4 min read
A care organisation operating from a multi-floor office with frontline support workers, compliance teams, and administrative staff all relying on IT equipment daily. The hardware fleet had accumulated over years without any structured replacement cycle, and much of it was well past its useful life.
Service: Managed IT Sector: Care
The organisation's IT estate had grown organically over nearly a decade. Desktops dating back to 2013 were still in use alongside newer machines, creating an inconsistent environment where some staff had reliable equipment and others were working on machines that were visibly ageing and increasingly unreliable.
The fleet included nearly 40 desktops, 10 laptops, tablets, VoIP desk phones, monitors, switches, and peripherals. Much of it was a mix of HP and Lenovo machines from different eras, with no standardisation and no documented asset register. Nobody had a complete picture of what the organisation owned, where it was, or what condition it was in.
For a care organisation, unreliable hardware is more than an inconvenience. Staff need systems that work when they are logging care notes, coordinating shifts, managing safeguarding records, and communicating with families. A machine that takes five minutes to boot or crashes mid-task is not just frustrating, it is a risk to the quality and continuity of care.
There was also no plan for what to do with the old equipment. Devices that had stored sensitive data, including personal information about the people the organisation supports, needed to be disposed of properly. Simply putting old machines in a skip is not an option when data protection and responsible disposal are both on the line.
We started with a full hardware audit. Every device was catalogued: make, model, serial number, condition, and location. That gave the organisation its first complete asset register and a clear picture of what needed replacing, what could stay, and what was genuinely beyond use.
The replacement was planned around the organisation's operations. New standardised hardware was deployed in stages so that no team was left without working equipment during the transition. Staff were moved onto consistent, modern machines that could be managed centrally through Intune as part of the wider Microsoft 365 environment.
For the old equipment, we carried out a structured disposal process. Devices were assessed for condition, data was wiped securely, and the hardware was sent for responsible recycling. The organisation received a documented record of what was disposed of and how, which matters both for data protection compliance and for demonstrating responsible environmental practices.
The VoIP desk phones were also retired as part of a separate move to softphone software, removing another batch of hardware that no longer served a purpose.
The organisation went from an undocumented collection of ageing hardware to a standardised, managed fleet with a complete asset register. Every machine is accounted for, centrally managed, and fit for purpose.
Staff no longer deal with slow, unreliable equipment. The machines they use daily are consistent, supported, and capable of running the tools they need without frustration. IT support is simpler because the fleet is standardised rather than a patchwork of different makes and models from different years.
The old hardware was disposed of responsibly, with data securely wiped and recycling properly documented. The organisation can demonstrate that it handled the transition in line with data protection requirements and environmental good practice.
Full hardware audit and asset register created · Nearly 40 desktops, 10 laptops, and peripherals replaced · Secure data wiping and documented disposal · Standardised fleet managed centrally through Intune · VoIP desk phones retired alongside softphone rollout
Related service: Managed IT