The Orpheus Centre

Date: March 2023

Modernising an ageing infrastructure for a brighter student future

“It’s great that we can now deliver the curriculum irrespective of any circumstance – previously we would have struggled”

MOIRA LAMBERT

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

THE ORPHEUS CENTRE

Orpheus are a registered charity and college with the mission of inspiring and empowering young disabled students to live fulfilling, independent lives. Believing that disabled people should have the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers, they aim to equip young disabled people with the skills and confidence they need by teaching a diverse curriculum that covers the arts, independence and employment skills.

The problem

Orpheus knew their IT set up was far from optimal. Hardware for students was limited and with an aging server estate based on site, the infrastructure was very old, inefficient and not as secure as it should be. Compounding this they didn’t have any senior IT staff and relied on the limited expertise of a few members of staff in the event of a problem to make quick fixes. With this lack of inhouse IT expertise, planning how to move forward was a huge issue. It seemed every option available represented a significant capital outlay in terms of consultancy, investment in new hardware and ongoing support and management.

Orpheus knew something had to change.

Our approach

In consultation with Orpheus, we designed a plan to cater for their specific needs, one they knew would work for them and one we knew was achievable, manageable and flexible for the future.

Initially, we proposed a full cloud environment delivering a standardised hosted desktop environment to all users. As part of the cloud solution, we also implemented a number of security solutions, from anti-virus to Multi-factor authentication for every user.

Following this we systematically phased out all of the aging users PC’s and laptops and replaced with new devices helping to facilitate laptops for all students. All of the devices were catalogued with a rolling refresh programme which meant there’d be less security and usage issues with aging hardware.

We also wanted to bring the learning spaces up to date. Visual aids form a key part of the learning process and after reviewing requirements with Orpheus, we were able to research, recommend and deliver a versatile solution using interactive smart boards. These multi-dimensional aids are used daily and now are a central piece of equipment in each classroom, dramatically changing the way lessons are delivered to students.

The Skye Cloud Service Desk is the first port of call for any IT issues. We provide an always on resource to resolve issues as and when they happen. For any more complex problems there’s a process of escalation in place enabling us to assign the right technical resource in real time so that nothing drifts and downtime is minimised. Support is provided from our NOC based in Dartford. In addition, and in the event an issue cannot be resolved remotely, we provide onsite engineers to resolve the issue as part of the contract at no extra cost.

The results

The benefits are numerous. Orpheus are now set up to deliver the full curriculum in class or remotely as and if circumstances change – Covid being a good example. Students are still able to continue to learn and interact with each other. And via the interactive smart boards the way in which lessons are delivered has changed for the better. This is a great example of where we aim to go beyond being just a supplier of IT services and use our technical expertise to explore the different options, do the due diligence of getting 3 quotes in, as well as negotiating contracts - all of which enables Orpheus staff to focus on their jobs and not worry about IT.

The rolling hardware programme also minimises the security issues of aging hardware as well as decreasing downtime.

The structure we designed, the new processes we’ve implemented and the tools we embedded allowed Orpheus to tackle and obtain their Cyber Essentials certification. A huge step forward for them and something they were never in a position to do before!

All in all, our partnership with Orpheus has not only helped them to deliver the curriculum in a more engaging manner, but has also given them complete “IT peace of mind”. They are confident everything is now set up optimally an securely for their charity, confident the Service Desk is always accessible and responsive, confident they can push further ahead with Cyber Essentials and even that there’s help on hand to explore new technical areas and help drive the best value from them as and when they arise.