The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration is a UK cultural charity dedicated to celebrating illustration and visual storytelling. It supports exhibitions, learning programmes and public engagement initiatives, and is preparing to open a new permanent home in Clerkenwell. The organisation operates with a small, hybrid team and a strong creative focus.
As the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration prepared for the opening of its new permanent space, its operational needs were changing significantly. The organisation had outgrown its existing Hosted Desktop environment, which limited flexibility, collaboration and visibility across devices. While Microsoft 365 licensing was already in place, the Centre was unable to fully benefit from tools such as Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive due to a narrowly defined support arrangement.
The team worked across a mix of Windows and Mac devices, many of them part time, with devices largely unmanaged outside the hosted platform. Storage was distributed across multiple cloud services, creating complexity and risk. With a transition to a modern cloud-based infrastructure planned, the Centre required a dependable IT support partner that could provide responsive day-to-day assistance while also offering proactive guidance, security oversight and strategic planning aligned to its hybrid working model.
Qlic IT delivered a structured support and transformation approach designed to provide immediate stability while enabling long-term improvement. Central to the service was a telephone-first support desk, allowing staff to speak directly with an engineer within seconds and resolve issues quickly without unnecessary ticket escalation. All support was delivered by Qlic IT’s in-house team, ensuring continuity, familiarity and consistent service quality.
Alongside reactive support, Qlic IT led the migration from the legacy Hosted Desktop environment to Microsoft 365. This included the consolidation of shared data into SharePoint, the implementation of Entra ID for identity management, and the deployment of Microsoft Intune to provide centralised device management across both Windows and Mac platforms. Devices were secured using endpoint protection, encryption and antivirus controls, supported by defined security baselines and Secure Score improvements within Microsoft 365.
Regular service reviews with a dedicated Technical Account Manager provided insight into performance, security posture and upcoming priorities. The Centre also gained access to the Bigger Brains training platform, supporting staff development in Microsoft 365, compliance and cyber awareness. This approach ensured continuity during change while establishing a scalable, well-governed IT environment.
The new support model provided the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration with a reliable and accessible IT service that aligned with its operational needs and creative culture. Staff benefited from faster issue resolution and clearer support pathways, reducing disruption and improving confidence in day-to-day technology use.
The migration to Microsoft 365 unlocked greater collaboration, improved data visibility and simplified access for hybrid working. Centralised device management and endpoint security significantly strengthened the organisation’s security posture, providing assurance that devices and data were properly protected regardless of location. Consolidated storage and clearer governance reduced complexity and improved operational oversight.
Regular strategic reviews and access to training enabled the Centre to make more informed technology decisions and build internal capability. Overall, IT moved from being a constraint to a dependable platform that supports the organisation’s growth, public opening and long-term vision.
- Reliable, telephone-first IT support with rapid response times
- Successful migration from Hosted Desktop to Microsoft 365
- Centralised device management across Windows and Mac devices
- Improved security through endpoint protection and security baseline
- Enhanced collaboration and hybrid working capability
- Ongoing strategic guidance and user training
