The Preventing Violence in the Home provides the urgent intervention and support that victims of domestic violence need to be safe and move on with their lives. The service includes a 24x7 crisis line and call out service as well as innovative programmes such as the Child Crisis team for children who have witnessed violence.

Money and resources are tight. As a not-for-profit organisation funded through a mix of donations and Government contracts, every dollar must be made to count.

Not surprisingly, when CodeBlue came on the scene, the Preventing Violence in the Home's computer systems were beginning to show the symptoms of too much being required of too little for too long.

Preventing Violence in the Home Business Manager, Sandy McConachy, was coming under intense pressure:

"Our computer system was antiquated and unreliable. At the same time the system is mission critical to our effective operations," McConachy says.

"Particularly important is the ability of our staff to access our database. This includes information on all domestic violence incidents. It's where we maintain our case files and is the central clearing house for us to mobilise resources in support of our clients. Plus it's an important reporting tool we use in preparing statistics and reports for Government agencies. When that database goes down, or can't be accessed from a staff member's PC, then it's a critical problem. Lives are literally at stake.

"CodeBlue have been absolutely fantastic. They started with a system audit, which not only identified the major problem areas - for example, our applications had not been properly installed on the server - but also included recommendations on how the system could be made reliable, within the very tight budgets we have to work with.

"Basically they've given us what we needed - a stable network. And this is despite having to wrestle with systems running on different Microsoft operating systems from Windows 95 to Windows XP.

"We now have a realistic plan on what we are going to replace and when, and what it will cost. In the meantime, they've performed absolute miracles keeping us up and running.

"Even more than that, CodeBlue has managed to solve some glaring problems which we knew about, but were at a loss as to how to solve. For example, our security was virtually non-existent. CodeBlue has installed a firewall, and now we have peace of mind knowing our files are secure.

"CodeBlue has also found a very low cost but effective solution to help give us remote access - which is extremely useful when we have to operate off site, such as at a Police station or at a satellite office.

"The CodeBlue team have become just like part of our team. They never complain about the number of times we call them. They just get the job done. Really, they've been absolutely outstanding understanding the constraints of our business and finding solutions. Like our own team they are innovative, flexible and client orientated. Fantastic."

< Back to Case Study list