Case Study - Audit & Review at Aspen

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Aspens provide support to children, young people and adults with a range of disabilities, complex needs and those on the
autism spectrum.

Following a large and complex merger, the new organisation needed an independent strategic review, audit and roadmap to develop a holistic IT strategy. The new charity wanted to ensure the organisation has a single, forward looking and scalable IT platform using appropriate technology and run via a suitable IT Service Delivery model.

Challenge

Aspens were using a mixed and varied technology stack, as well as facing challenges challenges with vendor service levels and processes.

Aspens chose Smartdesc to conduct a full and detailed independent review of all aspects of IT Service Management across the charity, including a technical audit and analysis, stakeholder interviews and process and policy analysis.

Solution

Hannah Bodek, Finance Director, Aspens –

“Smartdesc conducted a review of our IT estate from the ground up – including the people, processes and technology that have organically grown over time.

The review gave us a clear understanding of the priority areas to focus on, and a roadmap to work towards implementing a forward looking and robust IT Strategy.“

Smartdesc produced a set of core recommendations and initiatives touching all aspects of IT – from Support Delivery to MI Reporting, Governance, Security and Policy & Processes.

They held interviews with stakeholders, senior managers and the internal IT team. Smartdesc analysed data and created a Risk Register that highlighted gaps and areas for improvement based on priority and complexity.

The report and recommendations were broken down into “Quick Wins” and longer term strategic projects. This outlined how IT roles and responsibilities should be restructured to make the best use of existing talent based on industry best practice, along with a roadmap to develop and implement a holistic IT Strategy.

The engagement provided Aspens leadership with a better understanding on the current state of IT within the organisation, and clarity on opportunities for improvement. Through the prioritisation, risk rating and sizing estimates, the report allowed the group to take strategic decisions on how best to move forward with their IT strategy to ensure the network is more resilient and scalable moving forward.

Results

A clear, prioritised set of workstreams the Executive Team can take forward and track progress against.
A register of quick win items that can be actioned immediately at minimal cost, to realise rapid benefits and improvements.
A medium-term roadmap to migrate to cloud computing, removing the overheads and risk associated with maintaining traditional on-premise server infrastructure.
Implementation of a part-time “Virtual IT Director” (vCIO) leading the internal IT staff and holding external vendors to account to deliver improvements.
The building blocks for a proactive IT Strategy plotting out the next three years of innovation and change management.

Audit & Review at Aspens