Orange Projects

Client overview

Orange Projects is a specialist architecture practice with a team of around 10 people. Like many small, project-led businesses, its people rely heavily on Microsoft 365, SharePoint and secure access to shared files to collaborate effectively and keep client work moving.

Following Equity’s acquisition of M2, Orange Projects became part of the Equity client base. Early conversations with Managing Director Jon Short highlighted two clear priorities: resolving ongoing Microsoft 365 and SharePoint productivity issues and improving cyber security after several years without a full review of the company’s protection.

The Challenge

Orange Projects was experiencing recurring issues with the way SharePoint was being used across the business. Staff were breaking SharePoint syncing rules, which meant files and libraries were not always behaving as expected. This caused frustration, lost time and, in some cases, work needing to be repeated.

For a small architecture practice, the impact was significant. Users were spending time dealing with the same recurring issue and contacting the service desk, while the underlying problem required a more structured review of how SharePoint had been set up and how the team needed to work.

At the same time, Orange Projects needed to strengthen its cyber security. The business did not have the relevant protection in place and its security stack had not been properly reviewed for several years. Jon Short was concerned that one serious cyber incident could have a major impact on the business.

The Solution

Equity delivered a focused improvement programme covering both productivity and security. The first priority was to review and restructure the SharePoint environment so that it better reflected the way the Orange Projects team worked, while reducing the syncing problems that had been disrupting day-to-day activity.

Rather than treating the problem as a series of separate support tickets, Equity took time to understand how the team used Microsoft 365 and SharePoint. This allowed the environment to be redesigned around the business workflow, improving reliability and reducing the risk of further user disruption.

Equity also deployed a cyber security stack to provide stronger protection across users, devices, email and Microsoft 365. This included MDR, Egress, KnowBe4 security awareness training and Microsoft 365 backups, giving Orange Projects a more resilient and better protected IT environment.

The combined approach helped address the immediate productivity issues while also reducing longer-term business risk.

The Outcome

Orange Projects now has a more reliable Microsoft 365 and SharePoint environment that better supports day-to-day collaboration. Users have greater confidence that files will sync properly, work will not be lost and time will not be wasted resolving the same recurring issues.

The work has helped reduce repeat service desk calls and remove a source of frustration for the team. For a small practice, this means people can spend more time focused on client projects and less time dealing with avoidable IT disruption.

The business also has a stronger cyber security posture. MDR now provides 24/7 protection across devices and Microsoft 365, Egress adds an additional layer of mailbox protection, KnowBe4 supports ongoing user awareness, and Microsoft 365 backups improve resilience and recovery confidence.

Overall, Orange Projects has moved from a position of recurring productivity issues and under-reviewed cyber protection to a more dependable, secure and resilient IT environment.