renewals for their on-premise servers – everything is covered with a low monthly cost for hosting their data and applications in the cloud.
Innovation
The old on-premise platform made it difficult for the business to innovate and adopt intelligent new solutions. But with the migration to Azure and 365, we have helped them pave the way for growth-enabling innovations. Thompson Taraz are now supercharging their business using SharePoint, Teams, Power Automate and Power Apps.
For example, Emerge Digital are working on a new file management process using SharePoint. This will be a simple system for employees and partners to request access to certain files and folders. Managers can approve or decline these access requests, to make sure data is only ever shared with the people who need it.
Introduction
InfoSec People: powered by Voyager Business Intelligence (BI),
empowered by Emerge Digital
The Client
InfoSec People is a well-established cyber and technology recruitment company, built by genuine experts in the field. They are data-driven by nature and draw on this to make their ongoing business decisions.
Over the last 6 years, InfoSec has partnered with specialist recruitment software provider, Ikiru People, and are using Voyager Infinity to help make their recruitment processes even smoother. The Voyager platform has allowed InfoSec to work faster and more efficiently without cutting corners or affecting the quality of their service, all of which remains a cornerstone of their business and growth plans.
The Challenge
InfoSec had lots of data in their business, but they felt they weren’t using it to their advantage.
Voyager Infinity already includes a business intelligence module called Voyager BI which helps manage data visualisation. These built-in dashboards were developed to fit Infinity’s broad range of recruitment clients covering permanent, contract and temporary recruitment agencies and as such provided InfoSec with general insights into their performance. InfoSec wanted to go even further.
As a result, they were a perfect springboard to develop a more bespoke range of dashboards to support InfoSec’s culture, team structure, KPIs and operational processes. In addition, they wanted their data to be visible across the working environment to motivate their teams and generate recognition of good performance.
Their key challenge, therefore, was to make this vision a reality. They needed expert support to build the dashboards, manage their implementation and help generate the necessary reports. That’s where our team at Emerge Digital came in.
Our Solution
We started the process with a half day data visualisation workshop to identify the key metrics and performance indicators that InfoSec wanted to measure and monitor. We then created initial templates of the dashboards to clarify exactly what was needed across the business.
With expectations established, we collaborated closely with the InfoSec team as we moved into the build phase. Here, we combined our expertise of Microsoft’s Power BI platform and our understanding of InfoSec’s requirements to build a bespoke set of dashboards. We did this by taking our existing knowledge and using the pre-built development capabilities of the Voyager BI environment.
We created 15 separate dashboards with 26 different reports/charts in total. These covered a wide range of themes including consultant activity and performance, client activity, business development, plus revenue analysis by consultant, team, period and customer.
"Emerge Digital created bespoke dashboards that have helped us make more informed business decisions. Enabling data to be accessible with just a couple of clicks has been absolutely invaluable."
Lauren Thompson, Head of Operations - InfoSec People
The Outcome
The bespoke dashboards we built helped InfoSec quickly filter and display their data in a much more relevant way. This meant their delivery teams could easily check their own stats and create reports, rather than trawling through spreadsheets and delivering monotonous tables of figures to their clients.
Alongside the visualisation, the dashboards have enabled clearer insights and facilitated better decision making. As InfoSec works with clients to produce weekly findings from the market, they can now back up this information with data from their dashboards.
They can also spot trends much earlier and adapt their focus in line with this. For example, if one industry is hiring faster than others or a particular client has a slower time-to-hire, they can address any issues early on, creating a positive hiring experience for all parties.
The dashboards have saved the business time too. Before, if a report didn’t look right, or a piece of data was missing, it would be a manual job of finding the anomaly within their spreadsheets, and locating that piece of information in the system to change it. Now this is no longer necessary. Instead, the new dashboards mean they can spot issues straight away and quickly fix them to create solid, automated, reliable data.
Last but not least, the dashboards have opened their mind to further innovation. They are now looking to explore other areas that could benefit from automation in the future. Watch this space!
"InfoSec has always been a technology champion keen to leverage their Voyager Infinity recruitment software to accelerate their business growth. We are pleased that our flexible solution enabled Emerge Digital to further enhance InfoSec’s data insights to help them motivate their staff as well as address any issues early on, creating a positive hiring experience for all parties. It’s a win-win for all involved."
Paul Thompson, Sales and Marketing Director - Ikiru People
Introduction
Helping Cazoo Wholesale improve efficiency and reduce costs through automation
The Client
Cazoo Wholesale has over 30 years’ experience remarketing and managing vehicles for many of the UK’s leading organisations. With thousands of vehicles passing through their systems each week, they need seamless processes at every stage.
