When our contract with our previous provider ended, we decided to review whether we were getting the level of IT service and support and value for money that we needed.

As a non-profit, we don’t have an internal IT team or specialist knowledge and we’re spread across numerous sites with diverse needs. This meant that we needed a whole suite of services including managing broadband services, support services, VoIP (voice calls over the internet) and the flexibility and freedom to work from anywhere.

One essential factor was the company needed to be able to provide quick and efficient helpdesk support because our team is still trying to update their tech skills. We have amazing people support skills but digital isn’t our primary focus.

For these reasons, we wanted to find a top-notch provider who could understand our unique business, migrate our services across and ‘hold our hands’ with technical support and explanations where necessary.

We’d heard about Orbits IT many years ago via word-of-mouth and decided to make the migration. They didn’t have a minimum contract, they were friendly, helpful, and fast and they appeared to genuinely care about our staff, our business, and our mission.

We decided to switch to Orbits IT in March 2023 because we felt confident that they could provide everything that we required in an extremely helpful and transparent way.

Our contract was supposed to start on 1st April but, unfortunately, our previous supplier didn’t support the migration which made the onboarding process challenging.

Although this created huge challenges for our non-profit organisation and Orbits IT, we were quickly convinced that we’d made the right choice. They were problem-solving from day one, working around the clock to ensure we could have a seamless migration and providing backup plans and human support whenever we needed it.

Thanks to their friendly team, we remained online, despite the obstacles and complexities that we faced.

Their solutions included:

• Installing new broadband lines using SoGEA technology so we didn’t need a traditional landline.
• Migrating our Microsoft 365 service and helped optimise our use of SharePoint, Outlook and Office for all staff including trustees and volunteers.
• Creating a new VoIP system so staff could work remotely whenever required.
• Updating our licencing to protect sensitive data, prevent unauthorised access and reduce potential security issues.
• Creating a streamlined onboarding and offboarding process so that everything is immediately ready when needed.
• Provided and updated essential hardware such as laptops.

Throughout this process, they were super-efficient, friendly, and continued to exceed our expectations.

• Significantly reduced overheads: Orbits IT helped us to streamline our overheads, so we made maximum use of the technology we already had and stopped paying for what wasn’t needed. As a non-profit, this is particularly important to use, especially during the problematical economic times we are working in.
• Enhanced our data security: By reviewing our data security and preventing unauthorised access to our technologies, Orbits IT have helped us better protect our sensitive data.
• Provided expert support whenever required: Since the day we moved over to Orbits IT, we have benefited from the support of their friendly and reliable team. They always have time to troubleshoot a problem or discuss what is happening and we never have to chase them to do what they promise
• Ensured that we can fully benefit from what we already have: Speaking to Orbits, we soon realised that we weren’t using the technology we already had to its full potential. Now we have peace of mind that our sharepoints, data security and internal sharing are working optimally and that everyone has access to the data they need.
• Updated our tech knowledge: Orbits have provided us with free full access to their training videos and are always there to answer our questions, no matter how big or small. We are also speaking to them about undertaking the CyberEssentials qualifications so we can further upgrade our skills.
• Optimised our productivity and efficiency: With their outstanding support and the implementation of technologies such as VoIP, we can aid victims of domestic or sexual violence wherever we are. Now we have all the data we require at our fingertips, we can be more efficient, more effective and make an even bigger difference to the people we work with.
• Excellent working relationship: We’ve been impressed that Orbits IT has always been very transparent throughout our relationship so far. They will always tell us if they believe that it’s not worth adopting a particular technology or practice and always ensure we know exactly what we are paying for. Everything is very clear with recurring costs highlighted and explained.

“I have only incredibly positive things to say about the team at Orbits IT and the support they’ve provided so far- they’ve really exceeded our expectations!

“We’re a non-profit organisation focused on providing social support (and with minimal tech knowledge) so it’s essential that any technology we use is highly intuitive and enhances our success. This is exactly what Orbits have delivered.

“We know that they genuinely care about our organisation and will always be there to answer our questions quickly so we can focus on people, not the digital world. Switching to Orbits is undoubtedly one of the best things we’ve ever done. Thank you again!”