It went just about as well as you could possibly have hoped for, really. Sentis were absolutely great; hugely supportive, hugely cooperative and we worked very well with them.
The Federation of Jewish Services, or The Fed, is the largest charity supporting the Jewish community in Greater Manchester, which is home to the UK’s second largest Jewish community. Based in Prestwich, near Manchester, The Fed provides a wide range of essential services, including residential and nursing care for older people, supported living, social work, extensive volunteer programmes and community outreach for the vulnerable.
Operating from a busy, vibrant campus, The Fed supports hundreds of people across residential care, community services and volunteer-led initiatives. With a mix of staff, residents, volunteers and visitors on site every day, and with 120 IT users in total, the organisation depends on dependable, secure and user-friendly IT systems to support it in its core mission of care and community support.
Before Ian Wait joined The Fed as its Financial Director, there had been a lack of dedicated IT leadership within the organisation. Much of the charity’s IT hardware had been acquired over time through donations or ad-hoc purchases, leaving The Fed with ageing equipment approaching end of life and which, in many cases, did not comply with Windows 11. The Fed was also reliant on an on-premise server that, while stable, was effectively life-expired.
As is common in the charity sector, budgets were tight and IT investment could have been more strategic than it in fact was. Systems had been added over time to meet individual needs, without a clear long-term plan for how everything should fit together.
Sentis was already in place as The Fed’s managed service provider and, in collaboration with Ian, saw an opportunity to build on that long-standing relationship to develop a clearer and more collaborative approach to IT, one that reduced risk, improved resilience and supported staff through change.
Rather than attempting a wholesale transformation, Sentis worked with Ian to focus on the most pressing risks and practical improvements. A clear IT strategy was developed, aligned to The Fed’s operational realities and financial constraints, with the emphasis on futureproofing and making sensible, well-planned changes delivering stability and long-term value.
This included:
- Refreshing end-user devices to ensure staff had modern, compliant desktop and laptop PCs.
- Completing a transition from an on-premise server to a cloud-based environment.
- Moving the organisation’s file structure into SharePoint while keeping it familiar for users.
- Supporting staff through training, communication and hands-on guidance.
Throughout the process, Sentis worked closely with The Fed’s internal IT resource, meeting regularly to review progress, resolve issues and ensure everyone was on the same page. Open communication and mutual respect were crucial to making the project a successful one.
Sentis delivered a carefully managed programme of updates and migration, designed to keep any disruption to a minimum while delivering tangible improvements. All laptops and desktops were upgraded, giving staff reliable, modern equipment that met current compliance requirements. The Fed’s core systems, meanwhile, were migrated from the on-premise server to the cloud, improving resilience and reducing risk.
The move to SharePoint was handled with particular care. Existing file structures were replicated so that staff could continue working in a way that felt familiar, while benefiting from a more secure and flexible platform. Sentis also provided training sessions and clear guidance, ensuring staff felt supported rather than overwhelmed by the change.
While a small number of legacy applications remain temporarily on the server, these are being phased out as part of a longer-term plan, with Sentis continuing to provide advice and practical workarounds in the interim.
The Fed now operates in a far more secure, future-ready IT environment, without the worry of ongoing increases in costs. Staff have modern, reliable devices, systems are mostly cloud-based and key risks associated with ageing infrastructure have been addressed. Importantly, these changes were delivered without major disruption to day-to-day operations, essential for a care-focused organisation.
Just as importantly, the working relationship between Sentis and The Fed – already a close and long-established one – has strengthened even further. Regular communication, shared priorities and a pragmatic approach to risk have allowed the IT function to flourish to new levels.
As Ian explains:
“It went just about as well as you could possibly have hoped for, really. Sentis were absolutely great; hugely supportive, hugely cooperative and we worked very well with them.”
Nor is this just a one-off project. Sentis continues to provide The Fed with ongoing management support and is moving towards the next phase of the charity’s agreed IT strategy, improving compliance, data security and standards in the healthcare sector, as well as keeping it abreast of developments in cybersecurity.
With strong foundations and a platform to support future growth now in place, IT is no longer a source concern for The Fed, allowing the organisation to move forward confidently in the knowledge that its IT setup is working harder and more strategically – thereby supporting both The Fed and the community it serves.
