Our team at Blaenavon Town Council had struggled for years with our IT infrastructure and devices.

Everything was a bit cumbersome, dated and it felt like technology was slowing us down, instead of enhancing our productivity. In addition, our broadband service was a free setup provided by the local authority and not always reliable.

We carried on for years like this, doing our best to provide a first-class service to the local community.

Then during the COVID-19 pandemic, everything changed. Overnight, we were legally obliged to stream council meetings live, record them and provide public access.

Although we did adopt the excellent software Meeting OWL, we soon discovered that our hardware simply wasn’t meeting our requirements and we needed to find a new, future-proof solution.

We also weren’t entirely tech-savvy so soon realised we needed fast, responsive IT support alongside this new hardware and infrastructure.

This would help us modernise and streamline our town council practices, meet our legal requirements and support us in our community work.

We believed that ticking all these boxes would be extremely challenging, especially on a limited council budget. That is, until we set up a meeting with Dean from Orbits IT.

After speaking to several local town councils throughout Wales, we decided to contact Orbits IT for help as they were highly recommended.

They’d helped countless other councils throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, were known for their outstanding IT support and were aware of the many legal obligations we must adhere to.

When we sat down for our consultation meeting, we explained our existing setup including the systems that were currently in use, the networking hardware, the connectivity at the office and any legal obligations we needed to meet.

We also explained that we wanted our system to be future-proof for at least five to six years and desperately needed the right IT support to troubleshoot any problems.

Dean was very attentive to our requirements. He listened carefully to our needs and requests and immediately mentioned a few items he wanted to review to help us streamline business operations.

With this information, Orbits IT created a bespoke IT solution to precisely suit our needs. This included:

• An overhaul of the IT system.
• Adding a central data repository.
• Improving access to documents to allow collaboration.
• Implementing Microsoft Teams for internal and external communication.
• Updating technology to ensure it was robust, secure and future proof.
• Implementing Microsoft 365 cloud technology for all users.
• Minimising disruption throughout the transition process.

The project with Orbits IT started in January 2022 and we couldn’t be happier with the results.

They worked closely with us throughout the transition to ensure our existing systems were always available and were always there to answer our questions or offer temporary solutions if needed.

Firstly, they replaced our ageing hardware such as PCs, laptops and updated our networking hardware with agile, user-friendly devices.

Then they totally overhauled our internet connection by installing a new, faster fibre broadband connection via their sister company Orbicomm.

Once this was complete, they added a secure corporate Wi-Fi connection that included a segregated guest network.

Finally, they implemented the digital technologies that we needed to future-proof the council operations. This included implementing Microsoft 365 for central data controls, ensuring that staff had centrally managed corporate email addresses and a reliable cloud system for secure data storage.

The technologies used included:

• Microsoft 365 – to create corporate email addresses and set up online resources.
• SoGEA Broadband Connectivity – provided by their sister company Orbicomm.
• SharePoint software – to allow us to access and share each other’s work
• Endpoint Detection and Response protection rolled out to corporate devices.
• New Lenovo Laptops to replace older hardware and ensure devices are compliant in readiness for Windows 10 retirement in October 2025.

Our entire experience working with Orbits IT has been excellent from start to completion of the project.

They really took the time to listen to our needs and requirements and create a bespoke package that would exceed our expectations.

Thanks to the updates, upgrades and new technologies we’ve adopted with their support, we can run our town council efficiently and provide the safe, secure support and help that our community deserves.

We’ve said goodbye to clunky, outdated equipment and welcomed a new era of digital technology that includes amazing IT support.

If we have a problem or question, we just need to send a quick email or pick up the phone, they will create a ticket and will get straight back to you. There’s no waiting, no tech jargon, just friendly people who genuinely want to help.

With high-speed fibre broadband, secure data access and professional email addresses, we can collaborate more effectively, work remotely if necessary and enjoy total peace of mind that any sensitive or confidential data is safe.

Like many local councils in Wales who have worked with Orbits IT, we highly recommend their IT support services and look forward to continuing this working relationship into the future.

“Orbits IT has completely modernised and transformed Blaenavon Town Council’s operations and we can’t recommend them enough.

“The level of support they provide has been brilliant – they’re fast, friendly and always happy to provide advice or guidance, answer questions or troubleshoot a problem.

“We loved the fact that we were never waiting around for answers but always kept updated, no matter what was happening. Their quality of service is simply outstanding.”

“When it comes to IT infrastructure, hardware, networking and broadband, we couldn’t be happier. We now have a modern, agile solution that helps us future-proof council operations and focus on what we are here to do – support the local community.