Client Overview
The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) is a newly established regulatory body created by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to oversee governance, sustainability, and compliance across English football.
As a greenfield organisation, IFR required a secure, scalable, and fully operational digital environment to support approximately 120 users, delivered at pace and aligned with public-sector security and governance expectations. Following a competitive tender process, ElysianIT was appointed to design, build, and operate the organisation’s IT environment, providing both Managed IT Services and a Managed Security Operations Centre (SOC) service.
Business Challenges
As a newly formed regulator, IFR faced several critical challenges:
- Greenfield setup under tight timelines
The organisation needed a fully functioning IT environment from day one, including cloud tenancy, user access, devices, and collaboration tools.
- Public-sector security and compliance requirements
As a regulatory body, IFR required a strong security posture, continuous monitoring, and incident response aligned to government expectations.
- Operational readiness for a growing workforce
Devices, identities, data, and services needed to be deployed consistently and securely for up to 120 staff.
- Limited internal IT capability at launch
IFR required a trusted partner to both deliver the initial setup and provide ongoing managed service and security oversight
Solution
ElysianIT delivered an end-to-end mobilisation programme, followed by ongoing managed services and SOC support:
- Cloud Environment & Tenancy Setup
Designed and deployed a secure Microsoft cloud tenancy, including identity, access, security baselines, and governance controls.
- User, Device & Data Enablement
Migrated data, provisioned users, and deployed managed devices, ensuring staff were productive from day one with consistent configurations.
- Managed IT Service
Delivered full operational support including incident logging and management, proactive monitoring, performance optimisation, reporting, and end-user support.
- Managed Security Operations (SOC)
Implemented a security strategy covering continuous monitoring, incident detection and response, security audits, QA, and ongoing risk management.
- Architecture & Governance
Provided cloud and enterprise architecture design, delivery road-mapping, service optimisation, and structured project and service governance.
- Training & Adoption
Delivered role-based cloud training (basic and super users), troubleshooting skills, and coordinated end-user onboarding to support adoption.
Results
The engagement successfully established IFR as a fully operational regulator with a secure and scalable digital foundation:
- A production-ready IT and security environment delivered on time for organisational launch
- Secure onboarding and enablement of 120 users, devices, and data
- Continuous security monitoring and incident management through a managed SOC
- A stable, well-governed managed IT service, reducing risk and operational burden
- Clear architectural foundations and roadmaps to support future growth and regulatory change
As a result, IFR launched with confidence, supported by a secure, compliant, and well-managed IT environment that allows the organisation to focus on its regulatory mission rather than operational complexity.
