The Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research (KTRR) was established some 50 years ago to fund the first research institute in the world totally dedicated to rheumatology. In 2000 the research institute was incorporated into Imperial College as a separate division within the School of Medicine and in 2011 the KTRR entered into an agreement with the University of Oxford to fund transfer of the institute into a new, purpose-built facility in Oxford.
Prior to the transfer, the KTRR used the institute’s IT systems, provided and managed by Imperial College. The move of the institute to Oxford University provided an ideal time for the KTRR to adopt its own, independent IT system. The desired end result would be a very secure and reliable solution that needed very little technical support resource from KTRR. Ideally the costs for such a solution would be fixed, and therefore predictable, with no unforeseen expenditure.
Following an initial consultation and a review of the Trust’s current systems, it was agreed that adopting the Microsoft Online Services Cloud solution would meet all the needs of the KTRR.
Agile IT took over the management of the KTRR internet domain names so that all necessary changes could be made to the e-mail records. At the same time the hosting of the Trust’s website was also undertaken. Each user’s PC and smartphones were configured to access the new Microsoft Online mailboxes and new team SharePoint site.
E-mails from the legacy systems were first archived and then migrated to their corresponding Exchange Online mailboxes. A new SharePoint Online site was designed and created by Agile IT. This provides KTRR with user and group level security access to the new document libraries.
KTRR staff are now able to access all their files and e-mails from wherever they may be working , and they can be assured that their data are kept safe, secure and accessible at all times. No longer are there concerns associated with the ownership and operation of their own in-house systems; worries about systems failures, patching, e-mail security or backups are now a thing of the past. For a cost-effective fixed monthly fee KTRR is now using the latest versions of the industry standard Microsoft Office Suite in collaboration with the most up to date and secure back office systems available. For any local support issues Agile IT are on hand to provide assistance.
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