www.crimeandfire.com

Crime & Fire is a specialist provider of security, fire protection and investigative services to major national infrastructure projects across the UK. With a multi-site operation and a rigorous focus on systems and data security, their teams deliver everything from threat assessments and risk mitigation to fire system installations and forensic investigations.

Executive Summary

When Innov8’s acquired Wharncliffe Business Systems, Crime & Fire were an existing customer, however since implementing Sage 200 in 2016, the business was expanding rapidly and needed further capabilities within the finance function, as well as support around their Business IT – specifically security. Since combining forces with Innov8 expertise – Crime & Fire have managed to overcome a number of challenges that they were battling within the business:

Solution Challenges

• Fragmented financial and operational data across multiple sites.

• Limited visibility into project costs and fixed assets

• Manual document handling and compliance reporting (CIS)

• Increasing demands for tight IT security controls in the national infrastructure supply-chain

Dave Hayes, who oversees Finance (and has worked across the business functions), and Rachel Ingham-Lund, IT & Office Manager, recognised that their existing processes could not scale. They needed a unified platform that would streamline finance, projects, assets and compliance, while also partnering with an IT provider capable of supporting ISO27001-grade security.

“The Innov8’s team took the time to understand our business inside-out, from Account Management through to Support, their advice is always honest, consultative and professional.” Dave Hayes, Finance Manager

The Innov8 Solution

• Sage 200 Deployment & Optimisation

  • Delivery of a single, now cloud-hosted Sage 200 system, consolidating multi-site financials and reporting.

• Strategic Add-Ons & Modules

  • Sicon Projects & Document Management: Provided real-time project costing, budgeting and automated document workflows, eliminating manual paper trails.

  • Fixed Assets & CIS: Enabled full visibility of asset lifecycles and automated Construction Industry Scheme processes for their extensive contracting operations.

• Managed Hosting & Security

  • Sage 200 hosted on Innov8’s Sage Hosting platform powered by Blowfish, delivering high-availability, anywhere access & performance without compromise of security.

  • Architected and supported Microsoft Intune MDM with MFA to secure every corporate laptop — including contractor devices — and enforce access controls.

• ISO27001 Preparation & Consultancy

  • Collaborated with Crime & Fire to map IT processes against ISO27001 requirements.

  • Offered ongoing advisory services to transform IT from a perceived risk to a strategic enabler, aligning technology controls with supply-chain standards.

Results

By unifying their financials, projects, assets and compliance processes on a single, cloud-hosted Sage 200 platform, Crime & Fire’s leadership now enjoys real-time, data-driven insights that drive smarter decisions and support rapid growth without adding complexity.

The strategic Sicon modules have eliminated manual paperwork and streamlined Construction Industry Scheme and asset-tracking workflows, reducing administrative overhead by roughly 30%.

With the solution hosted on Innov8’s, Blowfish-powered environment and layering on Microsoft Intune MDM with MFA, Crime & Fire’s security posture ensures they meet the exacting demands of national-infrastructure contracts.

Above all, the consultative, honest partnership between Crime & Fire and Innov8 means technology is now a genuine enabler rather than a potential liability, empowering the business to scale confidently and maintain its competitive edge.

Looking Ahead

With the right blend of technology and consultancy, Crime & Fire is now perfectly positioned to continue its growth trajectory while maintaining the highest standards of security and compliance. As Rachel Ingham-Lund reflects, “Where we once saw IT as a risk, we now view it as a real opportunity — thanks to the partnership and solutions Innov8 has provided.”