Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) embarked on a transformative journey to reclaim control over its ICT services after three decades of outsourced support. Recognising the need to modernise and strengthen their digital infrastructure, GCC aimed to insource its technology support, enhancing service quality and operational agility. To navigate this complex transition, they partnered with EIS, formerly known as Cantium Business Solutions, leveraging their extensive expertise in public sector ICT.
A collaborative approach to digital transformation
GCC’s geographical footprint covers over 1,000 square miles, including the Cotswolds, Forest of Dean, and Severn Valley, serving approximately one million citizens.
The council’s vision centred on delivering impactful digital transformation to improve services for staff, partners, and residents. Recognising the importance of partnership, EIS collaborated closely with GCC’s leadership to develop a tailored strategy that addressed both immediate needs and future ambitions.
Through a proactive partnership, EIS focused on optimising server, data centre, network, database, and security operations. The joint effort incorporated best practices from ITIL frameworks, emphasising change management, incident resolution, and problem prevention to continuously elevate service quality.
Together, GCC and EIS outlined clear objectives for the partnership. These included supporting daily ICT operations and reducing high-priority issues, enhancing security defenses against emerging threats, and providing out-of-hours support for critical applications affecting social care and other vital services. Key projects aimed at network upgrades and infrastructure modernisation formed the backbone of their transformation roadmap, alongside efforts to document and develop GCC’s long-term technical strategy.
The goal was ambitious: to enable GCC to take full ownership of its ICT infrastructure support, transitioning away from a 30-year outsourcing model.
Tailored solutions for sustainable change
EIS proposed a comprehensive managed service contract, complemented by project and architecture services. This approach involved deploying dedicated staff within GCC to assist during the transition, working on service design, and recruiting key personnel for the council’s internal ICT team.
Major transformation initiatives included migrating GCC’s LiquidLogic social care system to a SaaS platform, upgrading their SAN environment to eliminate single points of failure, and supporting the migration of their on-premises Exchange environment to Microsoft 365. Additionally, in-flight projects left unfinished by previous providers, such as the network upgrade and Windows 10 remediation, were taken over and completed under EIS’s guidance.
Security improvements were a cornerstone of the partnership. EIS recommended and implemented Microsoft Defender across end-user devices, enabling robust malware protection and patch reporting. They deployed Tenable Vulnerability Management and integrated it with GCC’s ServiceNow ITSM platform, allowing real-time vulnerability tracking and faster response times.
Further, EIS helped establish a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system, providing GCC with advanced threat detection capabilities. Patching processes were overhauled, reducing server patching time from over three weeks to just five days, and end-user device patching was cut from seven days to one—a critical improvement that supported GCC’s renewal of Public Services Network (PSN) accreditation for two consecutive years.
Achieving cost savings and operational efficiency
The partnership yielded significant cost efficiencies. By consolidating and decommissioning redundant servers, GCC reduced hardware footprint and operational costs, including rack space and electricity. Following UKCloud’s insolvency in 2022, EIS swiftly decommissioned a UKCloud-based domain controller, saving GCC over £40,000 in licensing and service fees.
Beyond technical improvements, EIS invested in GCC’s internal teams through onsite training, process reviews, and support for their ServiceNow platform. Collaborative efforts included regular meetings to refine device build processes and supporting the council’s service desk to resolve tickets efficiently. These initiatives fostered internal skill development and operational resilience.
EIS played a pivotal role in shaping GCC’s long-term ICT strategy. They conducted comprehensive audits of legacy systems, identified risks, and developed remediation plans aligned with the council’s objectives. The strategic roadmap outlined migration paths to cloud solutions, hardware decommissioning, and infrastructure modernisation, positioning GCC for future growth and agility.
A successful transition and bright future
The project culminated in GCC regaining control of their ICT services ahead of schedule, with ongoing support from EIS to ensure smooth operations and future readiness.
“The transition of bringing outsourced ICT Support Services back in-house after 30 years of outsourcing has been much easier with the support provided by Cantium. Their partnership approach was key to the success of the project, and their seamless collaboration with our in-house teams has seen very positive feedback,” says Sherrill Holder, Assistant Director of Digital and ICT, Gloucestershire County Council. “Regaining control of more ICT support services has helped to improve customer service. By working collaboratively together to share knowledge, upskill internal teams, stabilise the infrastructure whilst making improvements, GCC, with three years of support from Cantium are now able to bring the remaining services back in house as planned.”
Throughout the partnership, GCC has achieved measurable improvements in infrastructure stability, security posture, and operational efficiency. While financial savings continue to materialise, the true value lies in the council’s newfound independence and confidence in managing their digital future. As GCC moves forward with their in-house ICT capabilities, EIS remains committed to supporting their ongoing journey toward digital excellence and resilient public service delivery.
