Desynit worked with Macmillan Cancer Support to fill the CA Plex skills gap they were facing. We got involved at short notice to help them save time and reduce the costs that came with the disruption to their ‘business as usual’ processes, as well as their ongoing development programme.
Client overview
Macmillan is a UK cancer charity working to raise money to fund cancer services in partnership with the NHS and other providers. Macmillan raises about £110m through fundraising each year. These donations are recorded on a bespoke fundraising system created using CA Plex, and spent via another bespoke payment system. Both these systems are connected to JD Edwards software and are administered in their London head office.
Why did they need us?
Although Macmillan has the capability in-house to support their existing systems, they recognised that they had a shortfall in their skills and experience of CA Plex to further develop these systems. Macmillan started working with us so we could bring in the expertise they lacked and embed this within their own development team.
What we did
First, we picked up the day-to-day administration and development of the CA Plex business systems after Macmillan no longer had access to their own in-house programming resource. We then took a fresh look at the issues facing the business relating to this system, spoke to the stakeholders and moved these areas of development along, with no lengthy or costly input from Macmillan’s IT personnel.
Why they chose us
Macmillan has had a relationship with Desynit for over 5 years, and continues to work with us as we consistently add value to their systems. Macmillan’s management team believes our work is successful on a number of fronts. They appreciate the fact that our process is absolutely transparent: we always make them aware of what work is being carried out and why. Any issues that are obstructing progress are raised immediately, along with a recommendation of how to overcome any setbacks. In addition, we’ve used the discovery of any discrepancies in Macmillan’s IT environment to start a discussion on how a more robust process can be put in place for the future.
What they said
“In the past, fighting for the budget, support and development of an ageing system has been a challenge, but Desynit have offered value for money on every occasion.”
“When looking at a new area of work, we’ve found that working with Desynit is the best way to bring in expertise and embed it with the development team. It’s also the best way for the team to learn about new methods and techniques, which they would not have otherwise been able to use.”
Jon Hollins,
Senior Business Analyst,
Macmillan Cancer Support