Helping Watford FC CSE Trust create an independent, cloud-based IT environment
Watford FC CSE Trust delivers community-focused programmes connected to Watford FC, with around 55 employees working across the stadium and two community centres at Cedars and Meriden. As the Trust evolved, it needed an IT environment that reflected its own operational needs, rather than relying on the club’s wider technology and support arrangements.
Equity helped the Trust separate from the club’s Microsoft 365 environment, migrate users and data, modernise key infrastructure and create a more independent, supportable cloud platform for day-to-day operations.
The Trust needed to separate its IT environment and support model from Watford FC, giving it greater control over its own users, systems, data and licensing. This required a safe migration to a dedicated not-for-profit Microsoft 365 tenant, while maintaining continuity for staff who continued to work across multiple locations.
At the same time, ageing local infrastructure at Cedars and Meriden needed to be removed or refreshed, including servers, switches, wireless access points and end-user devices. The migration also had to be completed by the club’s 31 March 2026 licensing renewal deadline.
Equity provisioned and configured a new Microsoft 365 tenant for the Trust, then migrated user accounts, mailboxes, data and SharePoint content from the club’s environment. This gave the Trust its own dedicated cloud platform while reducing disruption for users already familiar with Microsoft 365.
The wider project included decommissioning servers at Cedars and Meriden, upgrading network infrastructure at Meriden, and replacing or rebuilding desktops and laptops. Devices were joined to the Trust’s new Azure AD environment and enrolled into Intune, creating a more consistent, manageable and supportable endpoint estate.
Watford FC CSE Trust now has a clearer, more independent and more modern IT environment. Its users, data, mailboxes and collaboration tools sit within the Trust’s own Microsoft 365 tenant, supported by a simplified cloud-first infrastructure model.
By removing unnecessary local servers, refreshing key network equipment and standardising devices through Azure AD and Intune, Equity helped the Trust reduce complexity, improve manageability and create a stronger foundation for secure, productive working across its locations.
Most importantly, the project gave the Trust an IT platform better aligned to how it operates as an independent organisation, with the flexibility to develop its Microsoft cloud environment over time.
Dedicated not-for-profit Microsoft 365 tenant created for the Trust.
Users, mailboxes, data and SharePoint content migrated from the club’s environment.
Local servers decommissioned at Cedars and Meriden.
Network and end-user hardware refreshed to improve supportability.
Devices joined to Azure AD and enrolled into Intune.
Migration completed in line with the 31 March 2026 licensing deadline.
A simpler, more secure and more manageable cloud IT platform established for future operations.