Swanbury Penglase

The Challenge

Swanbury Penglase's architects and designers depend on fast, reliable technology, large project files, imaging and rendering workloads, and seamless access whether they are in the studio or out on site. As the practice grew, its underlying infrastructure was due for renewal: device management, servers, network switching, wireless, backup and remote access had all reached the point where a coordinated refresh would serve the studio far better than piecemeal upgrades.

Rather than replace things reactively as they aged, Swanbury Penglase chose to invest in a planned, end-to-end modernisation, building a current, secure and scalable foundation for the way the studio works today and intends to grow.

The Solution

InterIntra delivered the refresh as a single, carefully staged program, scheduled around the practice's deadlines and carried out alongside its internal IT team so day-to-day work was never interrupted. The project spanned six stages:

• Modern device management. We moved management of the studio's fleet of computers from legacy on-premise Group Policy to Microsoft Intune, the cloud device-management platform in Microsoft 365, carrying across the settings that matter, including Essential Eight security controls, and giving the practice consistent, centrally managed devices wherever staff work.
• New server and network core. We replaced the ageing server and storage with a new enterprise-grade host, rebuilt the studio's virtual servers on the latest Windows Server, refreshed the core network switching, and protected it all with a new uninterruptible power supply sized to shut systems down safely during an outage.
• Backup and disaster recovery. We deployed an all-in-one business continuity appliance with local and immutable cloud backups and built-in disaster recovery, and moved several terabytes of older project archives into cost-efficient Microsoft Azure cloud storage, keeping them accessible without weighing down the on-site environment.
• Enterprise Wi-Fi. We rolled out Wi-Fi 6 access points across the studio for fast, dependable wireless as device numbers grow.
• Secure remote access. We introduced a next-generation firewall and a modern remote-access VPN secured with Microsoft Entra ID single sign-on, restricting access to managed, enrolled devices so the team can work securely from anywhere.
• Windows 11 rollout. Finally, we rolled out Windows 11 across the fleet through Intune in managed stages, keeping the practice current and fully supported.

The Outcome

Swanbury Penglase now runs on a modern, well-managed and secure technology platform built for a growing design studio. Devices are centrally managed and aligned with the ACSC Essential Eight, servers and networking are current and resilient, backup and disaster recovery are in place, and staff can work securely from the studio or the field on Windows 11. Delivered stage by stage around the practice's workload, the refresh gives Swanbury Penglase a dependable foundation, and a clear path to keep scaling, without the drag of ageing infrastructure.