Hosted desktop solution for Wingate Financial Planning

The company is growing fast and recently acquired another business. With just 20 employees, the IT systems had always been managed internally. However, in order to prepare for future growth and also reduce the amount of time spent on IT administration, the company decided to upgrade their IT system and move to WorkPlaceLive’s hosted desktop, cloud computing system.

Ben Clarke, Managing Director of Wingate Financial Planning comments: “We were spending an increasing amount of time managing our IT infrastructure - keeping it up to date and virus free. The system was unreliable and out-of-date and our work was regularly interrupted by IT issues and downtime. As a growing business, we needed to look for a more effective and robust system.”

He continues: “We met with several IT companies to ascertain the best solution for our company. Our main goal was not so much about money savings, but more about finding a robust and consistent system that was also cost effective. After meeting with WorkPlaceLive, it was clear their hosted desktop solution would be perfect for our requirements.”

Wingate Financial Planning was running Microsoft software, client management software as well as licensed and non-licensed software all of which needed to be moved into the cloud. This was done efficiently by WorkPlaceLive over a weekend. Very quickly all the systems were seamlessly updated to the cloud and working efficiently.

Ben comments, “Moving to the cloud has taken the stress out of our IT management. We no longer have to worry about anti-virus software updates or that we have the latest software as it is all provided for us and managed by WorkPlaceLive. We can also work seamlessly from any location as we can access our whole IT suite from anywhere with an internet connection, which is hugely beneficial for our business. We have also experienced less downtime in the last 18 months than ever before.”

“Working with WorkPlaceLive has been a very positive experience and I would recommend them to similar financial planning companies as well as growing businesses. We now have the secure, robust, affordable and consistent IT system we need which has revolutionised our business,” he concludes.

WorkPlaceLive helps revolutionise a financial services company
Hurst Financial (www.unbiased-advice.co.uk) is a privately owned, boutique independent financial advisor practice based in Salisbury, with a team of six advisors, including the chairman and company founder, Mike Hurst, plus two administration staff.

The Challenge
Until last year, Hurst Financial managed its own IT system which comprised of a server and eight work stations, a company intranet with a database included, plus several other bespoke software packages.

The system’s remote access capability was slightly cumbersome so the advisors couldn’t work from home or from their clients’ offices. The company also relied on two back up servers for data storage and when one of which failed the company decided to upgrade the IT and looked for an alternative solution.

However, most IT companies they met with simply recommended that they purchase new computers, servers and software packages at cost of around £35K. Not only was this expense prohibitive, it didn’t make sense to move to a more expensive version of the current system, particularly without remote access capability.

The company looked into cloud computing technology options before approaching WorkPlaceLive, who were offering hosted desktop solutions at affordable prices.

Chairman Mike Hurst commented, “When we met WorkPlaceLive, we were struck by the company’s ‘human approach’ and the fact they explained things very clearly. We realised that a hosted desktop solution would provide the capability and flexibility we required.”

The solution
Hurst Financial decided to implement WorkPlaceLive’s hosted desktop solution to solve its IT issues and have robust remote access. Importantly, the system integrated with the company’s intranet which had been tailor-made for the business.

WorkPlaceLive’s hosted desktop solution integrated with business-critical software which is used by Hurst’s advisors to measure risk. All IFAs are obliged to have systems in place to measure risk, as it is a key regulatory requirement of the Financial Services Authority, so it was vital the advisers could access this software via WorkPlaceLive.

Mike Hurst commented, “WorkPlaceLive reassured us that all our software, databases and data would work through its hosted desktop solution. The migration was seamless and as soon as we had signed contracts, the company transferred all our data across and tested it. Five days later the new system was up and running.”

The benefits
WorkPlaceLive has revolutionised Hurst Financial’s business - changing the way advisors work and saving the company considerable money as it didn’t have to invest in any new computers.

All the IT administration and software licensing updates and security are now taken care of by WorkPlaceLive who also hosts the company’s data in its highly secure UK data centre and provides disaster and recovery services and dedicated help desk support.

The IFAs all have good remote access and can work remotely. Previously, the team had to return to the office to access documents, following meetings, which was unproductive.

Mike Hurst comments, “Productivity has increased and people feel liberated that they can work away from the office and are trusted to manage their own time. This has helped improve profits and staff morale.”

He adds, “I travel a lot so remote access is important and now I can access my desktop when travelling with work or on holiday. I didn’t need to invest in new equipment and the cost of WorkPlaceLive is a minimal monthly fee – I only wish I had looked into this sooner.”