Benenden Health

Using cloud services to offer 24/7 GP support.

The Client

Benenden Health offers high-quality, private healthcare at the same affordable cost for everyone.

This includes round-the-clock care such as 24/7 GP and mental health helplines, plus speedy access to services such as physiotherapy and medical treatment. As a not-for-profit organisation, Benenden Health’s focus is to offer support to its 800,000+ members at the same affordable cost of just £11.50 per person, per month.

Node4 gave us a stable platform, which helped us to focus on other areas of the business first. After solidifying where we were internally, we were then able to look at the long-term strategy for providing key services to our members.

Chris Mullins

Head Of IT at Benenden Health

The Challenge

Benenden Health was growing fast, but its existing IT infrastructure couldn’t keep up. Provisioning new capabilities took too long, and the platform lacked the scalability and resilience needed to support future growth. The organisation recognised the need for a complete digital transformation—one that would modernise its systems, reduce lead times, and ensure secure handling of sensitive patient data.

The Solution

We worked with Benenden Health to redesign its IT infrastructure using a hybrid cloud and disaster recovery (DR) solution. This cloud-first architecture, supported by Microsoft Azure and Office 365, gave the organisation a stable, scalable platform. It allowed Benenden Health to focus on strategic goals while we handled the technical foundation.

“The first stage in our journey was to take a step back and look at exactly what was available to us,” said Chris Mullins, Head of IT at Benenden Health. “Node4 gave us a stable platform, which helped us to focus on other areas of the business first. After solidifying where we were internally, we were then able to look at the long-term strategy for providing key services to our members.”

Security was a priority. With sensitive patient data at stake, Benenden Health needed a highly accredited provider. We ensured its infrastructure was DR-capable and fully secure, acting as an extension of its core IT team.

“It was important to us that we gain a partner that works as an extension of our core IT team, and that is what we have found in Node4,” said Chris.

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The Results

The migration was completed over a weekend with no disruption to users, meaning that Benenden Health is now cloud-first and future-ready. It can adopt new technologies quickly and confidently.

“We no longer have to worry about trivial things such as whether there is enough RAM,” explained Chris. “It’s all taken out of our hands – Node4 looks after it all. The biggest benefit though, is that our users haven’t noticed a difference.”

During the pandemic, our solutions enabled Benenden Health to scale rapidly and support remote working. With backend applications hosted by us, the organisation avoided deploying IT staff onsite, reducing risk and maintaining service continuity. Our MPLS network ensured reliable connectivity between Benenden Hospital and the wider organisation.

Initial DR failover tests showed a major improvement, with recovery times under five minutes to our Northampton site and we’re working to make that even faster.

“Thanks to Node4, we are now on the ‘front foot’, rather than being reactive,” said Chris. “When the business wants us to move in a different direction, we are able to do it without a challenge. The risks involved were definitely worth taking.”

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The Node4 Difference

By delivering a secure, scalable and resilient platform, we’ve helped Benenden Health shift from reactive to proactive. Our partnership means they can focus on delivering exceptional care, while we take care of the technology.

“As we move into a cloud-driven approach, it is reassuring to know that we have a fully scalable platform that will support our digital transformation initiatives, ensuring that our members are provided with a modernised and always-on experience,” said Chris.