CASE STUDY | LDA DESIGN
LDA Design is a leading landscape architecture, design and planning consultancy with onwards of 200 employees across the UK. They occupy eight studios spanning the UK, including London, Manchester, Glasgow, Oxford, Bristol, Cambridge, Exeter and Peterborough. LDA works on complex regeneration, infrastructure and public-realm projects, meaning their work requires seamless collaboration, reliable access to high-performance tools and secure project data management across locations.
LDA Design required a scalable and consistent IT environment capable of supporting a large, multi-office workforce operating across complex design and planning projects. With more than 200 users, multiple locations and high data demands, their infrastructure needed to be resilient and standardised, while remaining flexible enough to support growth and evolving ways of working.
CASE STUDY | LDA DESIGN
Our engineers worked closely with LDA Design over several years, delivering a structured programme of improvements to their infrastructure. This began with a rolling, three-year cycle of device re-imaging across more than 200 computers, taking systems from Windows 7 to Windows 10 and ultimately Windows 11. Each device was built to a consistent standard with pre-installed software, ensuring security and a uniform user experience across the business.
CASE STUDY | LDA DESIGN
CASE STUDY | LDA DESIGN
When LDA Design suffered a ransomware incident affecting over 110TB of data, our team acted quickly to restore operations. We successfully recovered the affected data and rebuilt more than 300 desktops, laptops and thin clients within a matter of days, ensuring the business returned to normal operations at pace.
We modernised their server estate by consolidating 15 physical servers to two high-performance hosts. To further strengthen resilience, we designed a replica data centre, protecting LDA Design against the event of a major outage at the primary site. This was supported by a comprehensive backup solution covering more than 100TB of data with a 12-year retention policy, giving long-term security and peace of mind.
To extend the lifespan of existing hardware and maximise value, we upgraded 120 HP workstations with SSDs across five offices. This significantly improved performance and allowed the organisation to continue using trusted devices for several additional years without compromised productivity.
Remote Working
To support flexible and secure remote working, we deployed an OpenVPN solution for more than 200 users, removing the need for expensive licensing while still delivering scalable access. We also implemented a Nextcloud platform to enable secure file sharing with external clients. Again, using open-source technology to reduce costs without compromising security.
Most recently, we supported LDA Design’s transition away from traditional on-premises workstations by deploying HP Anyware. This enabled physical desktops to be replaced with centrally hosted environments, improving accessibility and performance while modernising how staff access critical applications and tools. As a result, LDA Design gained the ability to support flexible and reliable remote working across the organisation. Staff can now securely access their full desktop environment, applications and files from any location, without dependence on office-based hardware.
What Were The Results?
CASE STUDY | LDA DESIGN
- A secure and resilient foundation, designed to protect data and withstand outages
- Improved system performance and reliability through targeted hardware optimisation
- Significant cost savings achieved through open-source solutions
- High-availability infrastructure supported by replication, disaster-recovery readiness and long-term data retention
- Scalable, future-ready environment built to support growth and evolving ways of working
- Increased confidence for users and leadership through stable and secure systems
100%
of clients report feeling greater confidence and assurance in their
Cyber Security and compliance posture.
92%
of directors say scaling with us feels effortless, with smoother
and faster onboarding experiences for new staff and locations.
89%
of businesses that trust us with their IT remain with us
beyond 5 years, scaling and innovating together.
CASE STUDY | LDA DESIGN
Looking to modernise your IT environment while keeping cost and risk under control? Our experts can help you build a secure, resilient and future-ready foundation with confidence. Get in touch today to start a conversation about achieving the same outcomes for your organisation.