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Case study · Construction & Plant Hire

Mr Plant Hire: one IT partner across every depot for over 15 years

Mr Plant Hire is a plant and tool hire business established in 1981 and headquartered in Enfield, operating from multiple depots. Dig IT Solutions has provided its complete IT function for more than fifteen years, growing the network, security and cloud platform as the company expanded.

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Mr Plant Hire lorry and access platforms in a depot yard
15+
years supported
Multi-depot
single managed network
M365
email, SharePoint and Teams
EDR
on every workstation
Client
Mr Plant Hire
Relationship
15+ years
Locations
Head office in Enfield and multiple depots

Challenge

The situation

A hire business lives on availability. Hire desks, drivers, technicians and accounts all need the same live view of stock, contracts and customers, and every depot has to be able to reach it whether or not the head office is open.

As the company grew, it added depots, staff working remotely and a larger fleet of devices. Each addition raised the same questions: how does this site connect securely, how do we keep the data safe and backed up, and who do we call when something breaks?

The business wanted a single point of contact for every IT-related issue rather than a separate broadband company, cabling contractor, software reseller and break-fix technician.

Solution

What we built and how we run it

  1. 01

    Connectivity between depots

    Fast internet connections at each site with site-to-site VPNs, so hire, stock and finance data is shared securely between locations and staff at any depot work from the same systems.

  2. 02

    Cloud email and collaboration

    Microsoft 365 provides email, and a dedicated SharePoint site gives the group a reliable place for shared documents, replacing emailed attachments and duplicate copies.

  3. 03

    Servers, backup and recovery

    Windows servers handle applications and additional file storage. Backups run several times a day to local storage and are replicated to the cloud, so a failed server or a ransomware event is recoverable.

  4. 04

    Secure remote working

    Teleworker gateways give remote employees secure, straightforward access to the network. Workstations are protected by EDR, which can isolate a device immediately if a threat is detected.

  5. 05

    Monitoring and patching

    Remote management software monitors PC performance and controls Windows updates, so systems stay current with security patches without disrupting the hire desks.

  6. 06

    Wi-Fi and cabling

    UniFi access points were deployed across branches to give technicians and drivers reliable connectivity in yards and workshops, and Dig IT installed the cabling, including fibre, to provide a robust wired backbone.

Environment

The technical picture

  • Microsoft 365 for email, with a dedicated SharePoint site for inter-company document sharing
  • Windows servers running applications and additional file storage
  • Site-to-site VPNs connecting depots over business-grade internet connections
  • Teleworker gateways giving remote staff secure access to the company network
  • Endpoint detection and response (EDR) on every workstation
  • Remote monitoring and management for performance and Windows update control
  • UniFi Wi-Fi access points across branches for technicians and drivers
  • Structured and fibre optic cabling installed by Dig IT
  • Backups taken multiple times a day locally and replicated to the cloud

Outcomes

  • Every depot works from the same systems over a secure, managed network
  • Staff at home or on the road connect without workarounds
  • Security and patching are handled automatically, with EDR able to isolate a compromised device
  • Backups exist off-site and are recoverable, not just scheduled
  • One accountable IT partner for connectivity, cabling, cloud, security and support
  • Two Mr Plant Hire branded vehicles parked at a depot
  • Mr Plant Hire depot yard

Services

Services involved

Next step

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