The Challenge
Willen Hospice faced several challenges in managing their IT infrastructure, including the need for efficient support, enhanced security, and proactive IT management. The senior leadership team within the Hospice acknowledged that there had been challenges with the incumbent provider and had an ambition to partner with a local IT provider who could improve day-to-day support, whilst acting as a consultative partner to inform the next stage of their IT operations and security transformation.
Akash Chatterjee, Willen Hospice Director of Finance and IT.We reviewed our internal IT processes and systems and came to the conclusion that we needed a solution which was more that just day-to-day resolution of issues. We needed a strong business partner who would work with us to shape our IT future in the forthcoming years and simultaneously not lose sight of the day-to-day issues that the teams at the Hospice face from an IT perspective.” – Akash Chatterjee, Willen Hospice Director of
The Solution
Bechtle were invited into a tender process at the start of 2024 as part of a proactive review of potential local partners by Willen Hospice. It was apparent from the outset that, alongside delivering great support and presenting a clear vision for IT strategy, there was a need for significant investment of time to understand the IT estate as it existed. Bechtle’s tender submission was built around the following key areas:
- Comprehensive Support: Bechtle’s service model to support Willen was built around the local service desk in Northampton, complimented by fixed resource on-site 3 days a week and extended hours support to cover Willen Hospice in their various fundraising efforts outside of business hours.
- Flexible and Scalable Support Models: The Hospice set out a core focus of reducing ticket volumes and improving productivity for all users within the charity. Bechtle designed a support model to support achieving this goal, with a scalable commercial model and regular reviews of the cost to make sure spend aligned to consumption as we reduce support volumes. It was important to Bechtle to ensure as much money in Willen Hospice went to the admirable work they do and the model helps achieve this.
- Partnership Beyond IT: As mentioned above, it was important to Bechtle that we would be a supportive partner in helping the Hospice deliver their work in the community and at the hospice, both through IT improvements and collaborative efforts to raise awareness and increase fundraising. Through the key stakeholders in the partnership on both sides, Bechtle will actively support the fundraising efforts of Willen Hospice locally, with Bechtle’s ‘Volunteering Day’ initiative for all Bechtle colleagues just one of the ways we will look to work with the Hospice outside of the core deliverables of the partnership.
Key benefits for Willen Hospice
Having been selected as partner of choice by Willen Hospice and onboarding in October 2024, the partnership has already delivered:
- A positive impact on user engagement, with great feedback across the Hospice workforce and improved support experience with the Bechtle team.
- Resolution to long-standing issues Willen Hospice had been unable to resolve with the incumbent partner, improving productivity for the workforce and experience for the users of their services.
- Areas highlighted across the Hospice’s IT estate for cost consolidation, both through maximising existing solutions and implementing new services to reduce licencing costs.
- The development of a long-term IT roadmap to underpin the relationship, with a budgeted improvement plan to be delivered over the coming years.
Akash Chatterjee, Willen Hospice Director of Finance and ITIt has been a baptism by fire since Bechtle came onboard as they had to navigate through a very critical issue on their first day in office! Needless to say they not only fixed the problem but also identified areas which would need to be strengthened in order to future proof our set up. The feedback from staff has generally been very positive and we are very excited to see what this partnership does for our IT roadmap.
Ajay Arithoppah, Business Solutions and Services Director, BechtleWillen Hospice is a partnership we've been immensely proud to bring into Bechtle over the last year. When Bechtle acquired ACS, it was important to us that we continued to support local businesses in Northampton and Milton Keynes and Willen Hospice is a reflection of our commitment to the local area. The hospice is a real pillar of the Milton Keynes community and we are incredibly excited to support the amazing work they do in the coming months and years.