Taking Novia Global into the cloud and beyond
Novia Global operates an offshore investment platform for financial advisers. When they parted with their parent company in 2021, they needed to source new suppliers including support for their IT infrastructure. Novia Global’s Director of Business Management and IT, David Field, and Head of IT, Dave Garwood, share the story of how they selected Inflection Point and their first year working with us.
Finding the right supplier
David Field begins the story: “Novia Financial had been a shareholder in Novia Global, and as part of our arrangement we sourced our IT support to them. However, following their acquisition by a private equity firm, the arrangement was terminated by mutual agreement. One of the consequences was that we needed to source our own suppliers, starting with IT.
“We performed this on a number of IT providers and were confident Inflection Point were the best choice. We felt a synergy between us: they were very can-do, not limited by items on a service contract, would be available to help with things we were not even talking about at this stage.
Getting down to business
As Dave Garwood explains, we initially worked on several trial projects: “Because we are moving all the IT infrastructure and support from the previous provider, there is a lot to get through. We have approached it bit-by-bit so that it is done in an orderly way.”
David Field shares a couple of examples: “We had previously rented physical servers from Novia Financial. To start getting us moved away from these, Inflection Point migrated our email to 365 in the cloud which went smoothly.
“This was followed by moving Sage away from the servers and into the cloud, including all the archives which added some complexity to the job. It was all completed successfully, and we moved on to setting up our helpdesk with Inflection Point.
Dave Garwood picks up the story: “With the helpdesk there are different parts to the migration, so to begin with Inflection Point set up new helpdesk software, carried out training and developed some automation to get the tickets to the right place. Our old provider still addresses some of the tickets for now, and Inflection Point have been really good at liaising with them to maintain a smooth service for us.”
New telephone systems and more
As our relationship has developed, we are helping in more and more ways. David Field resumes: “Another of the things that resided on the old physical servers was our telephone system. Inflection Point reviewed the cloud market for telephony, recommended a solution and implemented it for us.”
Dave Garwood observes: “Over the years, I have been involved in many telephone system migrations and I can say with confidence that this was the smoothest one I have experienced. Inflection Point’s work on both the technical side and configuration side was all great.
New telephone systems and more (cont.)
I had very little feedback from the staff which, when it comes to IT changes, is a big win. You want changes that inconvenience the end user as little as possible.”
David Field continues: “As part of the termination of our relationship with Novia Financial we had to move offices, but were glad to be able to secure space on a different floor of the same building. Inflection Point managed our dedicated lease line connection and the required networking. They installed new anti-virus software on each computer to protect the business - again with minimum impact on users.”
A trusted relationship
Dave Garwood describes what it is like to work with Inflection Point day-to-day: “As Head of IT, I have more to do with Inflection Point than anyone else at Novia Global. I have daily contact with the support team and speak at a management level weekly about longer-term planning.
“We get to know individual people on the helpdesk, which is great for building a close relationship. They are always responsive. From their side, they know they will always get an answer from me when needed, and from mine, I know they will always do what they say.”
David Field adds: “When you get that sense of trust in a business relationship, it is amazing what else can be yielded. For example, it wasn’t only IT that we needed post-Novia Financial. HR became another pressing need. During one informal conversation with Iain at Inflection Point, he recommended an HR consultancy, and it has been a godsend.
“We have grown from 9 to 45 people and having good HR advice has been vital. This company has the same attitude and approach that Inflection Point have, not being prescriptive about what they do.
“Similarly, Inflection Point have recommended a cloud-hosting and software-development consultancy. We engaged them to catalogue our IT estate and then put a proposal for moving it all into the cloud. They are switched on and have picked up everything so quickly.
“We have been impressed with every recommendation that Inflection Point have made. It is a positive reflection on them and the way they operate.”
Dave Garwood agrees: “I have been impressed with the cloud-hosting recommendation that Inflection Point made. They were not a company I would have come across myself so it is a real bonus. The fact that we can work well with suppliers they recommend enhances the good relationship that we have with Inflection Point.”
Tips on selecting an IT support partner
We asked David and Dave what advice they would give to other businesses like theirs in search of a new IT partner. Dave Garwood emphasized the importance of trust: “You have got to feel confident in them, to trust them. I have worked with a few other IT companies in the past and it seems it is their goal to sell you their complete stack, whether it is all appropriate for you or not.
“When looking for a provider, you need to recognize this and find a company which will tailor the solution to you, rather than try to sell you things that you do not need.
“Inflection Point have been professional, and caring to work with. I feel like they are on our side and genuinely want what is best for Novia Global – that runs right through their team, from management to every helpdesk employee.”
Top ways Inflection Point helped Novia Global
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Deployed 365 for cloud email solution
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Upgraded Sage to cloud version of the software
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Recommended and installed a new telephone system
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Delivered the IT aspects of office move, including networking and arrangement of lease line.
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Running a helpdesk to support staff.
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Introduction to key suppliers when required.
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Working alongside previous supplier during a prolonged handover period.
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Providing relevant training as required.
Thank you
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if there’s anything you need.
Inflection Point