In 2019 Care & Repair Cymru, the national body for Care & Repair in Wales, approached us. Heather Dungey, Corporate Services Manager, explains: “Our Windows 7 PCs were coming to the end of their life and we were experiencing problems with connectivity, so we were looking to modernise and upgrade our IT infrastructure. At the same time, we undertook a review of our IT provider and one of our agencies already receiving support from Orbits IT recommended we got in touch.”

Dean Bengough, Operations Director at Orbits IT, adds: “Heather and her team wanted to replace desktops with laptops and to move away from an old Windows 7 server to allow for more flexible working. Moving away from Windows 7, which is an end of life product, was especially important to keep their network safe from cybercriminals.”

While Care & Repair Cymru had already begun its move to the cloud using the Microsoft SharePoint Server and Microsoft Office 365 software, there were many supporting elements that needed to be addressed to make the move a success.

As a charity, cost was a big consideration. “We needed to ensure we provided the right equipment, that could carry out the functions we needed, while remaining within our budget,” explains Heather. “Dean, who was our main contact, took this into consideration and was quick to provide the option of refurbished Lenovo ThinkPads.” ThinkPad laptops are the world’s #1 business laptop of all time.

Dean said: “We purchased the ThinkPads and docking stations through our suppliers that offer excellent refurbished hardware at great prices. For Care & Repair’s newer machines, we saved money by simply upgrading the Windows 7 software to Windows 10 through the Charity Digital Exchange, a tech donation programme for eligible UK-based charities.

“With regular visitors to Care & Repair Cymru’s offices, another issue we had to correct was the security risk created by the communal Wi-Fi network. To fix this and keep the corporate network secure, we created a guest network.”

“Before switching to Orbits, I did a lot of research into local IT companies and also spoke to two other close contenders. I was encouraged by Orbits’ impressive references and Jim in particular was very easy to deal. Jim is incredibly customer centric and answered all my questions in English rather than acronyms. He also did everything he promised, which gave me confidence that I’d receive a reliable service.

“Our experience of working with Orbits to date has been extremely positive. Their customer service is excellent and any queries or IT issues have been resolved quickly. I would like to thank the team for their hard work and have no hesitation in recommending Orbits to others.”