Real businesses, real outcomes

What working with us looks like in practice

Every business we support has a unique story. Some began as small teams with limited resources. Others were growing fast but lacked the technology and support to move forward with confidence. What they all needed was an IT partner that understood their goals, removed the frustration from their day-to-day work, and stayed with them as they grew.

Legal · 40 staff · 20-year partnership

RLK Solicitors: from one shared computer to a fully cloud-driven law firm

How a 20-year IT partnership turned a two-person legal start-up into a 40-staff, multi-million-pound firm operating securely across three offices.

Before working with Initial IT

RLK Solicitors began as a two-person start-up operating from a single room, with both founders sharing one computer to run the entire firm.

As the firm slowly expanded, the limitations of their early setup became obvious. No network, no server, no resilience, and no ability to support more staff without operational friction. Ad-hoc technology decisions began piling up: a standalone PC here, a shared drive there, but nothing was integrated.

Without proper foundations they faced the common pitfalls of growing law firms: data sprawl, slow systems, weak security, and inefficiencies that quietly eat into billable hours.

After working with Initial IT

Over two decades, we’ve supported RLK through every stage of their evolution from two-person start-up to 40-staff firm operating across three offices between Birmingham and London.

Today, all files, email, access policies, devices and security controls are cloud-native, modern and monitored. RLK now operates on a high-performance, secure, enterprise-grade digital environment powering one of the region’s fastest-growing litigation firms.

Milestones we delivered

First small network
Moved from a single shared PC to a properly structured small office network with shared storage, staff accounts, and reliable workflows.
Multi-server infrastructure
Designed and deployed a full-server environment for email, storage, authentication, backups, and workload separation, with the reliability a modern legal practice requires.
Multiple office moves
Managed multiple office moves with minimal disruption and secure connectivity. Staff back online in the new building the same day, nothing lost.
Microsoft 365 cloud migration
Transformed legacy on-premise systems into a fully cloud-managed Microsoft 365 environment to support remote work, mobility and modern collaboration.
Fully managed cloud platform
Centralised identity, security, compliance, endpoint management, backups and threat protection, designed for high-stakes litigation work.

Initial IT has been an invaluable partner for us for over 15 years. Their professionalism and outstanding customer service have significantly enhanced our operations. They are always quick to assist with any issues, and their support during our two major office moves was exceptional. I highly recommend Initial IT for any organisation seeking reliable IT solutions.

Satish Jakhu, Founder & Managing Director, RLK Solicitors

Outcome: A modern, scalable, fully cloud-managed IT platform supporting 40 staff across three offices with the resilience, security and flexibility for continued national growth.

Logistics · 8+ years · Global operation

CTS Wholesale: from outdated, unresponsive provider to global cloud-driven logistics

How a 9-year transformation took CTS Wholesale from a small local warehouse on legacy IT to a global logistics operation running on modern, scalable, secure cloud infrastructure.

Before working with Initial IT

When CTS Wholesale came to us in 2017, they were working with an IT provider that was slow, unresponsive, and stuck firmly in the dark ages. Nothing was proactive. Nothing was modern. Systems were outdated, support was reactive at best, and CTS lacked the infrastructure needed to grow beyond a small local warehousing operation.

Their environment made expansion risky. Technology couldn’t scale, wasn’t secure, and offered no strategic guidance. Exactly what a business with rapidly growing operational demands couldn’t afford.

After working with Initial IT

Since 2017 we’ve guided CTS Wholesale through every stage of evolution, from local warehouse to a large global logistics company on modern, scalable, secure IT.

Today the business operates entirely in the cloud, fully managed and fully secure, with modern identity, data loss prevention and productivity tools woven into daily operations.

Milestones we delivered

Multiple warehouse expansions
Built the IT infrastructure supporting every new warehouse, ensuring capacity, resilience and centralised management.
Company rebrand and name change
Handled the full technology transition including email domains, systems, identity and communication changes.
Two full server migrations
Designed and executed both major infrastructure refreshes, ensuring uptime, better performance and forward-looking scalability.
Microsoft 365 cloud transformation
Migrated to fully cloud-managed Microsoft 365 with modern identity, DLP and integrated productivity tools.
Centralised device, identity and security estate
Predictable security baseline, zero-touch deployments and modern management designed for high-scale logistics.

We’ve been working with Andy and the team at Initial IT for over 8 years now, and I honestly couldn’t recommend them more highly. Most recently they completed a seamless Microsoft 365 migration, configured Intune to better manage our devices, and carried out a full Wi-Fi upgrade across our site. Every part of the process was handled with care, clear communication, and zero disruption to operations. Exactly what you want from an IT partner.

Charles Mills, IT Manager, CTS Wholesale

Outcome: A global-ready IT platform built for high availability, rapid growth and seamless logistics operations supporting global expansion.

Retail / Commercial · Active compromise · Full security uplift

The Carat Shop: from compromised systems to secure, controlled and protected

How we took a business that had already been hit by email hijacks and website compromise to a secure, monitored, well-controlled IT platform that protects revenue and restores confidence.

