Legacy issues, inconsistency through business change, knowledge gaps and key-person syndrome are common factors which can contribute to an organisation’s IT health. This was the case for one of NSP’s clients.

The organisation reached out to NSP in 2023 to provide an initial independent IT audit. This included a deep dive into its IT infrastructure and critical business systems to identify any weaknesses, risk, exposure and opportunities.

Following the audit and continued partnership building, NSP has provided user support and managed services, including server maintenance, data backup and network and endpoint security, and ongoing training since December 2023.

We interviewed IT Operations Manager at the association.

What were your initial IT concerns?

“We depended highly on our previous IT team, who’d been managing our IT for many years. They were responsible for the infrastructure side of things and writing and building the database. We had risks around succession, the types of products we had, security – so many things. It was a challenging set of circumstances.”

Could you elaborate further?

“None of the team had any real IT training, and we had no real oversight or transparency around what was in place at the time, so we didn’t really know what our risks were because we didn’t know what we had.

“We have a complex structure with regard to our team's skills and competencies. Some of the team were logging in through the terminal server and using a traditional filing structure, while others didn’t have access and were using a separate document managing system. Our files were stored in two different locations, leading to version control and duplication issues.

“We also had no anti-virus software protection, so I was worried about security. I approached Steve Hurst [NSP’s Commercial Manager] to conduct an audit, which highlighted these as areas for concern.”

How did NSP become your dedicated IT service provider?

“[After the initial audit] we asked NSP to put together a quote. We also went out to market to three other providers. We independently decided who was the most appropriate fit for us and all of us decided it was NSP.

“A lot was to do with Steve, who bent over backwards for us, but he also managed to get our President on board, and he's not easy to crack! The IT provider we had at the time even said that NSP was the best after showing him the proposals.

“Cost, quality and capability were big factors, and the service we'd had through that audit process was also key. In my previous role I used another IT service provider, so I had a comparison.”

What’s been the NSP difference?

“The first time I had a problem, I rang the NSP support desk, and the person on the other phone was happy to hear from me! I'd had a problem with my laptop since the day I started. I told our previous IT service provider that it was doing random things, running slow, sluggish – just not working well at all.

“But when NSP took over, they said: ‘There could be Windows Update problem’. They remotely logged in to my machine and ran a patch, and I haven't had a problem since. So that's the difference. The fact that NSP doesn’t say “no” wants to help and fix stuff, and they’re happy to do it. It’s been an overall very positive experience in my daily working life.

“[The NSP team] has jumped through hoops to help. Their technical delivery manager in particular, has done it calmly and has taken it in his stride. He’s communicative, supportive and consultative, and NSP has been absolutely above and beyond all expectations.”

How does NSP help with daily operations?

“Now when I fire off an email or make a phone call, I get a rational, reasonable person to deal with who wants to help me! It’s that simple. Obviously, the complex things that NSP are helping us with are important to mitigate our risk exposure but just the day-to-day dealing with issues as they happen and the ease of that is invaluable.”