Bridgewater Housing Association

Bridgewater Housing Association has been providing affordable housing and facilities to people across Renfrewshire since 1998. As a not-for-profit charitable social enterprise, the organisation manages over 1,500 properties from its head office and satellite locations, supporting more than 2,700 residents and owners with a team of 34 staff and a network of subcontractors.

As the association extended its service offering, improving the use of IT was identified as a strategic priority. The organisation had relied on outsourced IT management for some time, but the arrangement had become under-serviced and lacked the proactive approach the business needed to move forward. 

Outdated hardware, general performance issues and a dependency on key individuals to handle anything IT-related were all creating friction. With an executive vision that the existing infrastructure simply could not support, something had to change.

An internal IT Officer was brought on board to lead the transformation, with a remit to overhaul the support infrastructure and build a long-term IT strategy. To do that effectively, they needed an external partner who could provide first-line support, expert guidance and additional resource for larger projects. That partner was Innovec.

Innovec began by reviewing and documenting Bridgewater's existing setup, understanding the pain points and aligning solutions with the organisation's short, medium and long-term priorities. From there, a phased strategy was co-developed with the IT Officer to address immediate needs while keeping sight of the bigger picture.

The work delivered included server and hardware upgrades, an Office 365 migration and a tailored Veeam backup solution using point-to-point satellites that generated an annual saving of over £4,000. Alongside the project work, Innovec provides ongoing remote support, 24/7 monitoring of critical systems and regular on-site visits from qualified engineers, freeing up the IT Officer to focus on strategic priorities rather than day-to-day firefighting.

Stephen McGinley, Information Technology Officer at Bridgewater Housing Association, reflects on the experience: 

"As we extended our service offering, improving our use of IT was identified as a strategic element of our growth plan. It was important to find a reliable partner who would work well within the organisation and provide the right blend of support and expertise. We found that many providers essentially offered the same tools, services, and promises. However, Innovec stood out through their personalised and straightforward approach. They are friendly, knowledgeable, fast and no-nonsense. They do what they say they will, when they say that they will, and we cannot overstate how happy we are with the current agreement."

At Innovec, we work with over 200 businesses and organisations across Ayrshire and Glasgow, including housing associations, professional services firms and third sector organisations.

We understand that reliable, proactive IT support is not a luxury but a necessity for organisations that exist to serve their communities. 

Learn more about our third-party support.

To find out more about how Innovec can support your organisation, contact us at hello@innovec.co.uk or call 01292 427 420.