Before working with Initial IT

Before engaging us, The Carat Shop’s IT environment was not just inefficient, it was actively compromised. Email used legacy POP/IMAP with no MFA, no central security monitoring and no consistent policies. The business had already suffered email account hijacks and website compromise, creating real risk of impersonation, invoice interception and fraud.

Business data was scattered across personal OneDrive, Dropbox and Google Drive accounts, often shared informally with no clear ownership. In some cases, former employees still retained access. Devices were unmanaged, inconsistently protected, and at least one staff laptop had previously been compromised.

From a leadership perspective there was no clear visibility of risk, only the knowledge that the business was exposed.

After working with Initial IT

The Carat Shop moved from a compromised and uncertain position to one that is secure, monitored and under control.

IT is no longer a constant concern. Instead of reacting to incidents and unknown risks, The Carat Shop now operates with a clear security baseline, a live risk register and a planned roadmap for continuous improvement.

Milestones we delivered

Email migrated to secured Microsoft 365
Moved email into Microsoft 365 with enforced MFA, modern security policies and continuous monitoring. Insecure legacy access methods removed, closing off the attack paths previously exploited.
Email compromise stopped
Since these controls were put in place, email compromise has stopped and spam and malicious email levels dropped significantly, restoring confidence in everyday communication.
Centrally managed devices
All devices now centrally managed with consistent antivirus, patching and security baselines. Removed blind spots and reduced malware/ransomware risk, ensuring every computer accessing company systems meets a defined security standard.
Data brought under proper control
Business data brought under control using Microsoft 365 with structured, auditable access. Leadership now has clear visibility of where data lives, who can access it and how it is protected.
Live risk register and roadmap
Continuous-improvement security programme with quarterly reviews, ongoing posture management and a live record of business risk.

Everyone is adjusting to the new systems now, and everything seems to be working really well. The team have found the IT support genuinely helpful. One of the most noticeable improvements has been the reduction in spam emails. Since moving to the new system we’ve not had any spam issues, which is a huge improvement and gives us much more confidence in our email security. Having clear support, quick responses, and systems that just work has taken a lot of pressure off the team and allowed us to focus on running the business.

Erin Reilly, Managing Director, The Carat Shop

Outcome: A secure, monitored and well-controlled IT platform that protects revenue, restores confidence, and supports the business as it grows.

Health-Tech / Social Care · 75%+ UK councils · 2-year partnership

Just Checking: from fragile Google Workspace to a Cyber Essentials, Microsoft 365 platform

How a 2-year IT partnership took Just Checking from a creaking collaboration setup at the heart of UK adult social care to a secure, integrated Microsoft 365 environment with Cyber Essentials accreditation.

Before working with Initial IT

Just Checking provides the discrete activity-monitoring service used by more than 75% of UK councils to support adult social care decisions, but their internal IT was working against them.

Email and collaboration ran on Google Workspace, increasingly out of step with their Microsoft-heavy customers, partners and supply chain. External document collaboration was painful, identity and device management was fragmented, and there was no clear path to the security accreditations public-sector buyers were starting to expect.

For a business this critical to the care of vulnerable adults, “good enough” wasn’t going to be good enough for much longer.

After working with Initial IT

Today Just Checking runs on a fully managed Microsoft 365 platform: email, identity, devices, files and Teams under one roof, aligned to the standards their council clients already work to.

The business is now Cyber Essentials accredited, with a clear, evidenced baseline for MFA, device hygiene, patching and access control that procurement teams can sign off without drama.

Milestones we delivered

Discovery and migration plan
Mapped every mailbox, shared drive, group and external dependency before touching production. No surprises, no late-stage scope changes.
Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration
Moved mailboxes, calendars and contacts from Google Workspace into Microsoft 365 with no downtime, and federated identity into Microsoft Entra ID.
SharePoint and Teams rollout
Replaced Google Drive sprawl with structured SharePoint sites and Teams channels, giving the business proper file ownership, versioning and external sharing controls.
Endpoint management with Intune
Brought every device under central management with consistent security baselines, MFA and conditional access, removing the unmanaged-laptop blind spot.
Cyber Essentials accreditation
Closed remaining gaps, evidenced the controls and achieved Cyber Essentials certification, unlocking the conversations Just Checking needed to have with public-sector buyers.

What we wanted from Initial IT was a partner who answers the phone, owns the problem and gets it fixed without us having to manage them. That’s exactly what we got. The Microsoft 365 migration was the smoothest IT change we’ve done, and the Cyber Essentials work means we can have grown-up conversations with procurement teams without scrambling at the last minute.

Matt Creak, Technical Director, Just Checking

Outcome: A fully cloud-native, Microsoft 365-aligned and Cyber Essentials-accredited IT platform, keeping a critical adult social care service secure, scalable and audit-ready.

Want a referenceable conversation in your industry? Mention it on the IT review, we can usually arrange a 15-minute peer chat with a current client.