Based in Northwich, Cheshire, Frank Roberts & Sons is a fourth-generation family bakery business founded in 1887 by Robert Roberts. With over 800 employees across two sites, Frank Roberts & Sons is proud to play an important part in the local community and its heartland areas. The range of products it has produced over the years has grown considerably, and the business prides itself on being innovative and forward thinking, using high quality ingredients – so it’s essential that the organisation’s IT environment supports its growth.
Business Challenge
In 2018 the business decided to embark on a journey of digital transformation and move many key on-premises hardware systems into the cloud. This involved rationalisation of equipment, transitions of on-premises hardware to hybrid cloud systems, retirement of old devices and continuous improvements of other key systems and processes.
The Solution
Through ongoing technical support and advice, Frontline quickly became an extension of the Frank Roberts & Sons IT Department, supporting the in-house team to streamline infrastructure and make processes become more robust, reliable and future-ready. Modernisation included analysing and replacing network infrastructure across the site, rationalising and transforming the virtualisation platforms and moving services into the Public and Private Cloud. Frank Roberts also now benefits from a fully Managed IT Service from Frontline and 24/7 monitoring ensures that little or no downtime is experienced – meaning machinery remains operational at all times…and loaves are baked!
‘We needed a partner who could provide us with reliable and compliant support 24/7. We turned to Frontline for this service to ensure that everything was accurate, timely and done properly. We’ve developed a great partnership with the Frontline team over the years and they continually demonstrate their expertise and knowledge – ensuring that our infrastructure and assets are kept reliable and secure.’ Alex MacMillan, Head Of Information Technology
Key Outcomes
- Power consumption was reduced by 50% in 9 months
- Migration of Microsoft 365 estate into a Frontline managed portal and securing preferential pricing for 12 months (due to Frontline’s Microsoft Gold Partner status)
- Old and sometimes unnecessary hardware was decommissioned
- Server racks were reorganised to improve clarity and supportability
- UPS power protection installed – eliminating risks of accidental interruption of service and preventing surges in the network
- Both teams meet on a weekly basis to identify, discuss and implement continuous improvement
