ICT Management > Strategy & Planning
Networks > Getting A Network

CARIS Haringey – Office Move and IT Upgrade

By Bijal Shah
Dorothea Lenkeit

A small charity’s experience of moving premises and upgrading their ICT simultaneously…

Introduction

CARIS Haringey is a small charity based in Haringey, London, providing services to homeless families in the community. These services range from providing advice on housing, benefits, refugee status to the provision of English classes for adults and play for children.

CARIS successfully applied to participate in Lasa’s circuit rider project. At that time CARIS was experiencing a number of problems with its IT, and with no technical support things had reached a critical stage.

CARIS was operating a peer to peer network with a mixture of Windows 98 and Windows 2000 machines. The existing setup was not working efficiently and so investigations were made into setting up a server based network. As CARIS was also due to move office in April 2006, this further prompted the need for a technology upgrade. 

Lasa spoke to Dorothea Lenkeit, CARIS’s IT administrator about the organisation’s experience of moving premises and upgrading their IT simultaneously:

Why we upgraded

Can you tell us about the ICT problems the organisation was experiencing that led to the decision to upgrade your network?

Essentially, the computers did not meet the requirements of CARIS’s office. Staff regularly experienced freezing or crashing of computers, loss of data, and continuous problems with Internet access. We had no IT support prior to the start of the Project and no information about the setup of the network so it was very difficult to deal with. This meant that our work and services were affected adversely.

How did you come to a decision to upgrade? Was this something you were advised on by the Circuit Rider?

The problems described above showed clearly that an upgrade of the network was required in order to secure the smooth running of our services in the future.

The upgrade of the network was carried out in conjunction with the office move from Willoughby Church to St Ann’s Church Hall. This was seen as a good opportunity to set up a new network. In addition, CARIS was advised by our Circuit Rider that computer software (some of it Windows 98) will not be supported by Microsoft in the near future. 

Our goals for the new network were for it to be:

• always on and immune from attack and abuse;
• capable of growing and reconfiguring to meet changing user needs;
• capable of delivering data in the needed time frame; and
• equipped to deliver a variety of services.

Budgeting and funding

How were you planning to fund the upgrade? Did you have a budget set aside for ongoing ICT issues?

The decision to set up a new network in conjunction with the office move was made quite quickly and early on. Decisions about the scope of the upgrade were difficult and with limited funding we had to compromise.

We asked ourselves a number of questions including:

• Should CARIS buy new computer equipment or upgrade existing equipment or buy only a new server or a mixture of new and old?
• Can CARIS afford network cabling or not?

CARIS did have a budget set aside but this was initially not enough to buy a whole new network. CARIS’s director raised money for new network but as IT grants were acknowledged or confirmed quite late decisions about the scope of the upgrade were delayed.

CARIS did not have a specific IT budget at the time, but it does now!

The process

Can you describe some of the processes you went through to get to the implementation stage? (specification, tenders, contract award etc.)

For the move we had a schedule which was discussed weekly at meetings. The schedule was set up three months prior to the move to help plan the office move and ensure we didn’t miss anything important. Two months prior to the move the Circuit Rider helped develop specification and tender document for the IT upgrade.

The timeline was really tight and I hadn’t appreciated how much pressure I would be under. Everything had to be co-ordinated, which wasn’t always easy. BT were especially difficult to deal with as there was no consistency of dealing with one person. I had to learn a lot of things about phones that I didn’t know. I don’t feel we received a holistic service.

Did you find the support offered by the Circuit Rider useful in implementing the ICT upgrade? What useful tips did you pick up?

Without the Circuit Rider project it would have been really difficult to purchase and set up a new network as none of CARIS staff had experience with that. Circuit Riders have given support to CARIS through writing up a network specification and evaluating tenders of possible clients. They have given professional advice to CARIS how existing resources (money, new premises, existing IT equipment) could be used efficiently.

I found the Lasa checklist for moving office really helpful, it helped me to develop a schedule for the works we were having carried out.

Did you find it difficult managing an office move and network upgrade simultaneously? What went well and what didn’t?

Yes, it was difficult. Timing was most difficult factor. CARIS had a schedule but it was still difficult to keep it and unforeseen problems e.g. with BT were disruptive factors. I still feel it was better to do both at once. The network side went smoothly.

How useful did you find the contractor in supporting you through the whole upgrade process?

Support was mainly satisfactory. Purchasing and the setting up process went especially well. Timekeeping was not a problem at all. The handover of the new network did initially not comply with CARIS’s expectations. But after querying this matter it was resolved by an additional handover.

What is your relationship like with the supplier now? Do you feel you can call on them to resolve any issues that arise?

The scope of follow up support after setting up the new network (by JADe Group – who were also providing general technical support to CARIS and other Project groups) was not quite clear. I think it would have been useful to have sat down with the provider and clarified in person what was part of the installation and what would be dealt with as ongoing support. With the limited time we had, priority was given to installation and not enough communication was given to what would happen afterwards.

Do you feel they delivered what was intended?

Yes, they have delivered what we asked for. Despite some small issues we are happy with the new network. Most of the problems have now been dealt with anyway.

The Benefits

How has the organisation benefited from the upgrade? Can you identify key areas of improvement since you upgraded your ICT? Use of email, internet etc…

All the problems mentioned initially have been resolved. Solving those problems has been very time consuming in the past. The time gained can be used now more efficiently. CARIS now has its own website homepage (www.carisharingey.org.uk) and email address. We all have a shared contacts folder, so we no longer have to keep several lists. It helps, especially with updating. Personalised email also means that we are all receiving mail individually and don’t have to rely on any one individual to check it.

What one thing would you advise others who find themselves in a similar position?

Make sure you give yourselves plenty of time and always get independent professional advice if you can. It helps to talk things over with someone.

Future Projects

Do you have any plans to undertake any other ICT projects in the future?

CARIS hopes to set up a case management database (AIMS) as soon as possible. We also hope to be able to have a better monitoring system for our service delivery supported by appropriate software.

The goals described above are moving targets; network design is an ongoing process and networks must continually evolve. This means also that CARIS needs to think about future IT support (both the funding of and contractor) as the support given by Lasa will unfortunately only last until April 2007. 

Do you think that through the skills you have gained by being involved in the Circuit Rider project you can tackle another project yourself in the future?

It would be much easier to tackle another project. But as technical changes are permanently going along it is still advisable to get professional consultation at all times (especially if there is no IT specialist among staff).

Comment - Impact of new technology and the Circuit Rider Project

Implementation of a new network has enabled CARIS to take back control of their IT. They now appear to have a better understanding of the scope of such a project and what preparation needs to be done prior to such an implementation. As an organisation they have become much more productive as time is not being spent trying to resolve IT issues.

The confidence they have gained through this process has also assisted them to improve other areas of ICT in their organisation. They now have an evolving website and are also looking at improving data collection and reporting through the implementation of a new database.