The Challenge
Cazoo Wholesale have been benefiting from Emerge Digital’s ongoing technology strategy for a while. Through this process, our team and client identified an opportunity to update and automate one of their manual filing processes.
Up to 600 times a month, the team at the Cazoo Wholesale had to gather information from V5c documents (vehicle log book documents). To do this, they’d need to search through a filing cabinet, get the information, scan the document and refile it. This was not only time-consuming, it was also open to human error. Occasionally files were misplaced or lost, and the company would have to pay for a replacement.
Our job was to streamline this process and help the team to save time and money.
Our Solution
We started by using Power Automate – one part of the Microsoft Power Platform. Instead of manually scanning and sending on the information from the V5c documents, we set up an automated process using their existing infrastructure to scan the V5c documents, turn them into PDFs and automatically email them to a designated address.
From here, artificial intelligence extracts the registration numbers from each PDF document. The file is then renamed as the car registration number and added to an agreed document library in SharePoint for all of the business to access.
In addition to this, we used a similar process to extract and safely store registration numbers from service history documents.
Going forward, we will be using automation to extract more information from documents, including the number of owners as well as emissions data. This will be automatically carried over to Cazoo Wholesale’s bespoke data system.
"Thanks to Emerge Digital, Power Automate has helped us save time and money, and with their help, we will be looking at streamlining more of our processes."
Jenny Hodson, Office Manager - Cazoo Wholesale
The Outcome
This simple process has had significant benefits for the Cazoo Wholesale team. Team members can now access data instantly, wherever they are, without having to search through a physical filing cabinet. Prior to this project, team members who were working remotely would have to call an onsite worker and ask them to go to the filing cabinet and send a scan of the document to them. Now, with instant access, this is no longer necessary.
What’s more, as the documents don’t need to be handled by multiple people, we’ve helped to reduce the loss and misplacement of files too.
The great news is, this was all done quickly and cost effectively. There are multiple ways of automating processes, so we worked to find the most profitable option for our client. Only one day was needed for the set-up and the Microsoft license is just £30.20 a month for 5000 credits (emails).
Due to the success of this project, the teams at Cazoo Wholesale are now considering more automation in the future.
Introduction
How cloud migration and managed IT services have supported growth at The Property Centre
The Client
The Property Centre is an award-winning estate agent based in the South West of England. The agency offers a full range of sales and letting services and employs over 100 staff across its nine branches and head office. The Property Centre has been a Emerge Digital technology partner for over 10 years. Throughout this time, we’ve worked as an outsourced IT department, managing everything from IT support to cloud telephony and cloud infrastructure to internet connectivity. Three years ago, we presented a documented technology strategy to The Property Centre’s board of directors outlining a new IT and communications framework that would transform the way the business used technology.
The Challenge
One of the key challenges The Property Centre faced was migrating to cloud-based services. As they’d grown in size, they needed a more robust telephony system as well as cost-effective fibre solutions in each of their branches. In addition to this, they needed to work towards a managed office network that would connect their technology and help boost efficiency across the business.
The Solution
Our solution was made up of several strands and took place over the course of 24 months. We worked specifically on cloud migration, connectivity, communications and general IT support.
- Cloud Migration Services
Cloud migration lay at the heart of our strategy. Over the course of 24 months, we moved all business applications, IP telephony services and server infrastructure into the cloud. We also set up a managed office network, so all services were fully joined up.
- Connectivity
We implemented reliable fibre leased line solutions into all of the business’s branches and ensured this was done at the most cost-effective price. All branches now enjoy a dedicated line connecting them to the internet at superfast speeds.
- Communications
Making phone calls is an essential part of The Property Centre’s work, so we introduced a robust, flexible and scalable cloud telephony system that the company could fully rely on.
- Support
Last, but by no means least, we created a simple cost-per-employee IT and telecoms package, including 24/7 support across all branches. If ever an issue arises, whether that’s in work time or at the weekend, we’re on hand to help. Our engineers also make monthly on-site visits to maintain the technology – and answer any questions from the teams.
"Moving to cloud-based services has improved our efficiency and effectiveness. And because Emerge Digital handles all of our IT services, we have more time to spend growing our business."
Leon Broady, Director - The Property Centre
The Outcome
We’re delighted that The Property Centre has seen a wide range of benefits from our work. The new technology and services have boosted employee productivity, increased efficiency and created a more joined-up feel across all branches. As we fully manage these services, the teams can also concentrate fully on what matters most: supporting their customers and driving growth. What’s more, our simple cost-per-employee model has enabled the teams to budget more effectively for business expansion. The positive effects of this were felt most recently when the centre extended their offering by opening up two new branches.
