The Solution

To ensure minimal downtime, the project was split into 3 phases:

1. Upgrade of the existing PC fleet,
2. Upgrade of the email platform to Microsoft Hosted Exchange,
3. Upgrade of the existing server infrastructure.

The first phase was the replacement of the PC fleet which involved liaising with the relevant third-party vendors to ensure that their client software was compatible with the latest version of Microsoft Windows and Office products. The PC upgrade also ensured the NHS Credit Union PC fleet was ready to integrate with Microsoft Hosted Exchange from their existing email platform.

Once the PC fleet was upgraded and any minor issues were ironed out via an Engineer conducting an on-site floor walk, it was then time to plan and implement the migration of the existing Email platform to Microsoft Hosted Exchange. VectorCloud utilise industry leading tools backed by Microsoft to ensure this process is a seamless and pain free process for the end user. The tools and process we use also ensures that end users “autocomplete”, contacts, calendar entries, tasks and signatures are migrated across with minimal fuss. We also ensure that any local archives are synchronised and uploaded to Microsoft Hosted Exchange, ensuring that these are backed up in the incredibly resilient Microsoft Exchange database.

The final phase was to liaise closely with the NHS Credit Union Senior Management Team and various software and system vendors to establish the requirements of the new Server infrastructure. Once the requirements and scope of the project was agreed, availability was established and the planned downtime was scheduled out with office hours. This allowed VectorCloud to have the systems available for the additional vendors to configure their systems on the new setup.

When the Server infrastructure was upgraded, a VectorCloud Engineer was dedicated to performing a floor walk and liaising with the third party vendors to ensure that any minor issues arising from the upgrade were dealt with promptly.