SCC and Derbyshire County Council: a new approach to print
SCC is delighted to confirm an expansion of our long-standing partnership with Derbyshire County Council (CC), helping them revolutionise their print management.
For more than a decade, we’ve been proud to support Derbyshire CC in delivering vital services across education, family, leisure, transport and social affairs, services that reach approximately 780,000 people.
With a strong partnership established through multiple projects, our commitment remains steadfast in delivering outcome-driven solutions for Derbyshire CC. One notable initiative we are currently involved in revolves around improving connectivity in children’s homes, with a paramount emphasis on their safety. This project provides children in care equal opportunities to engage with their peers online, while simultaneously enforcing crucial controls and safeguards to protect their well-being.
As a result of our successful collaborations, Derbyshire CC has now sought our expertise to reshape their approach to printing and documents, in response to the dynamic shifts taking place in both the private and public sectors.
Maintaining service quality amid evolving challenges
Derbyshire CC recognised the need to enhance their support for multifunctional devices, realising that their existing print management software had limitations. As their requirements evolved, they no longer needed to prioritise basic on-site functions such as copying, faxing, and printing, and their focus shifted towards the importance of collaboration, availability and productivity. Driven by their core business objectives to maximise operational efficiency and enhance service quality, whilst reducing costs, they sought a more tailored print management solution.
The limitations of their devices were exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As new ways of working emerged and the nature of service delivery changed, Derbyshire CC needed more flexibility, agility and forward-thinking solutions in order to meet challenges felt within many councils across the UK. In particular, they wanted to improve inter-agency collaboration with other councils and public bodies and drive financial savings to meet budget constraints through a new approach. Additionally, they sought to increase ease and productivity of remote and hybrid working, in a way that would still protect data and applications, whilst proactively addressing the growing concern relating to staff retention.
A better print solution that extends county-wide
Derbyshire CC had seen the print management transformation that SCC had provided for two other local authorities in their area: Derby City Council and Nottingham City Council. And as a member of the East Midlands Print Partner Federation, SCC had the opportunity to talk to Derbyshire CC about emulating that success for their multi-functional devices.
We started by conducting a thorough audit and discovery programme, so that we could understand where print management improvements could be made. Through this, we established that their desire to utilise multi-functional devices across all of their sites meant a new partner for print hardware and software was needed.
Based on this information, SCC presented Derbyshire CC with a solution based on the technology of Cirros, an SCC technology partner that specialises in print management. Through this, several functions come together to provide a best-in-class managed print solution, including comprehensive cloud-based management, the Inepro Back Office Suite, automated diagnostics and 24/7 critical incident support.
The end result is that Derbyshire CC now has 250 multi-functional devices implemented across around 200 sites, including its libraries that are equipped with print management software services. This implementation has not only enhanced their ability to collaborate extensively across agencies but has also facilitated work from a wider range of locations, which is crucial for staff attraction and retention.
Additionally, Derbyshire CC has achieved interoperability with devices utilised by other local authorities, further expanding their operational capabilities by enabling print from other locations such as local NHS trusts and police forces. A fully secure cloud-based system ensures that sensitive information is fully protected, and the ability to match print resources to demand optimises the financial efficiency of the set-up.
“We’re always on the lookout for new ways to maximise efficiency and improve the services we deliver to our communities. This has become an even higher priority in recent years, where a combination of budget pressures, security concerns, hybrid working and the need for interoperability emphasises the importance of doing more with less. SCC have built a reputation with us over many years for reliable, professional, high-performance solutions and services, and were a natural choice for us to transform our print management. It’s thanks to them that we’ve been able to develop an approach to print that is fit to serve the needs of a modern, forward-thinking Derbyshire.”
Stephen Harrison, Business Centre Manager, Derbyshire County Council