To provide our variety of services, we’d previously relied on the IT support provided by Bridgend County Borough Council.

However, the rapid growth of digital technologies and new local government and audit best practice requirements meant that their support was now unfit for purpose.

Their IT response was very slow due to financial restrictions and we simply weren’t able to provide an outstanding service to local residents under these circumstances.

We realised that we needed to modernise and streamline our practices so we could keep sensitive data safe, enhance response times, ensure councillors could access the information needed and meet the ever-changing requirements of local government.

How could we get the IT support we needed while staying within our tight local authority budget?  How could we cope with this digital transition without having the confidence or knowledge of these new technologies?

Our previous Town Clerk & Responsible Finance Officer, Kerry-Leigh Grabham suggested that we contact a local company with many years of experience working with town and community councils – Orbits IT.

She’d worked with them previously and was impressed with their expertise, friendly, down-to-earth approach and rapid resolution of any issues.

We soon scheduled a meeting with them and soon realised that they could be our ideal IT support providers.

Unlike many other providers, they took the time to find out exactly what we needed now and in the future. After this in-depth discussion, they clearly understood our requirements, the unique challenges we faced as a town council and the fact that we aren’t digital natives.

They used this information to create the bespoke IT solution that we were looking for:

• Creating a .gov.uk email address to meet best practice requirements.
• Providing councillors with digital access to a platform where they could access council-related documents.
• Update technology used to ensure that it is robust, secure and future proof.
• Improve overall response times.
• Roll out new devices to optimise productivity and streamline administration practices.
• Access optimal IT support and troubleshooting help when needed.

We started working with Orbits IT in January 2023 and the transition has been excellent. Their support is second to none and they understand that we need extra help navigating and optimising these new technologies.

Firstly, they obtained and set up new laptops for the councillors to use, upgraded our network connectivity, supplied new networking hardware and supplied a better broadband service via its sister company, Orbicomm.

Once this was complete, they turned their attention to our digital infrastructure, setting up Microsoft 365 so that we could obtain the corporate email address we needed and set up online resources.

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.
• Endpoint Detection and Response protection rolled out to corporate devices to secure and protect client data.
• New Lenovo Laptops to replace older hardware and ensure devices are compliant in readiness for Windows 10 retirement in October 2025.

Since that time, our relationship has developed and Orbits has recently implemented new services to our back office/admin team.

Working with Orbits IT has modernised and streamlined our entire town council operations.

We finally have an up-to-date infrastructure that allows us to meet local government audit and best practice requirements and stop having to do time-consuming, paper-heavy manual admin tasks.

Now we can enjoy secure access to data wherever we are which means we can effectively work from anywhere and ensure we can implement our flexible working policy. This also allows us to collaborate with councillors, outside organisations and groups far more effectively.

Additionally, we have speedy, efficient and effective support that we need to provide faster response times and provide residents with a more professional service.

Orbits IT have also provided us with an up-to-date asset list regarding all managed devices. This helps us meet our audit requirements more easily and budget effectively for the future.

Best of all, these changes have helped us become more efficient, getting more out of the resources available while reducing our overall costs.
It’s fantastic to find a company that goes above and beyond with regard to their IT support. They’re always so polite and courteous and never get frustrated with our lack of IT knowledge – we can’t fault them at all.

Our experience working with Orbits IT was so positive that we continue to work with them to improve our cybersecurity and we look forward to continuing this relationship.

We’d highly recommend Orbits IT to anyone looking for excellent support, technical expertise and fast, friendly advice.

“Working with Orbits IT has been a great experience! Their support has been second to none!

“We knew that we needed to find new IT support to deliver effectively. Our response times needed to improve, we were dealing with cumbersome, old-fashioned tasks and spending far too long photocopying rather than finding a digital solution!

“But finding better IT support just felt overwhelming. We were hardly tech experts and were concerned about the potential costs, especially with growing budget limitations.

“Orbits transformed everything! Not only did they upgrade and modernise our entire technology infrastructure – they’re always thinking outside of the box to solve our problems and respond fast to anything we need.

“We only have to pick up the phone and within 24 hours, it’s resolved.

“Thank you Orbits for the flexibility, cost savings and efficiency gains you’ve provided. We highly recommend you.”

When it comes to the future, we know that technology and government audit requirements change all the time. Thanks to Orbits IT, we can effectively keep up with these changes and ensure we remain compliant, without needing to worry.

We look forward to implementing the cyber security plans we have lined up so we can further enhance the service we provide to the local community.