UK Export Finance
Modernising Central Government
The Client
UK Export Finance (UKEF) is a central government organisation based in London, with around 350 employees.
Its mission is to support UK exporters in winning international business, helping to grow the UK economy.
We’re confident in the support we rely on Node4 for. When it came to deploying a virtual machine, we even had to slow your people down. It took about three hours to deploy whereas other suppliers would have taken about three weeks. It makes you more confident about what’s going on.
The Challenge
UKEF’s outsourced IT services contract had become a barrier to progress. It was inflexible, expensive and unable to keep up with the organisation’s changing needs. Support for legacy systems was inconsistent, and proactive monitoring was missing. Rising costs made the existing partnership unsustainable, prompting UKEF to seek a more efficient alternative—without disrupting critical operations.
Security was also a growing concern. Data was scattered across multiple locations, legacy processes were still in use, and the risk of cyber threats was increasing. UKEF needed a secure, compliant and modern cloud-hosted environment that aligned with Government Digital Service (GDS) standards. Their goal was to standardise systems and build a foundation that was both modern and mature.
The Solution
We worked closely with UKEF to deliver a full cloud transformation. All back-office systems were migrated from legacy datacentres to Microsoft Azure and Office 365. Infrastructure was refreshed with new communication links, and Windows Server and SQL environments were rehosted across multiple versions.
We replaced the centralised model with a disaggregated cloud-based service supported by specialist providers. Key services were moved to a virtual datacentre in Azure, and new management and monitoring tools were introduced to align with GDS cloud strategy.
Security was a top priority. We assessed UKEF’s current posture using proactive vulnerability monitoring, identified medium-high and medium-low risks, and applied immediate patching and fixes. All systems were updated and modernised in line with security legislation. Legacy processes were removed and replaced with agile, secure workflows built on the latest technology.
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The Results
UKEF achieved a 20% cost saving compared to previous vendor partnerships. The new system gave employees greater flexibility and improved scalability, helping future-proof the organisation. Azure optimisation tools were introduced to continuously monitor and manage costs. Security was strengthened with modernised systems and proactive risk management.
Strengthen what matters
The Node4 Difference
We took the time to understand UKEF’s priorities and goals. Our approach was collaborative and focused on delivering a solution that worked for them, not just technically, but operationally and strategically.
“We’re confident in the support we rely on risual for. When it came to deploying a virtual machine, we even had to slow your people down. It took about three hours to deploy whereas other suppliers would have taken about three weeks. It makes you more confident about what’s going on.”
— UK Export Finance
That confidence is what we aim to deliver every time.