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The Client
BRB (Residuary) Ltd, was set up to manage the legacy of obligations and liabilities that arose from the privatisation of British Rail. Such obligations include the disposal of land and buildings that are surplus to requirement, assurance of the safety of some 4,000 structures such as bridges and tunnels, maintenance of listed structures in conjunction with the Railway Heritage Trust and resolution of claims by former employees.

The Challenge
Historically, as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), BRB (Residuary) Ltd had all of their IT and related support services delivered by the SRA. However, with the closure of the SRA in 2006, BRB (Residuary) Ltd needed to identify which IT services they wished to retain internally and which parts of their requirements, such as support, to outsource to a trusted provider. BRB (Residuary) Ltd were also concerned that their London and York offices were linked with an expensive Frame Relay WAN over which ISP services were also delivered.

In November 2005 BRB (Residuary) Ltd issued an invitation-to-tender to a shortlist of IT solution providers drawn up from the GCAT list of public sector approved suppliers. BRB (Residuary) Ltd wanted to realise significant benefits in the form of lower cost of ownership, reduced administration and quicker fault resolution, by employing a single IT provider that it could rely on across the entire lifecycle, from implementation through to management and support.

 Moving from being a division within a large organisation with centrally supported IT to being a smaller independent operation with limited technical capabilities presented a major business continuity challenge. The creation of a cost effective, secure and reliable network that is managed to stringent service levels by external experts was essential.

BRB (Residuary) Ltd chose Redstone Managed Solutions as its supplier. The skills of its highly experienced engineers and consultants, and its ability to offer a range of innovative voice and data solutions with managed support gave BRB (Residuary) Ltd peace of mind.

“One of the biggest challenges for our solutions provider was gaining an understanding of the many critical custom built software applications that we already had in place. They also needed to ascertain and pinpoint what data needed to be retained and how it would need to be accessed, both for operational and legal reasons. Through its skills and expertise the Redstone team tackled this challenge successfully, working closely with our original support team, users and vendors,” said Clarke.

 The Solution
Taking a consultative approach, Redstone Managed Solutions recommended a managed VPN built upon the combination of a cost-effective and dedicated, symmetrical 2M leased circuits and ADSL for the smaller offices. For home workers an ADSL service providing VPN connection back to London was proposed.

Redstone provided Cisco routers at each site plus managed internet security and VPN by means of an appropriately sized Cisco firewall in London.

The Redstone solution delivered guaranteed business-class service levels that were fully secure. The effective monitoring and management by the Redstone Managed Solutions team negated the need for in-house support.

Redstone Managed Solutions also supported migration of BRB (Residuary) Ltd’s email domain to a new independent system. Microsoft ISA Server and Websense were implemented to provide users with efficient and managed Internet access, while Outlook Web Access provided remote access to email.

It also deployed Symantec Anti-virus software then added email filtering. Finally it implemented an off-site backup service – a fully automated on-line process that avoids the need for traditional network or tapebased systems for file backup. Blackberries also replaced laptops for the dozen or so employees that are frequently on call.

 Redstone Managed Solutions conducted the full transition on time within a single phase. Tight time constraints were critical, because the SRA was losing staff at the time which led to concerns over gaps in support capacity or that vital information held by the previous support team might be lost.

“Redstone’s attitude to customer care is that nothing is too much trouble. The team took time to listen to our business needs and to explain the pros and cons of different approaches. As a result we got the optimum IT solution for our business needs – delivered on time and on budget"
John Clarke, Director of Structures, BRB (Residuary) Ltd

The Results

• Managed IT solution enabling the business to focus on its core competencies
• High level of managed security optimises data availability and protection
• Innovative solution delivered on time and to budget within three months of tender
• Smooth operational transition with no loss of information or dips in support
• Support services adhere to stringent agreed service levels
• Reduced cost of IT ownership through managed solutions

 The Outcome
Redstone’s consultants delivered a scalable solution, on time and to budget, that enabled BRB (Residuary) Ltd to continue to work effectively. BRB (Residuary) Ltd found a trusted partner that could not only recommend the right approach, but implement it and deliver managed support for complete peace of mind.
Under Redstone’s ISO 9002 accredited project management methodology, the new infrastructure was live within just three months of the start of the procurement process.

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