Helping Sailors’ Children’s Society Build The Right Technology For Growth

Growth is a positive thing for any charity, but it can also put pressure on the systems working behind the scenes. For Sailors’ Children’s Society, continued growth meant supporting more families, expanding the team and making sure its technology could keep pace with the organisation it was becoming.

For Sailors, that growth means being able to support more children and families from seafaring backgrounds who are experiencing hardship or crisis.

But it also brought new demands behind the scenes. More employees meant more devices, more software, more accounts and more information to manage. Some computers were beginning to struggle, device setup was heavily manual, software licensing needed reviewing and the organisation’s mobile setup had become increasingly difficult to manage.

The focus was on making sure the technology could support Sailors’ continued growth without significantly increasing complexity or cost.

For Rhiannon Beeson, Interim CEO at Sailors’ Children’s Society, it became clear that the technology behind the organisation needed to catch up with the pace of growth.

“We were growing, the team was getting busier and we needed to make sure our technology could keep up with us rather than become something that slowed us down.”

That was what started the conversation with The HBP Group.

When Technology Has To Catch Up With Growth

The challenge for Sailors was not simply replacing a few ageing computers.

The charity wanted to understand whether the technology behind the organisation was still right for where it was heading.

That meant looking at the hardware employees were using, how new devices were being set up, whether Microsoft licensing was structured in the right way, how mobile devices were being managed and whether the right security controls were in place.

It was also about looking further ahead.

If Sailors continued to grow, would its existing setup grow with it, or would technology eventually become something that held the organisation back?

Building The Right Foundations

We worked with Sailors to review the technology already in place and understand what actually needed to change - one of the first areas we looked at was hardware.

Some staff computers were struggling, so rather than simply replacing them on a like-for-like basis, we looked at what employees actually needed from their devices and what would remain suitable for several years.

This is an important consideration for any organisation working with a specific budget.

A lower-cost option can sometimes feel like the obvious way to save money, but if a device quickly becomes too slow, unreliable or unsuitable for the person using it, that saving can become a false economy.

Technology that regularly struggles with everyday applications affects productivity, creates frustration and can ultimately need replacing earlier than expected.

For Sailors, the focus was on making sure the technology in place was right for the people using it, while also giving the organisation room to grow.

That same thinking applied to software and licensing. After reviewing what Sailors already had in place, the level of licensing was increased to better suit the organisation’s needs, without significantly increasing overall spend.

Device management and security were also reviewed as part of creating a more joined-up technology setup.

Keeping Security In Step With Growth

As Sailors expanded, security naturally became a bigger consideration too.

More employees and devices mean more accounts, more access and more information that needs to be protected.

For a charity supporting families who may be experiencing difficult circumstances, having confidence in how that information is managed is particularly important.

For Rhiannon, that confidence was one of the key priorities.

“For me, it’s about knowing our information is safe and that we can keep growing without technology becoming something that holds us back.”

That meant looking beyond the technology employees could see and use every day.

Device management, Microsoft licensing and wider security controls all formed part of the work, helping Sailors create a more structured approach as the organisation developed.

Giving Sailors Confidence To Keep Growing

The work is ultimately about giving Sailors stronger foundations for the future.

That includes ongoing IT support, Microsoft licensing, device management and security improvements, helping create an environment that is easier to manage and better suited to a growing organisation.

It also means Sailors can take a more planned approach to future technology decisions rather than waiting until something becomes a problem.

For Sailors, though, the focus remains where it has always been: supporting seafaring children and families when they need help most.

The technology behind the organisation should make that easier, not harder.

“Every penny matters to us, so knowing we can make the right decisions around technology without losing sight of what that money ultimately supports means a lot.”

Rhiannon Beeson, Interim CEO, Sailors’ Children’s Society

And by putting stronger foundations in place now, Sailors is better positioned to continue growing, add new people to the team and support more families without its technology becoming a barrier along the way.

That support has grown into a wider partnership too, and we’re proud to be an Anchor Partner of Sailors’ Children’s Society for 2026-27.

Pictured from left to right: Jack Nicklas, Business Development Manager at The HBP Group; George Smith, Chief Commercial Officer at The HBP Group; and Rhiannon Beeson, Interim CEO at Sailors’ Children’s Society.

If you’d like to find out more about how The HBP Group supports charities, you can learn more about our charity IT support here.