Introduction

Fruition support a number of organisations in the property sector. This case study describes the experience of a property and construction consultancy that we have been supporting since 2018.

Boulter Mossman is a dynamic, experienced, and independent property and construction consultancy. They offer building surveying, project management, employer’s agent, asset management and associated professional services to public, private, commercial and care sector clients. Formed in 1984, their clients’ needs have always been at the forefront of the services they provide. Their team of technical and professional staff are able to offer a diverse range of construction consultancy services. They have the ability to respond to rapidly changing markets and legislation affecting development, property and the built environment.

The Challenge

Boulter Mossman previously outsourced their IT support to a sole trader, this was a response-only ‘break-fix’ service – they had outgrown their current support and systems. They were looking for an outsourced IT department including strategic guidance, data security and purchasing, plus tactical support services. They were using on premises back-office hardware and software that was reaching end of its useful life, requiring more frequent support to keep it running. They had several service providers supporting disparate legacy systems.

To enable the company to deliver their services with a personal and professional approach, they needed to be able to access data in the office, but also on site with clients.

Approach

Fruition undertook a full technical survey of the IT systems, software and resources in place to gain a full understanding of their procedures. From this, an inventory of their hardware and software was prepared. This enabled Fruition to provide a roadmap of where Boulter Mossman should be heading in order to support the firms planned future growth.

Although at the time Boulter Mossman were not actively looking to move to The Cloud, we advised transitioning to the Microsoft Cloud and retiring the on-premises server. This approach would provide greater simplicity and futureproofing of their IT systems with unlimited storage for growth and development.

Solutions Provided

A bespoke SharePoint solution was built for their needs. This included a secure file management system with specific levels of access control to manage their various business specialisations. It included logical mapped drives so that users remain familiar and confident in how to create, edit and save data, thus the transition from on premises to cloud was transparent to the users.

The integration with the cloud means that consultants can access data quickly and securely when they are working away from the office via local internet connectivity or their mobile phones.

• Retired on-premises server
• Migration of entire IT infrastructure to the Microsoft Cloud
• Cloud-based apps accessible away from the office
• Secure file management and storage set-up in SharePoint
• Mobile connected using Microsoft Surface, smartphones, iPads and laptops
• Current Windows version
• Latest Microsoft 365
• Security protocols appropriate to their Cloud based IT infrastructure
• New modern hardware both in the office and at remote locations
• IT Helpdesk support
• BT Cloud Voice deployed

Results

Boulter Mossman is fully integrated with the Cloud and up to date with the latest Microsoft Cloud applications, including Microsoft 365. A key application for them is Microsoft Teams which they use for internal and client meetings. This became indispensable during the pandemic.

The firm operates more efficiently and is fully mobile, facilitating working remotely with customers. The company was able to continue working seamlessly during the pandemic, with all systems syncing perfectly, thanks to the earlier decision to move to the Cloud.

With the introduction of BT Cloud Voice all smartphone users within the company are able to answer calls to the office on their mobile phones when working remotely.

In line with the service level agreement, Fruition react promptly to support requests. This results in little-to-no IT downtime, allowing the business to perform more efficiently. If an immediate fix is not available Boulter Mossman are given an action plan and informed of all progress. The remote support access to systems ensures that there are very few site visits required. The Remote Services Support Agreement means Boulter Mossman can budget for their IT spend on a monthly basis which is good for cash flow and planning.

Testimonial

“We engaged with Fruition as our business was expanding and our current IT infrastructure was no longer fit for purpose. Fruition prepared a comprehensive proposal to move our business towards a cloud-based system with Microsoft Cloud and 365. We were initially hesitant about storage, security and recoverability but were assured and we have had a great experience being Cloud based since then. This was particularly beneficial when almost all our business moved to remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided a seamless transition.

Fruition provides a swift response to our IT glitches when they arise and offer sound advice when we need to invest further in our IT systems as our Company grows. Their ability to log in remotely to all our devices is a great benefit to us and allows most issues to be resolved quickly.

We have been very pleased with Fruition’s service to Boulter Mossman since we first engaged with them in 2018 and look forward to continuing working together for the foreseeable future.”

– Niall Lawless, Director, Boulter Mossman April 2022