Pharmacist Support

Supporting a national charity from their headquarters

Pharmacist Support is an independent charity with over 180 years supporting pharmacists, trainees, and their families across the UK.

While their reach is national, their headquarters are in Manchester. Like many charities, their ability to deliver services depends firstly on their volunteers, but secondly on those volunteers having the right tools and technology working as it should, securely, reliably, and without getting in the way.

Over the past five years, AAG has worked alongside Pharmacist Support to build exactly that.

Not just fixing issues, but putting the right foundations in place and improving them over time.

The challenge: Growing reliance on IT, without the structure behind it

When Pharmacist Support first partnered with AAG, they were in a position we see often: Technology was changing. Remote working was on a rapid rise due to COVID. And in addition, the organisation was growing. Technology within the charity was becoming more important. But the structure behind it hadn’t caught up yet.

That created a few key challenges:

• Systems were in place, but not fully optimised or secured
• There was no clear long-term IT direction
• Sensitive data needed stronger protection
• Support was reactive rather than strategic

For a charity handling confidential and often sensitive information, that’s not a comfortable place to be.

The risk isn’t just downtime. It’s data exposure, reputational damage, and a loss of trust.

A long-term partnership, not a quick fix

This was never a short-term project or a one-off improvement. This was always positioned as a long-term partnership that was to grow with the charity.

Pharmacist Support has been working with AAG for over five years now.

That’s important, because good IT isn’t about one big change. It’s about getting the basics right, then continuously improving.

Over time, the focus has been simple:

• Stabilise the environment
• Strengthen security
• Improve the day-to-day experience
• Introduce new technology in a controlled, sensible way

The approach: Fix the foundations, then build on them

A more structured and secure Microsoft 365 environment

We started by reviewing their existing setup and identifying gaps.

From there, we implemented a more structured and secure Microsoft 365 environment, including:

• Conditional Access policies to control who can access what, and from where
• Advanced anti-phishing, anti-spam, and anti-malware protections
• Microsoft Defender across all users and devices
• Improved identity and access management

For a charity that handles confidential data, securing the environment is a regulatory requirement. When working from a single office or location, that’s fairly straightforward (for IT projects at least). However, when employees work remotely, or use their own devices, that’s when the solutions and policies become slightly more complex.

For example, Conditional Access means that even if credentials are compromised, access can still be blocked based on location, device, or behaviour. That’s the difference between a near miss and a serious incident.

Better habits, not just better tools

Technology on its own doesn’t solve problems: people using it properly does.

We worked with the Pharmacist Support team to improve how technology is used day-to-day:

• Security awareness training to reduce human risk
• Password manager rollout to eliminate poor password practices
• Ongoing guidance to help staff work securely and confidently

We wanted to make working securely the norm –  how people work day to day. That way, it doesn’t feel like a barrier, it doesn’t feel like a burden, it’s educational and gives employees the confidence that they’re working within best practice.

Adopting AI properly: From curiosity to controlled productivity

Like many organisations, Pharmacist Support had started to explore AI tools.

The risk at that stage is simple. People start using tools like Copilot or ChatGPT without guidance, without structure, and without understanding the impact on data security.

So rather than just “switching it on”, we worked with them on a Copilot Readiness Assessment.

Here’s what that looked like in practice:

This approach ensures AI actually delivers value, without introducing unnecessary risk.

Because on its own, AI doesn’t improve productivity. It only works when it’s built on top of the right processes.

The result: IT that supports the organisation, not slows it down

After five years of consistent improvement, the difference is clear.

Confidence at leadership level.

There’s now real confidence that systems are secure, monitored, and under control.

That removes a huge amount of background noise for leadership, who no longer need to worry about “what if something goes wrong”.

Fast, reliable support when it matters

When issues do arise, they’re picked up quickly and resolved properly.

That responsiveness matters more than most people realise. It’s the difference between a minor interruption and a day of lost productivity.

And just as importantly, the team knows who they’re dealing with. Familiar engineers who understand their environment, not a faceless helpdesk.

Security is no longer an afterthought.

It’s built into how the organisation operates, from access controls to user behaviour.

That significantly reduces exposure to common threats like phishing, credential compromise, and data leakage.

And the work hasn’t stopped.

Every 6 to 12 months, new improvements and projects are introduced, whether that’s enhancing security, improving user experience, or exploring new tools like Copilot.

That’s what keeps the environment aligned with how the organisation is evolving.

Why this partnership works

There’s no single “silver bullet” here.

What makes this work is consistency.

• Proactive support, not just reacting to issues
• Named engineers who understand the organisation
• Clear, practical advice without overcomplicating things
• Regular improvements rather than big disruptive changes

It’s a partnership, not just a service.

How can AAG help?

If you’re a Manchester-based organisation, particularly one handling sensitive data, this is what good IT support should look like.

Not just fixing problems, but putting the right structure in place and improving it over time.

If that sounds like what you need, it’s worth having a conversation.