Eildon Housing Association (EHA) is one of Scotland’s leading providers of housing, care and support services. EHA is also one of the UK’s most innovative housing associations and is under-taking a state-of-the-art digital transformation project to make their homes safer to live and work in.

Challenges

EHA were running on ageing infrastructure that they knew wouldn’t be sufficient for their ambitious plans. They needed a solution that was scalable and could support ongoing development and innovation.

This became even more apparent when COVID-19 hit and they had performance and latency issues when attempting to accommodate home working.

A combination of the ageing infrastructure and the added stress of suddenly having to accommodate home working resulted in the IT team being more stretched than usual. This led to some of the business’s critical projects slipping. This was when Robert McDade, IT Manager, knew it was time to find a partner to help.

Solution

EHA were looking for a secure and scalable solution for their infrastructure. EHA already used Microsoft Office 365 since its first release in the UK, so moving their infrastructure to Azure was a logical option for them. This is when they reached out to Cloud Direct, as an Azure Expert MSP.

Due to our close relationship with Microsoft, we were able to successfully nominate EHA for a fully funded Microsoft Cloud Economics Assessment to kickstart their Azure migration.

A scalable Azure environment
We worked with EHA to deploy a Landing zone, which is one of the key building blocks to creating a scalable and secure Azure migration. Once the landing zone was in place, we securely migrated the rest of their data and infrastructure over to Azure. Providing them with a scalable platform for their future projects.

Long-term remote working solution
Migrating to Azure supports EHA’s remote working plans. Employees no longer had to use a VPN to access their infrastructure and instead can access everything they needed via the cloud. Having both Microsoft 365 licences and Azure in place gives EHA a sustainable remote working solution, that allows them to keep pace with the latest workplace trends.

“Cloud Direct helped remove our uncertainty of the cloud with a clearly defined programme for the migration work, providing a clear explanation of the cost involved and with a post-migration cost optimisation exercise.”

Robert McDade, IT Manager, Eildon Housing Association

Outcome

EHA is working with IoT Scotland, as part of the CivTech challenge. The timescales for the programme meant the migration needed to be completed on time, at the agreed cost and with minimal disruption to the business – EHA only had two windows of a few hours planned downtime. Thanks to the migration, EHA have been able to transform their tenant and employee experience. They now also have the confidence in their infrastructure for their future digital transformation plans.

Why Cloud Direct?

Working with Cloud Direct has helped EHA gain a strategic IT partner, providing them with the skills and expertise necessary for a successful Azure migration. It’s helped them create a scalable and secure environment, allowing them to future-proof their business. Robert said, “Cloud Direct worked directly with our IT Team to meet all our expectations, communicating effectively throughout the project at each stage and supported our team in quickly resolving any post-migration issues.”

As part of the CivTech project, EHA has plans to work with Cloud Direct to host and trial their state-of-the-art solution once they’ve gone live.