Established in 1958, the Real Estate Council of BC (RECBC) is a regulatory agency whose mandate is to protect the public’s interest by regulating and enforcing the real estate licensing and licensee conduct requirements. RECBC ensures that the interests of consumers who use real estate services are adequately protected against professional misconduct.
CHALLENGE
A few years ago, the Real Estate Council of BC (RECBC) went from an industry self-regulating body to a full-fledged Provincial Crown appointed Board and new CEO.
As a long-time industry regulator with a limited mandate, the RECBC had a technology infrastructure from times past: ageing desktops on a workgroup, on-premises server infrastructure, shared passwords, poor security management, cumbersome remote access, antiquated IT processes, and an under-resourced IT team consumed with service tickets. As a newly minted entity subject to Crown corporation requirements, standards for privacy and security suddenly jumped. The organization’s obligations to the citizens of BC jumped as well, and with it, an increased opportunity to leverage business-changing technology.

SOLUTION
RECBC and the Softlanding team leapfrogged two decades of IT practices. Identity management went from Workgroup shared passwords to pure Azure Active Directory with conditional access; no on-prem identity in sight. Unmanaged Windows 7 was replaced with Intune-managed Windows 10 with a strong update cadence. Cumbersome re-imaging of laptops is now from-factory images managed by Intune. On-prem server infrastructure was retired as Exchange Online and SharePoint Online evolved into business-critical productivity tools. Office 2010 was replaced with Office 365 ProPlus and Microsoft Teams which had an immediate impact on the organization’s collaboration and productivity. Advanced security tools such as Windows Defender ATP were implemented across the company.

RESULTS
Time Saved
- Users saved 2 hours per week due to more efficient collaboration and communication
- IT staff saved 3.5 hours per device with automated provisioning
- Time IT staff spends on application provisioning reduced by 70%
Enhanced Security
- Increased visibility and insights into digital security threats and events across the enterprise
- Reduced the organization’s digital risk by more than half
Improved Efficiency
- Ended downtime and near-weekly outages while improving user’s efficiency and capability
- Raised staff productivity for remote work to match in-office levels


"This was an ambitious modernization initiative that required a strategic partner with an incredible range of expertise, not only in the technologies chosen, but in our business of regulation. Softlanding not only rose to the occasion but consistently adjusted to the dynamic cadence required. We have the buy-in from RECBC’s leadership team, the right strategic partner in Softlanding and the support of the employees. This is a combination we plan to keep for a long time."
Senior Technology Manager, RECBC
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