Modernising the technology behind an established business

Fairbourne helped establish a Microsoft 365 environment built around individual business identities rather than relying on a mixture of personal-style accounts, shared access and older ways of working.

Email was migrated from the previous POP-based environment to Exchange Online, including existing mailbox history.

Shared business addresses were retained as shared mailboxes where appropriate, while individual users gained their own Microsoft identities.

Microsoft Teams was also introduced as part of the environment, giving people a business platform for communication and collaboration and allowing them to work with customers and colleagues using their own business identity.

The result is a more coherent foundation for email, identity and collaboration without removing useful shared business addresses or familiar ways of working where they still make sense.

Around 60 GB of business files had previously been held on local network storage.

Fairbourne migrated this information into SharePoint, reducing reliance on locally stored data and making shared business information part of the wider Microsoft 365 environment.

This was more than simply copying files from one location to another. It brought email, identities, collaboration and shared information into a more joined-up business environment that can continue to develop as Bullmans' needs change.

The original conversation with Bullmans had been about computers, and devices remained an important part of the wider work.

Fairbourne migrated and configured devices for the new environment, including updating three machines where improvements were needed.

Looking beyond the individual computers also identified opportunities to improve the existing on-site network configuration.

Fairbourne made changes to the network and introduced more appropriate network and security policies, providing a better foundation for the devices and cloud services now being used across the business.

Rather than treating computers, connectivity, Microsoft 365 and security as separate products, the work considered how the different parts of the business technology environment needed to operate together.

Over time, Bullmans had accumulated around 20 domain names, including domains held to protect existing brands and others associated with different parts of the business.

These had been managed through an agency, with relatively high ongoing renewal costs.

Fairbourne reviewed the domain estate and moved the domains into Cloudflare, bringing them under clearer customer control and substantially reducing the ongoing cost of maintaining them.

Where appropriate, domains were also routed to the relevant existing Bullmans websites rather than simply being left unused.

The work reflects a broader Fairbourne principle: important digital assets such as domains should remain under the customer's control wherever practical rather than creating unnecessary dependency on a supplier.

Bullmans operates several brands and websites, and replacing existing suppliers was neither necessary nor the objective.

The main Bullmans Containers and All Containers websites continue to be managed by their existing agencies.

Fairbourne has worked alongside those suppliers where required, coordinating activities including domain and DNS changes and helping Bullmans maintain control of the wider digital environment.

Analytics and measurement have also been improved to give the business greater visibility of how its websites are being used.

The approach is deliberately pragmatic: retain existing supplier relationships where they continue to add value, while making sure the customer retains appropriate control and visibility across the overall technology estate.

One part of the domain estate presented an opportunity to do something different.

Rather than immediately investing in another large website, Fairbourne created a lightweight website for Container Conversions using appropriate existing content and assets from the Bullmans and All Containers businesses.

The aim was to test a third digital proposition in a proportionate way, creating a credible presence without unnecessary complexity or investment before there was evidence of customer demand.

The site is already generating enquiries and gaining useful visibility in relevant organic search results.

That provides Bullmans with real-world evidence about the opportunity and a foundation that can be developed further if the proposition justifies additional investment.

Modernising technology is not only about configuring systems.

Fairbourne worked with the Bullmans team throughout the transition, introducing new tools and ways of working while retaining familiar processes where there was no worthwhile reason to change them.

Changes to Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, devices and the wider environment were introduced around the needs of the operating business rather than treating the technology project in isolation.

Practical support through the transition helped make the new environment part of everyday working rather than simply installing technology and handing it over.