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Capito & HP COVID initiative brings immediate benefits to frontline Scottish public sector organisations

In collaboration with their partner HP, the Livingston-based firm has launched an initiative to help Scottish public sector organisations to work remotely. 

This initiative is the brainchild of Capito’s Director of End User Computing, Alan Middleton, who was inspired after seeing several articles and social media posts reporting on those in need, combined with his own direct experience of working with varied organisations across different sectors.

Alan explained, “It struck me that a more holistic approach to help those in need could be taken.  Devices that may no longer be useful in one sector may be very useable in another.  After consulting with some of our own public sector clients, we realised how many were in need of support to mobilise home working. We have a stock of devices that would normally be recycled so it seemed like an opportunity to do some good.  We have halted all recycling for now and are putting everything towards this initiative and, in addition, are brokering the free service for both the donator and the recipients alike.”

Where possible, this fully compliant model allows usable surplus equipment to be collected, recovered, and securely wiped of data, before being prepared and re-deployed to those that need them.

Valerie Richmond, Support Services Director at Ayrshire Hospice, one of the early recipients of the scheme said, “It is essential that our services continue to support patients and families during this unprecedented and challenging time.  The laptops that we received will be invaluable in supporting the hospice team to do this, so this contribution is very much appreciated.”

Another recipient, William Currie, Head of Corporate Services at Dumfries and Galloway College added, “This initiative has been an absolute lifesaver for us and we are so grateful to all involved.  The laptops that we received are going to be a massive help in enabling our colleagues to work from home, which will in turn help get some of our students through their qualifications.  For us, the benefit here cannot be understated.”

Greg.Aitken, ICT Operations Manager at Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said, “The receipt of 50 laptops has been a very welcome addition to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). With the majority of our support staff now working from home, the demand for laptops has increased significantly these past few weeks, and these laptops will allow another 50 Key Workers, to work from home and continue to support the running of the fourth largest Fire Service in the World. We are very grateful for our partnership with HP, who put us in contact with Capito to allow these laptops to be provided to us on a temporary basis.  The initial 50 have already all been allocated and will be issued over the coming days, and we hope that Capito will be able to provide additional laptops over and above this, enabling another batch of Key Workers to be able to work from home.”

Lorna Johnstone, HP Framework Manager and Public Sector Sales Lead, added, “Initially, this request was issued to public sector organisations across Scotland, however the demand for support has been considerable and therefore the appeal is being widened to the corporate world too.  If you have working desktops or mobile IT equipment which are currently in storage, being used as spares, in non-essential business areas that are no longer required, or are otherwise going unused, we would urge you to consider donating to this very worthwhile initiative.”

Capito’s Managing Director Mark Gibson added, “Given the critical and unprecedented situation we are all currently facing, a variety of organisations across the public sector may be able to utilise donated equipment to provide interim support that enables mobile or home working.  These include frontline services, SNHS wards, and health charities.

It is shocking to us that some organisations are sadly profiteering from this situation, with used laptops now being sold for almost the same price as new.  Unless there are exceptional circumstances, Capito and HP will be providing these services ‘Free of Charge’ for both the organisation donating the devices and the public sector body recipient.  We really are all in this together, so this is the right thing to do.”

If you can help, or if your own department would like to request support from this initiative, please contact Capito directly at scotproc@capito.co.uk.

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