Estu Global Ltd provides world-class skills development training programmes that are aligned with public funding, to remove economic barriers to ensure more individuals and organisations can participate.
https://www.estuglobal.com
“We’ve been so well supported by Paige and the team these past two weeks. They’ve been highly professional, very responsive, friendly, and supportive.
It’s really validated the decision to engage an IT partner, and we’re glad it’s with Lumina.
So just to say thank you really, and that things are off to a great start.”
Chief Operating Officer, Estu Global Ltd
Bruce Storey, Estu Global’s Chief Operating Officer, sat down for an interview with Lumina’s marketing manager, Kerry Turney. They discussed Estu’s decision to engage with an IT provider, why they ended up choosing Lumina, and how Lumina have handled the onboarding process.
Kerry: What was your IT situation like before deciding to engage with Lumina?
Bruce: We’re a relatively small, but fast growing team, so we had not previously engaged with an external IT provider and were trying to do everything in house. So our IT operation was relatively immature.
Kerry: What was it like having no IT support? How did it impact your team’s day-to-day work life?
Bruce: We were finding ourselves spending too much time trying to troubleshoot and figure tech issues out ourselves. What we really needed was a a knowledgeable partner that could take care of that for us, so that we could spend our time working on the business.
Kerry: What was the trigger point that made you seek out an IT partner when you did?
Bruce: We’re going through a period of substantial growth and we recognised that to support this, we needed to optimise our systems and operations; we needed to engage with an IT expert who understood us.
Kerry: What were you initially looking for in an IT partner?
Bruce: Our aspiration was for a full managed service. It was important to find a partner that specialised in working with SMEs as we are one ourselves, and we value more of a strategic partnership with a smaller provider over a more transactional one with a large enterprise. So a mid-market specialist that had a wide range of capabilities and expertise to help us with a variety of different IT challenges.
Kerry: So Lumina met your criteria for everything you wanted in an IT partner?
Bruce: Yes, you certainly did. The fact that you are clearly a mid-market specialist, and you have been in business for a long time with an established track record. But I also want to add that the conversations we had with your Managing Director, Richard were what sealed it. Richard was refreshingly honest and we could tell from very early on in the discovery phase that he would be a pleasure to work with. You want to partner with someone that you like to work with and that was the final deciding factor.
Kerry: You made an excellent choice in choosing us to be your new IT partner [I’m biased of course] and we were very excited to welcome you. How have you found our onboarding process?
Bruce: First of all, we have been really impressed with how thorough and organised Lumina have been. We were introduced to your service desk team and were given a presentation showing how to get the best out of our relationship. That has really helped set us up for a successful engagement. In terms of working with Lumina, you have just taken away all those pain points that we talked about before, where we were getting bogged down in trying to deal with tech issues ourselves. You’ve allowed us to just focus on what we do best which is developing and delivering excellent skills development programmes. You were clear from the start about what the onboarding process involves and how to work with your team, so I would definitely say that the process has been smooth, easy and effortless.
Kerry: That’s fantastic you feel so positive about the onboarding process and our business relationship so far. Developing a personalised, strategic relationship with our clients is one of our USPs, and is one of the reasons why our clients tend to stay in partnership with us for a very long time.
Bruce: Yeah, it feels really good when you engage with a new partner. I tend to find that if it feels like it’s going to be a successful long term relationship from the beginning, then it probably will end up being one. And that’s how we feel about Lumina. We see you as being a long term partner to support us through our growth journey.
Kerry: Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience with working with us so far?
Bruce: I touched on earlier that our initial conversations with Richard was what propelled us to choose Lumina. I also wanted to add that the compliment extends to your wider team. The service team have been a pleasure to deal with, so it wasn’t just Richard being engaging, professional and helpful in isolation. It’s very clear that it has a trickle down effect and that you have a great company culture, and that is something that is really important to us. It’s really validated the decision to engage an IT partner, and we’re glad it’s with Lumina. So just to say thank you really, and that things are off to a great start.
“I felt looked after”
“I had confidence in Lumina”
“I was kept informed”
Kerry: Would you say that we have fulfilled on our service pledge so far?
Bruce: Lumina have definitely delivered on all three of their pledges, yes.
Lumina Technologies have taken the time to understand the requirements of our business and work as our strategic IT partner, enabling us to concentrate on delivering a high quality service to our clients and focus on our growth strategy. They have delivered a 100% cloud solution to our business with no underlying infrastructure costs or maintenance, which gives us scalability for our planned growth. It also means our business critical applications and data are securely accessible from virtually all our user devices. Lumina’s professional approach and strategic expertise is highly valued and their management of our IT – based on their in-depth knowledge, leaves us confident that our systems are available 24×7.
Luke Harrison
Keidan Harrison LLP
Lumina have supported us so well through the difficult circumstances of 2020. They worked extremely hard to ensure we were able to work remotely and continue to operate our business successfully. The support team are very friendly and knowledgeable, and have excellent response times.
The team have also enhanced our cyber security which is so important in the legal sector, and they continue to provide high quality advice to help us move forward with our IT goals.
Robin Illingworth
Managing Partner, Adams & Remers LLP
The quality of IT Support provided by Lumina Technology is of the highest standard and is complemented by effective client liaison with impressive response times. Trap Oil Group plc has no hesitation in recommending Lumina as a dedicated and specialist group of IT professionals.
