Version 1 Delivers Successful Cloud Migration and Ongoing Managed Service for Cafcass

Version 1 are #1 Global Microsoft Partner for Modernizing Applications

Cafcass (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) is a non-departmental public body in England set up to promote the welfare of children and families involved in family court.

It was formed in April 2001 under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 and is accountable to Parliament through the Ministry of Justice. Cafcass is independent of the courts, social services, education, health authorities and all similar agencies.

Client Profile
Cafcass (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service)
Established:
2001
Client Since:
2017
Employees:
Approx. 2000
Industry:
Non-departmental government body
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“In Version 1, Cafcass has a true partner. Our organisation’s mission-critical systems have been moved off-premise to the cloud which has resulted in very positive financial and efficiency savings which are extremely important for managing an ever-increasing demand for our services. However, the relationship also resulted in further positive benefits as we have found in Version 1 a partner who really cares about our organisation, displaying empathy to our needs and priorities.”
- Robert Langley, CIO of Cafcass

Customer Relationship

Cafcass awarded Version 1 a ‘Case Management Application Managed Service’ contract in March 2017 to enhance its core business systems. Version 1 was awarded the contract based on a very close alignment to the customer’s requirements in terms of key skills, experience and willingness to deliver results as part of a robust KPI regime. From the beginning of the contract to current date, Version 1 and Cafcass have had a very strong customer relationship based on successful delivery as per the robust KPI regime, effective communication, shared values and Version 1’s empathy towards the customer’s needs and priorities.

Case Management Application Managed Service

The Cafcass case management system is utilised by 2,000 staff across 35 sites in England to undertake the activities of the organisation that promotes the welfare of children and families involved in family court proceedings. Version 1 is responsible for support of the applications, databases and underlying infrastructure and provides ongoing development and enhancement of the system.

Data Centre Migration to Microsoft Azure

As part of the contract, Version 1 migrated the case management system (based on Microsoft SharePoint 2010) from the datacentre of the existing support provider to Microsoft Azure.

Azure provided the best-fit Cloud solution to meet the specific demands of Cafcass for availability, performance, security, and functionality, allowing them to leverage both Platform and Infrastructure-as-a-Service capabilities.

Maintaining the availability and correct functioning of the case management system through this transition was essential for the everyday running of the Cafcass statutory function, which is set up to assist children and young people who are going through care or adoption proceedings, or whose parents have separated and are unable to agree about future arrangements for their children.

Real Differences Delivered

True Partnership

As part of the ongoing contract with Cafcass, Version 1 has successfully migrated the on-premise case management system based on Microsoft SharePoint 2010 from the datacentre of the existing support provider to Microsoft Azure. This realised the following real business benefits for Cafcass:

  • Adoption of the new cloud-based systems running on Microsoft Azure
  • Financial savings of approximately 40% in running costs for Cafcass, re-routing budget for such a critical service to other areas of the budget – meaning more finances for services at the front-line
  • Savings of two full-time-equivalents (2 FTE) was a recent output of only one modification – meaning these employees can focus on more important areas of the Cafcass business objectives
  • Successfully moved off-premise and to the cloud before the cut-off date, which ensured the customer’s organisation was compliant with legislative deadlines
  • Gained a true understanding of the customer’s business and IT challenges in order to solve them quickly, accurately and efficiently, enabling Cafcass stakeholders to focus on higher-priority business objectives
“Version 1 is a partner who understands Cafcass and gets to the bottom of problems accurately and efficiently, more so than any supplier we would have engaged with previously. Cafcass represents children in family court cases in England. We put children’s needs, wishes and feelings first, making sure that children’s voices are heard at the heart of the family court setting, and that decisions are made in their best interests. Our duty is to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and families in an extremely hard time of their lives – last year (2017-18) the number of which exceeded 130,000. It is extremely important for our organisation to be as financially wise and efficient as possible as there is a constant demand for our services.
- Robert Langley, CIO of Cafcass

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