How WikiTech replaced a failing IT provider, migrated Ferns Group entirely to the cloud in 60 days, and became a long-term technology partner for a £150m infrastructure business.
Ferns Group had been with a large managed IT provider for years. On paper, the contract looked reasonable. In practice, the relationship had broken down. SLAs were regularly missed, tickets sat unresolved for hours, and the helpdesk lacked the technical depth to handle anything beyond basic issues.
For a business with 300 users across multiple operational sites, unreliable IT wasn’t a minor inconvenience, it was a direct cost. The rigidity of the ticketing system meant that even straightforward, urgent issues like a locked account or a password reset required a formal ticket submission and an unpredictable wait.
Ferns were introduced to WikiTech by an existing client who had seen the difference first-hand. The recommendation led to an initial conversation with Ben, and it quickly became clear that a different approach was possible.
Response time commitments weren’t being met. Issues sat in the queue while the business waited.
First-line staff couldn’t resolve technical issues. Escalations were slow and accountability was unclear.
A locked account or password reset, things that take minutes to fix, required a formal ticket and a long wait.
Services had accumulated over the years. Many were unnecessary, outdated, or duplicated, and still being billed for.
WikiTech took over fully and immediately. The first priority was a thorough audit: stripping out unnecessary services and building a clear picture of what needed to change. What followed was one of the most comprehensive migrations WikiTech has delivered.
Ferns’ on-premises Exchange environment was migrated to Microsoft 365, giving 300 users access to modern email, shared calendars, and mobile access, with the reliability and security of Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure behind it.
Physical on-site servers were decommissioned and workloads migrated to cloud-based alternatives. This removed the cost and maintenance burden of ageing hardware while providing the scalability Ferns needed to grow without predicting infrastructure spend years in advance.
All company devices were enrolled in Microsoft Intune and joined to Azure Active Directory. Compliance policies were applied across the estate, giving IT visibility and control over every device, and ensuring remote workers are held to the same security standards as office staff.
Teams and SharePoint were deployed and configured as the primary collaboration and document management platform. Staff across multiple sites gained a single place to communicate, share files, and work together, significantly reducing email volume and the confusion of multiple file storage systems.
Ferns continue to develop their use of Power BI to surface operational data as meaningful, actionable reporting. Rather than exporting spreadsheets and building manual reports, key metrics are now available in real time to the people who need them.
A full audit of existing services identified significant cost and complexity that had built up over time. Unnecessary licences, redundant services, and outdated tooling were removed, replacing a bloated, unpredictable infrastructure bill with a leaner, predictable cost model.
A migration of this scale (Exchange, cloud servers, 300 devices, Intune, Azure AD) typically takes months. WikiTech delivered it in 60 days, planned and sequenced so that Ferns’ operations were never interrupted.
Full inventory of existing infrastructure, services, and licences. Removal of unnecessary costs begins immediately.
300 mailboxes migrated to Microsoft 365. Teams and SharePoint deployed and configured for all sites.
On-premises servers decommissioned and workloads moved to cloud. All devices enrolled in Intune with compliance policies applied.
Full documentation produced. Support contract live. WikiTech becomes the single point of contact for all IT across Ferns’ sites.
Three years ago our IT was a constant source of frustration: slow response times, missed SLAs, and a helpdesk that couldn’t fix basic issues without a ticket and a long wait. WikiTech changed that from day one. The migration was complex but they delivered it without disrupting the business. Now I call Ben direct when something needs sorting, and it gets sorted. They’ve moved us entirely to the cloud, improved how our teams work together, and built tools that have genuinely made us more efficient. They feel less like a supplier and more like part of our team.
As the relationship deepened, it became clear that technology could do more than just keep the lights on. Ferns’ vehicle fleet compliance process was manual, time-consuming, and reliant on staff manually cross-referencing data across multiple systems.
WikiTech designed and built a bespoke vehicle checking application to replace the manual process entirely. The app integrates directly with Ferns’ hire and fleet management system for maintenance and repair records, and connects to the DVLA API to pull live vehicle data (MOT status, tax, and registration details) automatically.
What previously required staff to manually check and log compliance data across multiple sources is now automated. Ferns get accurate, real-time compliance visibility across the fleet, and the time that was being spent on manual checks is freed up for higher-value work.
This is what a Technical Account Manager who is also an engineer looks like in practice: understanding the business well enough to spot where technology can genuinely help, and being capable of building it.
Custom built by WikiTech for Ferns Group
Three years in, WikiTech’s relationship with Ferns Group has grown well beyond day-to-day IT support. Quarterly Technical Account Manager reviews keep strategy aligned: reviewing the technology roadmap, identifying where automation or new tooling could reduce cost or improve efficiency, and making sure the infrastructure scales as the business grows.
The custom vehicle compliance app is one example of what that partnership looks like in practice. When Ferns identify a process that’s costing time or money, the conversation starts with Ben, and if technology can fix it properly, WikiTech builds it.
Every WikiTech client has a dedicated TAM: a senior engineer, not a sales contact. For Ferns Group, that’s Ben Wicken. He knows their infrastructure, their team, and their business goals. When Harry calls, Ben answers.
Quarterly TAM reviews keep the technology strategy aligned with where the business is heading. New tooling, automation, custom development: it only gets proposed if it genuinely fits.
Managing Director & TAM, Ferns Group
If your IT provider is missing SLAs, lacks technical depth, or treats every call as a transaction, it might be time for a conversation.
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