Smart IT Solutions Help Raise Service Standards

During the recession many organisations have been hit hard, not least charities, which have seen donations fall and are now facing severe cuts in funding by the government. Their challenge is to work within tight budgets without compromising the quality of their services. The Bolton Young Person’s Housing Scheme, (which houses homeless young adults), recently tackled this dilemma by upgrading its software and reducing overheads following a review with its long term IT consultancy, Glideslope Software.

Bolton Young Person’s Housing Scheme operates a ‘hot desking’ system with staff sharing computers - as they regularly work out of the office - and to enable them to bring in freelancers to cope when the workload is particularly heavy. In addition, the team often work until late in the evenings requiring access to key documents on the server. Glideslope Software evaluated the system and suggested several recommendations to cope with these demands more effectively, including an upgrade to Windows 7 from its current software, Windows XP, as it was no longer suitable.

Glideslope Software also introduced Bolton Young Person’s Housing Scheme to the Charity Technology Exchange (CTX) which meant that it paid a fraction of the price than if it had bought off the shelf.

Lynne Sprigings, director of Bolton Young Person‘s Housing Scheme, explained: “Changing to Windows 7 really enhanced our way of working which includes late hours at home. The upgrade now means we can access our data with remote access technology quickly and securely to continue working when required. It has also allowed us to utilise freelancers more effectively.

“As a small business it’s really important for us to have reliable and responsive IT support, which Glideslope Software supplies.” she added.

Windows 7 Benefits

• It’s fast and reliable - you can start using your PC quickly with fast start up, shutdown, sleep and resume from Standby. Further performance improvements lead to fewer interruptions and prompts, as well as faster recovery from problems if they happen.
• It works with what you have today - specifically designed with compatibility in mind, Windows 7 Professional works with a broad set of devices and applications. In addition, Windows XP Mode can provide the flexibility to run many older Windows XP productivity applications right from the Windows 7 desktop.
• Allows mobile workers to stay productive anywhere - Windows 7 Professional makes mobile computing on the go easier with access to all your mobile settings in one place and greater connection and networking options. Now you can access and share all your work computer programs, files and network resources - wherever you are.