Client Overview
Jersey based Hawksford International is a leading independent wealth structuring company with the expertise, experience and resource to create and manage structures that withstand the challenges of today's demanding global environment.
Hawksford International has been through major technology improvements due to the expansion of the business. In particular, the Microsoft back office product suite was updated to the latest versions such as Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Active Directory 2008, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft System Centre 2007.
Matthew Wilkinson, Associate Director at Hawksford International explains what new challenges faced him due to the upgrade.
What issues did you face trying to up skill your engineers to support the new technologies implemented?
It was difficult trying to plan the work schedules of our IT team in order to for them to be away from the office for training. It is also always important to provide the best training available that would benefit not only the individual but the organisation as well.
Practice-IT Training Services helped by identifying my team’s training needs and presenting a flexible way to deliver it. As a bonus, which I believe to now be invaluable, they were able to demonstrate how effective the training was.
Why did you choose Practice-IT Training Services to help you resolve your situation?
One of the key reasons Hawksford International chose Practice-IT as their IT training partner was their fresh approach to developing IT Skills. Having the ability to define and assess skills in their SMART tool really helped to pinpoint the gaps in the team’s knowledge. This coupled with their knowledge of the IT department really helped in defining a solution that met our needs. I also believe in their continuous learning and practical skills development approach. The use of the online labs enables both of those concepts to flourish.
Effects the training has had on the business?
Practice IT’s approach to Hawksford’s requirements has now enabled greater skills within the team and has given greater confidence to them in dealing with issues. The key return on investment has been enabling us to deal internally with the issues confidently without the need to pay an external provider.
Would you use Practice-IT Training Services again?
Hawksford International has identified Practice-IT Training Services as a strategic partner for the learning and development of the IT department. We are already in discussions around our training initiatives for 2011. In fact, Practice-IT has already assisted us with a skills review of the IT team and this detail will form part of the individuals in our performance reviews.