Why awarding bodies trust our excellence

In the awarding body and membership sector, finding a technology partner you trust enough to see you through a series of long-term projects can be challenging. Providers not meeting their SLAs, suppliers going under and project failures are common reasons organisations like yours change suppliers more often than you’d like. And these are all reasons why companies have turned to PSP (that, and our track record in the sector).

When you do find a long-term technology partner with a proven track record in the sector to see you through your digital transformation, it can feel like you’ve struck gold.

While some suppliers may tell you “IT is the same, regardless of the sector”, we completely disagree.
Because of our 15-year experience in the awarding body and education sector (100+ if you combine our team’s individual experience) we instinctively draw on all our knowledge and what we’ve experienced to provide first-class recommendations, spot issues before they arise, and process your company information quickly.

Here’s a breakdown of what we’ve done for awarding bodies for the past 15 years (and why they love us):

• Web Development
• Bespoke Development
• Legacy System Support and Modernisation
• Digital Transformation
• Cybersecurity & Disaster Recovery
• CTO Service

 

Web Development

Awarding body websites are hugely complex compared to a private company’s eCommerce or managed service website. There are lots of page types, content and functionality to consider. Some common features include candidate portals, online learning materials, members-only area and more.

Some of the web projects we’ve worked on for awarding bodies include:

• eCommerce course store with tiered classes based on membership type
• Protected membership areas
• Membership joining and renewing capabilities
• Back-office events management system linked to online booking pages for seminars, exams, events, etc
• Online shops for learning resources
• Website migrations

“Working to a tight project timetable, PSP, our website development partner, took the outline designs from Haymarket and created a new fully responsive website on our EPiServer platform, working with internal and external personnel to deliver data migration, testing, training and deployment.” (Digital Marketing Manager, CIPS, 2015)

 

Bespoke Development

We’ve developed bespoke applications which are both desktop or web-based. One of the bespoke applications we’ve developed for an awarding body was an online examination marking software for a health and safety qualification provider. The system automated and streamlined a large chunk of their exam marking process, removing the need to distribute physical papers and allowing markers to mark them remotely. The system automatically alerts exam administrators to overdue papers, where they can re-assign them with the click of a mouse.

It completely digitised their question paper marking process, allowing them to wave goodbye to manually updating spreadsheets and having to hunt down late papers.

With our VISION platform, we can make bespoke applications for a significantly lower cost and in a much shorter time than if made from scratch. Not only do clients get a unique system for less cost, but the rapid deployment means it can be up and running within a remarkably shorter timeframe.

“The bespoke CRM project was very well managed from start to finish and the end result was able to do exactly what we required it to do. Along the way, we felt our input was taken and incorporated quickly into the development. All in all, I was very pleased.” (Professional Development Project Support”

 

Legacy System Support & Modernisation

Our foundations are built on supporting and enhancing the systems of yesteryear. We provide hands-on technical support for old IT systems to address any issues and keep downtime to a minimum. As well as supporting old IT systems, we’ve modernised them so they integrate with modern technologies and perform faster. 

We’ve looked after critical member management systems that managed the details of almost a million members combined.

We have solved problems for awarding bodies as they arose and future-proofed their legacy systems for the years ahead.

 

Digital Transformation

Currently, we are working on a two-year digital transformation project on behalf of a globally recognised accounting qualification provider.

With our skilful team of Business Analysts, QAs, Developers and Software Testers guided by a dedicated IT Project Manager and Project Governance team, the client placed the project in our trusted hands, where we are mapping out their core finance and operations processes to automate and streamline them through Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Read more about the project here: Digital Transformation Project for Professional Membership Association.

As a digital transformation partner, we work with companies to strategically align their technology with their long-term goals and ensure that their digital infrastructure is robust, scalable and secure, enabling them to innovate and stay competitive.

 

Cybersecurity & Disaster Recovery

During the 2010s, there was an explosion in cybercrime towards businesses and organisations of all sizes. Our cybersecurity and disaster recovery planning kept businesses well protected from any major disruptions during this time.

When there was a wide-scale transition to home-working in 2020, our clients were able to transition from 100-seater offices around the globe to remote workers seamlessly.

 

WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED FOR THEM?

Awarding bodies trust us to deliver their digital projects. But why do they keep coming back to us, and what are some of our successes in the sector?

• Reduction in IT Costs
• Improved User Journeys
• Quick Turnaround
• Test Automation
• Improved Cybersecurity Posture

 

Reduction in IT Costs

An aspect of our service which we pride ourselves most on is our commitment to delivering value for money. A key area of focus for us during a client project is ensuring the solution adds value to the client.
One recent project – an external IT review – saved an association several £100k's per year in IT costs. By consolidating multiple systems, decommissioning unused servers and more, we achieved significant annual savings for the client.

Read more about that project here: PSP Saves Client Several Hundreds Of Thousands PER YEAR in IT Costs

 

Much Improved User Journeys

With a team of business analysts and UI/UX specialists in our team, we know how to analyse and improve user journeys. Your member journey is a major contributing factor to membership retention and acquisition rates.

One website project we did for a chartered institute with members across 180 countries saw their total page views up 20% from the previous year; and unique visitors up 27%.

 

Quick Turnaround for Solutions

Delivering on time is a given for any project or supplier, whatever the industry. However, we pride ourselves on adapting to changing circumstances and still meet the expected quality under tight time constraints.

For example, when the COVID pandemic forced all exam centres to close, one of our clients shifted to predicted grades so their 60,000 candidates could still get a grade despite not sitting exams. If a student failed, they then received a unique voucher code to book a re-sit exam free of charge. The turnaround time from initial discussions to deployment was just four weeks.

“The Coronavirus pandemic created a global challenge as we had exams booked in more than 53 countries with continually changing availability of exam venues. We decided to introduce calculated results with new systems and processes for managing the result management and re-sit process. We set PSP the challenge of modifying systems to accommodate the new ways of working. PSP delivered the solution within a very short time frame; within four weeks of our initial conversations. The experience for our global offices, study centres and students has been seamless.” (Group Professional Manager)

 

Test Automation

Our internal software testing team comprises manual and automated testers, who have all worked on projects for awarding bodies. Once set up, the automated tests run automatically 24/7, saving significant time and improving the accuracy of manual tests.

 

Improved Cybersecurity Posture

We’ve worked on many disaster recovery and cybersecurity strategies. Over the past 12 months, we have been working with an association with 120,000 members and students in over 100 countries to create and implement a long-term cybersecurity strategy.

 

NEED A NEW TECHNOLOGY PARTNER?

Whether you're about to embark on a new digital project or halfway through one now and dissatisfied with your supplier's performance or dependability, talk to our award-winning customer service team to see why awarding bodies trust PSP with their digital projects.

Fill out this short form, or phone: 01775 722377.