Building IT Support for On Architecture

Company Overview

On Architecture are a multi-award-winning design practice with extensive experience in architecture, planning and property. Operating from Canterbury, Kent, they work on projects across the UK; which include retail, commercial, residential, hospitality, education, and range in construction value up to £100m. 

On Architecture works across a broad range of sectors and developments, from large scale master planning, to bespoke small scale projects with personal and considered requirements. 

Client: On Architecture
Industry: Architecture and Planning
Services: IT Support Services, Microsoft 365, Connectivity

Our Challenge

As On Architecture have grown to a 35 strong team of design professionals, there has been a need to keep updating how the business operates. In taking their business and growth to the next level, they found that they needed a new IT partner, one that was more proactive and could better support their continued development. They went to the market to evaluate several partners who could help with their growth and Vissensa came out on top.

We were chosen due to our understanding of their pain points, best in class Service Level Agreements for staff, and our passion towards introducing new tools to help their business be as efficient as possible. At Vissensa, we were also able to provide our fixed price per user IT Support model which appealed to On Architecture’s needs.

Implementing On Architecture IT Support and Services – Our Solutions

To ensure the appropriate services were provided, Vissensa attended the site to action our bespoke Configuration Summary Document. Using this we were able to understand more about the environment at On Architecture, giving us the opportunity to document areas for improvement, as well as new initiatives to introduce better collaboration across the company.

We found that they were limited by the bandwidth within the office and so we provided an upgrade to a leased line. In deploying a new leased line, we were able to help provide better connectivity to staff, as well as their internal tools, such as the Microsoft 365 suite of services. This was beneficial as it catered to the demand of higher staff levels as the offices returned to normal following the Covid pandemic.

By introducing services, such as Azure File Share and offsite storage, Vissensa could help to take the pressure away from their on-premise environment. Whilst On Architecture already had Microsoft 365 in place across the organisation, it was not being used in a way that enabled the business to get the most out of it. Vissensa was able to bolster the functionality, with added protective measures and security tools; such as Microsoft Defender for Office 365 that has helped to overcome concerns around phishing attacks and malware as well as Microsoft 365 backups to protect their Microsoft 365 environment.

Beyond implementing these services, Vissensa continue to provide On Architecture IT support in a number of ways. We continue with our IT Support Services, providing recommendations towards the infrastructure to increase the security posture where possible, as well as using the Microsoft 365 suite of tools (Microsoft Teams, SharePoint etc.) to help increase collaboration across the business.