Defence Support Group (DSG) is at the forefront in providing engineering support services, helping Ministry of Defence and the UK Armed Forces deliver their operational outputs. It employs about 3,500 staff in multiple locations throughout the UK. As a result of mergers and reorganisations DSG’s intranet systems were failing to support the needs of the group. The internal team required specialist support to design and implement a new information architecture for the intranet, and to prepare for and undertake the migration and consolidation activities.

We undertook an initial review to gain a detailed understanding of the existing systems. We also spent time analysing business requirements, and documenting technical options available to DSG. To better support changes in organisational structure, we proposed revisions to the information architecture for the new intranet. We also worked on identifying and resolving data duplication issues, recommending and implementing structural improvements to the intranet sites, and designing, developing and testing migration plans. Technical design of the new infrastructure was undertaken and validated, and new governance processes prepared and introduced.

The result was implementation of a new intranet environment and successful migration of all existing intranet sites to the new architecture. Following completion of migration activities, DSG has realised the ambition of being able to provide its employees with access to common internal solutions regardless of their location. The benefits have been increased access to information, improved facilities for search, better communication and collaboration amongst staff, and a decrease in cost of maintenance and support. The governance procedures we introduced have allowed changes, including addition of new capabilities to the intranet, to be made in a well-controlled manner.