Background
New owners had recently taken control of an existing care home in the Greater Manchester area. The building already had a complete network and WiFi system in place — but no meaningful technical handover had been provided.
The new owners had not received:
- Network credentials or controller access
- Administrative access to the switching or WiFi
- Reliable documentation of how the network had been designed
- Configuration information for the access points
- A dependable provider to take responsibility for future faults
Parts of the old system may well have continued working, but the new owner could not properly administer, update or confidently support it. For their own peace of mind, they decided to replace the inherited system with a modern network they fully controlled and that could be professionally managed.
The commercial challenge
Reliable connectivity in a care environment supports far more than staff browsing. Cloud care-planning systems, medication records, administration, resident services, connected devices and telephones all rely on the underlying network being stable and supportable.
The real issue here was not simply ageing access points. The larger problem was the lack of ownership, visibility and accountability. Without credentials or documentation, any future fault meant guessing at the cause — and there was no clear provider on the hook to resolve it.
The network solution
Evolution replaced the relevant legacy infrastructure and commissioned a new managed Ubiquiti network from the ground up. The scope included:
- Replacing the existing 24-port PoE switch
- Installing a UniFi Cloud Gateway Ultra
- Installing seven modern Ubiquiti wireless access points
- Configuring the network from scratch under known credentials
- Adopting and configuring the new equipment centrally
- Testing network operation and WiFi coverage across the building
- Establishing ongoing managed network support
The core value here was not simply newer hardware. The project gave the new owners known credentials, proper administrative control, centralised management and a clear support route — with the confidence that the network can now be maintained rather than guessed at.
Ongoing managed network support
Evolution continues to manage and support the network. That includes firmware and software updates, network configuration changes as the home evolves, fault diagnosis, access-point management, remote investigation where possible and on-site support when it isn't.
A significant part of ongoing support is simply helping the client distinguish between an internal network issue and a broadband-provider issue. Having one knowledgeable point of contact who already understands the site removes the usual back-and-forth between multiple providers when something goes wrong.
The telephone problem
Shortly after the network installation, Virgin Media experienced problems while trying to port the care home's existing telephone number from BT. The home needed urgent assistance to keep the phones working.
Because Evolution already understood and managed the underlying network, we attended to assess what could be done and ultimately took responsibility for the telephone system as well. Four VoIP phones were supplied, configured and provisioned, and the phone service is now managed alongside the network.
For the care home, that means one provider is responsible for the internet connection, internal networking, WiFi, VoIP phones, fault diagnosis and ongoing support. When something goes wrong, there is no confusion about who to call.
Result
- Modern managed Ubiquiti network
- UniFi Cloud Gateway Ultra at the core
- Replacement 24-port PoE switching
- Seven new wireless access points
- Known and controlled network credentials
- Centralised network administration
- Ongoing managed support
- Four managed VoIP phones
- One provider supporting both network and phones
- Greater peace of mind for the new owners
The care home now has infrastructure that can be properly administered and supported, and a route to help when something needs attention. Related reading: VOIP Phone Systems in Stockport, Commercial Network Installation and Business Internet Solutions.
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