Martin David
Technical Director, Trap Oil Group plc
Richard and his team are a real inspiration to anyone who meets them and I have watched Lumina’s growth over the last few years with interest and admiration. Richard has been an amazing supporter of the Hospice of St Francis, being a Gold member of the Corporate Partner Network for almost two years. He takes an active interest in the community and is passionate about his company and his town: nothing is too much trouble, he is always willing to help, to give up his time and to provide business advice when asked. Lumina is an inspiration to any company wanting to set up business in Hertfordshire.
Carolyn Addison
Corporate Fundraising Manager, The Hospice of St Francis
Lumina Technologies Prism Hosted Desktop has allowed our business to centralise our global corporate data, allowing much faster access for all our staff – regardless of their location. We have also been able to simplify and reduce our infrastructure and management overhead. With the new Prism Hosted Desktop solution all staff now have simple and secure access to corporate data using any device they choose. Prism Hosted Desktop has increased the productivity of our staff and given us a single, consistent and familiar experience for all users from any device, in any location, 24/7.
Katherine Roe
Chief Executive Officer, Wentworth Resources PLC
The commercially sensitive and regulated nature of Lambert Energy Advisory’s business requires an IT provider able to maintain the highest levels of integrity and confidentiality, Lumina Technologies has consistently been unimpeachable in this regard over the nine years we have employed them.
Patrick Agar
Lambert Energy Advisory
It has been a great pleasure working with Lumina Technologies over the past two years. They have fully committed to being involved in the local community with volunteering and with professional advice and commitment, helping many local charities along the way. As a growing company it proves that being involved in the local community is helping them attract and retain a talented workforce and I look forward to working with them well into the future.
Cindy Withey
Connect Dacorum
Hawkstone Management Services Ltd is a small company for which IT Outsourcing is realistically the only viable option. Lumina Technologies have successfully performed this role for over fifteen years. They also provide innovative solutions to keep pace with technological progress. I would have no hesitation in recommending Lumina to similar sized businesses.
Stephen Pembury
Hawkstone Management Services Ltd
Charles Douglas Solicitors LLP have been using Lumina Technologies for a number of years now and continue to be impressed by the technical know-how and contemporary knowledge of their senior management, who provide a timely, efficient and friendly service. Whether it is a small issue with one computer, or a strategic IT decision, they maintain a current knowledge of available technologies. Lumina are always at the other end of the phone to help resolve issues and minimise business interference. The technical knowledge of Richard and his senior team means that there has not been a problem that they can’t solve to date. I am sure we will continue to use them in the years to come.
Charles Douglas
Managing Partner, Charles Douglas Solicitors LLP
The team at Lumina Technologies have made the Amoun Travel & Tours office IT transition seamless and problem free. The office set-up has been vastly improved and the IT Support services are flawless. No issue goes unresolved, which is extremely reassuring.
Adam Helmy
Amoun Travel & Tours Ltd
Lumina Technologies has been Salamander Energy plc’s IT provider since start-up in 2005 and has supported us in London during our expansion across operational offices in SE Asia. Their professional approach, strategic advice and close co-operation have been essential in making this a success.
John Bell
Group Technical Director, Salamander Energy plc
Richard and his team at Lumina have provided Perrett Laver Limited with high quality strategic and practical IT Services for over ten years. During this period, Perrett Laver has grown from 10+ colleagues based in London to nearly 100 colleagues located in six offices across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. Richard and the Lumina team have not just been responsive to our ‘everyday’ IT needs, but have proactively sought to work with us on developing an infrastructure suitable for the type of operation we are today, and are planning to be months and years down the line. I would not hesitate to recommend Richard, especially for small to medium size business with growth in mind.
Clementine McKinley
COO, Perrett Laver Limited
Society Limited has been supported by Lumina Technologies since our earliest start-up phase. From large logistical challenges like an office move, through to smaller fiddly issues like fixing a faulty e-template, we know we can count on their support and advice. They’ve also been able to engage with us strategically on the challenge of scaling-up our infrastructure as the firm continues to grow and evolve. We always feel confident going to Lumina with a problem, since we know they genuinely care about sorting things out and helping us to get on with our core business.
Simon Lucas
Managing Director, Society Limited
The Vita Group HQ staff have worked with Richard McBarnet and Lumina Technologies for over 9 years, with Lumina providing all our PC, server, phone, and software support. The services have included C-level executives based in London, Manchester, the US, as well as supporting home office IT as well. The service provided and intellectual capabilities are outstanding and we would highly recommend Richard and his Lumina team.
Joe Menendez
CEO, The Vita Group
We worked with Lumina on a GDPR Audit. Richard was knowledgeable and professional throughout, and did the best he could to bring a dry topic to life through lots of real life examples and analogies. We were so impressed with the service Lumina provided and the value we got from partnering with them on this project – we couldn’t recommend them enough.
Holly Cottingham, Vintec Laboratories
We’ve been so well supported by Paige and the Lumina team. They’ve been highly professional, very responsive, friendly, supportive. It’s really validated the decision to engage an IT partner, and we’re glad it’s with Lumina.
Bruce Storey
Chief Operating Officer, Estu Global Ltd
