Case Study – Shipley UK

For over two decades, Shipley UK has been a leading provider of consulting and training services to help businesses win contracts in both the public and private sectors across the globe. They work with a wide variety of organisations, from large multinational corporations to non-profit organisations, and have built their success on fostering strong and lasting relationships with their clients. At the heart of their approach is the ongoing development, curation, and sharing of the most current and effective strategies for winning business in competitive markets.

CETSAT is fortunate to have a long-standing partnership with Shipley UK, having worked together for over twenty years on their technology platforms and bespoke software development projects. However, the company’s Managing Director, Mark Taylor recognised the need to shift their focus from simply addressing current and near-future IT state, to taking a more proactive approach to plan ahead for the future, leveraging technology as a transformative force as a result.

To address this change of tack, CETSAT began holding monthly IT RoadMap meetings with their leadership team to identify and indicate early on what specific challenges Shipley UK may come up against. These meetings quickly identified a need for:

– More timely management information
– Improved sharing of ideas and techniques among consultants
– Maintaining company culture and engagement during the move to remote work
– Promoting a culture of experimentation and technology adoption within the company,
– Maintaining the highest level of security and confidentiality for client information, and
– Fostering collaborative online interactions with clients.

CETSAT then developed a plan to help Shipley UK implement these changes and address their key business objectives.

CETSAT has implemented a variety of solutions to address the different objectives identified as a result of collaborative RoadMap meetings. For example, to facilitate idea sharing and collaboration, we introduced Microsoft SharePoint and Teams across the business. Including training support to engage and empower all employees to use the platforms confidently. Additionally, Shipley UK have implemented CETSAT’s Training and a Support Approach to assist with online working and developing their ethos. To ensure high levels of security and confidentiality, Cyber Security measures have been put in place. Furthermore, an IT RoadMap has been implemented across the entire business to assist with making the investment, business development, and operational decisions.

“The turning point was when we instigated monthly IT RoadMap meetings – raising our collective horizon from fixing today’s IT issues to planning the Shipley UK of tomorrow and how IT would power that transformation. The greatest motivator was the need to evolve, to see IT not just as an enabler but a transformational activity.”

As a result of CETSAT’s efforts to address Shipley UK’s challenges, the company has seen a number of positive changes. Staff have reported increased collaboration and teamwork, all thanks to the greater use of Teams for more informal, creative communication. This has led to improved relationships among colleagues, with many staff noting that they feel they know their co-workers better and have more opportunities for casual conversation and engagement whilst the majority of staff are home workers or are mobile.

Meetings have also become more efficient and effective, as staff have better access to the information they need when they need it. Additionally, there has been a greater willingness among staff to experiment with technology and try new things, which has led to increased innovation and idea-sharing within the company.

“Collaborating with CETSAT has been an enjoyable experience because of their ability to think beyond just providing technical solutions. They take a holistic approach, considering how our technology can truly transform our business and are willing to provide advice on both their own solutions and those provided by other companies.”

“The CETSAT team is dedicated to understanding our business and building strong relationships with our teams. Given this positive experience, Shipley UK looks forward to continuing to work with CETSAT in the future as we continue our digital journey and exploring new ways of interacting and collaborating with clients.”

– Mark Taylor, Managing Director at Shipley UK