Lead Authority Shared Services

Beginning in 2020, QuickThink Cloud have been working with the shared service for cloud hosting and other consultancy services. The relationship has grown considerably, with QuickThink Cloud working together with the shared service's internal teams to enable system growth and explore technical possibilities.

In just the first year, QuickThink Cloud collaborated with the shared service to migrate ERP Gold to cloud hosting, perform a milestone upgrade, and scale the system for the onboarding of two large unitary councils. Throughout, QuickThink Cloud offered expert consultancy and advice, becoming like in-house team members, cooperating with the authority for the ultimate optimised system.

Prior to 2018, there were multiple ERP systems across the partner councils, replaced by the single comprehensive Unit4 Business World solution, ERP Gold. Originally implemented in house and hosted on data centres at onsite premises, the ERP Gold system underwent changes in 2020 to allow for increased scalability and reduced reliance on local hardware.

Following the procurement process, QuickThink Cloud were chosen to partner with the shared service for cloud hosting. The ERP Gold system was due a milestone upgrade too, but the shared service was hesitant to change the system hardware and software at the same time, risking business continuity. However, QuickThink Cloud were up to the challenge, and even produced a 'proof of concept' to reassure them.

In November 2020, the shared service's ERP Gold solution was moved to cloud hosting and updated, without downtime. Despite the significant infrastructure and software changes, the experience was seamless for the many thousands of users.

In April 2021, Northamptonshire County Council and seven other district and borough councils were combined to form two new unitary councils: West Northamptonshire Council and North Northamptonshire Council. As part of the lead authority shared service arrangements, the support services to these two new unitary councils would be managed on the ERP Gold solution.

To facilitate the introduction of the two unitary councils, QuickThink Cloud ensured the smooth running of the Unit4 system, aiding with system scaling, technical onboarding, and cloud hosting concerns. The project involved migrating the financial, HR and payroll services of eight former councils onto the already complex Unit4 Business World solution; one of the biggest implementations both parties had encountered.

With such a large overhaul of council services, the shared service was nervous about any possible downtime. The QuickThink Cloud team were able to put the authorities at ease, giving them peace of mind that their system would be available 24/7 throughout the change. The huge scaling required did not threaten the cloud hosted system; QuickThink Cloud attentively oversaw the careful and considered expansion with a flexible, confident approach.

Complimentary Relationship — The authority's internal teams work cohesively with QuickThink Cloud to better their system, benefitting from a two-way transfer of knowledge and open, informed discussions.

Confident, Flexible Approach — Having undertaken large, complex projects together, the shared service has full confidence in the QuickThink Cloud team to help them achieve what was previously challenging, especially regarding system flexibility for scalability.

Cloud Hosting Expertise — While the shared service's internal teams focus on system configuration and development, QuickThink Cloud advise on infrastructure, scaling capabilities and cloud hosting resources.