Cantium Business Solutions supports Kent County Council’s large-scale device rollout for hybrid working

With the desire to align hardware and technology with the Microsoft suite of products and services, Kent County Council will utilise Microsoft Surface devices to reduce its cost base while increasing device performance.

The Council has partnered with managed services provider, Cantium, to design an end-to-end device provisioning solution. Delivered as a service, it enables hybrid workers to order a new device and access it within a matter of days. To enhance the user experience, the process offers users a self-service model that tracks their devices from start to finish and keeps them engaged throughout.

Cantium is working with KCC to seamlessly integrate their new Surface devices with their existing cloud and on-premises infrastructure. The program facilitates the modern management of cloud devices and helps them to identify and resolve any application compatibility issues. By centralising device management through the service desk, issues can be identified before users become aware of them, and fixes rolled out proactively, thereby easing the burden on support desks, enhancing user experience, and significantly decreasing the total cost of ownership.

By analysing the processes involved in the device lifecycle rollout, Cantium manage relationships and responsibilities between the Council and its existing vendors to ensure the effective procurement, delivery, maintenance of the new Microsoft devices and the retirement of its legacy hardware.

With the project already underway, Cantium has already delivered several benefits, modernisations and cost-savings for the Council. Including enhanced security and access management through Entra ID, VPN upgrades and an automated Configuration Management Database. It is estimated that KCC will save up to 30% per device compared to the previous technology refresh programme, whilst improving device performance.

Lisa Gannon, Director of Technology, Kent County Council, said: “The transition to Surface devices will resolve longstanding issues from ageing hardware and facilitate a ‘hands-off’ deployment and disposal process that aligns with our modern work practices. Cantium’s seamless collaboration with our team and proactive approach have garnered overwhelmingly positive feedback. We are confident that these new devices will deliver excellent value for money in the future.”

The fully mapped device ordering process, which automates the process from order to delivery to device setup, means that users now have devices at their door 48 hours after placing their order and can be ready to work, on average, 30 minutes from unboxing.

Simon Austin, Director for Account Management and Corporate Services, at Cantium, said: “We have delivered a modernised IT support function for Kent County Council, that enables seamless hybrid working. Our unparalleled public sector enterprise expertise ensures that applications and infrastructure at the Council continue to work for all end users without interruption. This partnership highlights Cantium’s capability to successfully execute a programme of works and large-scale device rollout with the necessary technical expertise and experience.”