Wisdom Learning looks to Centrered for a brighter IT future
Times change and so do technology requirements. When Canberra-headquartered training solutions provider Wisdom Learning found its IT provider stuck in the past, while it moves to a brighter future, it sought recommendations for a more modern, more strategic partner capable of roadmapping the way forward with modern technology and ways of working. Wisdom Learning is a Registered Training Organisation and when Wisdom found Centrered, the two companies set about forging a relationship of trust and mutual understanding where technology is an enabler for delivering training empowering businesses and other organisations across Australia.
Wisdom Learning is an award-winning training organisation with a vision to help people and organisations reach their full potential through providing real world, outcomes-focused training. The company provides tailored, quality learning solutions and experiences, face to face, digitally or blended for clients in Canberra and across Australia through a team of industry expert learning professionals with relevant qualifications and extensive experience.
Situation
Recognising inexorable demand for talent and skill in a world where job requirements continually evolve, Wisdom Learning is a rapidly growing business with serious ambition. While it had been with an existing Managed Services Provider for an extended period, it was becoming clear that this business was not capable of meeting Wisdom’s expanding scale. “While notionally capable of meeting our growing requirements as we added more staff and reached out further to new clients around the country, the reality was they couldn’t,” explains Wisdom Learning CEO Jana Clyde. “The upshot of that was that we had to continually ask and push for the support and assistance we required. It was clear they just didn’t have the systems, people and processes to meet our expanding needs.”
Clyde adds that as a values-led organisation, Wisdom itself goes the extra mile, and expects the same from its suppliers. “Technology is changing, too, and a lot of that change is beneficial to an organisation like ours. For example, cloud technology is essential in delivering our learning solutions online, and strategies like the Essential 8 are essential for security and reputation, particularly when working with government clients. As a growing company, we need scalable systems which meet our immediate needs today but will expand as we do. So we wanted a partner which wouldn’t just keep the lights on, but provide advice and guidance on existing and emerging technologies which could benefit our business.”
Solution
Sometimes the old ways are best in sourcing quality services. That was certainly the case for Wisdom Learning. Partnering with fellow Canberra company Providence Consulting on several projects, Clyde quizzed the company on potential candidates for handling her IT requirements. “He said ‘go no further than Centrered.”
That’s exactly what Clyde did.
Handovers are often challenging times, but they also set the scene for what happens when complex problems arise. With IT being IT, complex problems are the name of the game. With pressing needs across the business, she says the previous provider showed integrity by working effectively with Centrered. What also quickly emerged is a willingness on Centrered’s part to lean in, listen to feedback and improve systems to work with Wisdom’s existing and emerging expectations. “Honesty is essential in any relationship, and when you see it at the start, it sets the tone,” Clyde explains. “We’re not IT people, and initially we had a quote with multiple line items as part of the handover; we wanted and received clarification on precisely what was meant by each, and the status of those deliverables.”
She says Centrered took the feedback well, adapted to expectations, and got on with delivery. “Now, as we prepare to move our premises, Centrered is highly responsive and in tune with our needs. It does take time to get into a rhythm, and we’ve got to that point.”
Results
The day-to-day running and dependability of its systems is crucial for Wisdom’s success, Clyde notes. It engages with multiple high-profile clients, including government and private sector companies, and therefore a level of professionalism must extend to the digital platforms (including Microsoft 365 and various Learning Management Systems). “Things have definitely improved thanks to Centrered,” she says. “Not only in that essential day-to-day IT delivery, but also in terms of a pragmatic plan going forward.”
Traction and momentum are gathering, with some of the larger, more strategic aspects of IT delivery now coming into sharper focus. “As we now have access to more trusted support and a developing strong relationship where our strategic IT requirements are moving on to the agenda. This includes LMS integration, and some other big pieces of work, as soon as we finish our move to a new modern office space with recording and facilitation studios,” Clyde smiles.
Seeing the bigger picture becoming clearer, along with gaining traction on important basics like the Essential 8 security principles, contributes to growing trust. Clyde says Wisdom now has a partner it can work with for optimal delivery of IT services and support which allow a focus on what really matters: delivering high quality, dependable learning solutions that empower Australian business to do better.
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