Case Studies

Established in 2017, Haus Homes prides itself on working differently to other estate agents. Having experienced solid growth in its first year, the directors are now firmly focused on increasing turnover and improving efficiency for the future. AAG has managed Haus Homes’ IT from the beginning which has allowed the team to focus on what they do so well.

Ian Appleyard, Director, explains:

“AAG supports us with everything relating to our IT. None of the Haus Homes’ team are in the slightest bit technical so it’s vitally important that we have an IT partner we can trust. AAG helped us integrate our different software providers and were also instrumental in recommending other suppliers for services such as our great new phone system. We simply pay a modest monthly amount and they take care of the rest.

When we first met with AAG, we explained what we felt we needed as a new start up business. They listened, really understood our vision and aspirations, and came up with a plan for us. They ordered all our hardware and installed and tested it before we opened the doors. They also liaised with our software providers to ensure everything was seamless.”

AAG provides Haus Homes with all the technology it needs to operate on a day to day basis. From providing equipment such as desktops and laptops, managing backup’s, monitoring and maintaining infrastructure, they also deliver a truly proactive IT support service.

“The hardware and software have to be very reliable, we work in a fast-paced industry and it is very important that we have minimum downtime. If there is a problem we would expect our IT partner to react immediately. We found this in AAG, their knowledgeable and friendly support desk are always on hand to help us with any issues, and their proac­tive monitoring often picks things up automatically, allowing it to be fixed before we’ve even noticed!

We haven’t had many problems at all in our first year, the only thing I can think of is sometimes our ‘Shares’ folder doesn’t work. As soon as we have reported it someone at AAG fixes it straight away.

I’d recommend AAG to anyone looking for solid IT consultancy and support, especially if you are just starting a new business venture. They were on hand from day 1, offering advice and support to help us fully understand our needs. The solution they provided us with is completely scalable.”

Saint Patrick’s Voluntary Catholic Academy is a primary school in Sheffield providing education to over 300 3-11 year olds and employing 39 staff. Saint Patrick’s is a unique learning environment for children and adults welcoming a diverse community to join in learning.

Saint Patrick’s has been an AAG customer since 2015, with AAG providing Managed Services including remote and onsite support, liaising with external partners such as the local authority, website hosts, broadband providers, telephone line suppliers and the supply of Saint Patrick’s IT equipment such as its IT security systems. AAG works closely with the Business Manager and IT Subject Lead to work on the strategic 5 year IT plan.

Kathryn Fox, Business Manager, is responsible for HR, Finance, Health & Safety and Information Management, including Data Protection. “Our IT systems are essential in the day to day running of the school. It’s vital our systems work properly as all of our registers, lunch orders and finance are all done electronically to increase efficiency. Any downtime would cause massive issues for us. Given the nature of our work and the information we hold, it’s also vitally important our systems are secure to make sure our data is protected at all times.

AAG provide us with the experts we need as part of our wider team. My role is very broad, covering many areas and whilst I have a good understanding, it’s really important to us that we have access to a pool of knowledge we can tap into at any time.”

AAG prides itself on its proactive service, which makes them stand out from the crowd.

“When our previous supplier uttered the line that ‘IT maintenance is reactive not proactive’ ie you fix it when it breaks, we knew it was time to go. AAG undertakes regular monitoring, testing and updating of our systems to ensure there is limited downtime. If there is any downtime, they are on hand to sort it out immediately either remotely or to send an engineer to site. We took the option to move away from the local authority broadband provision to another company. Unfortunately, that backfired when the company went into administration and we were nearly left with no internet or filtering services. It was a relief to have AAG to be able to pass this over to and be confident that they would deal with it and ensure business continuity. The impact of having no internet doesn’t really bear thinking about as we would have ground to a halt. I’d recommend AAG to anyone without hesitation.”