Friends for Leisure

Case Study

Friends for Leisure was set up to help children and young people with disabilities living in the Macclesfield Borough, aged between 5-21, to have the same opportunities and access to mainstream activities as other young people. Friends for Leisure was established in the summer of 1995, it achieved charitable status in April 1998 and is now an independent charity working across the whole of Cheshire East.

Background

Like most small organisations FFL had tried to make use of IT but did not have a set structure of how to procure and implement so IT was more of a hinderance than a help. This is a common problem when multiple providers and people involved and often results in the delivery of a non standardised infrastructure.

As part of the Prism approach to community activities, FFL was adopted in 2008 as our preferred corporate charity. Having donated money to various causes over the years we decided the best way to help was to give them the tools to raise more funds themselves by improving the efficiency of the business and not simply writing a cheque. Giving FFL our substantial expertise has changed the way they use and understand technology and hence delivered the same benefits that thousands of our nationwide clients alredy experience.

In 2009 we began to implement our five point plan into Friends for Leisure, a framework that ensures due consideration is given to each of five key areas that any business using IT should consider.

Point One – Supply

Supplying and installing business quality IT equipment is the foundation of a solid and reliable infrastructure. Giving the correct advice to purchase branded equipment from trusted manufacturers with appropriate warranties both now and in the future was the first step along the road for FFL.

Point Two – Connectivity

Replacing sub standard LAN switching and cabling improved the reliability of the physical infrastructure, whilst migrating the DSL Internet access over to Prism ensures the highest possible speeds and removed another 3rd party, a weak point in the support cycle.

Point Three – Security

Providing virus protection, secure offsite data backup and data encryption services ensure any data stored is protected and does not fall into wrong hands

Point Four – Document Management

Document management and recreation can be expensive and time consuming, Prism have multiple solutions available for businesses of all sizes although this was not necessary for FFL.

Point Five – Support

Ongoing support not only provides peace of mind that IT issues can be dealt with when they arise, but through the Prism Total Care Support offers proactive routine visits giving regular care and maintenance.

Summary.

Prism have donated and implemented the five point plan within Friends for Leisure. By approaching IT in a business minded fashion and outsourcing the entire requirement FFL can concentrate on delivering services to their end users and raising funds to further improve the number of activities on offer.

“It’s like having a holiday rep who just takes the problems away”

Centre Manager
Friends for Leisure.

For more information on Friends for Leisure Click Here.