About North of England Commissioning Support Unit (CSU)
The North of England CSU plays a vital role in delivering essential IT services within the NHS. With systems that handle sensitive data and serve multiple users, uptime, security, and performance aren’t optional — they’re fundamental. To ensure their Linux infrastructure is always running smoothly, the CSU turned to Tiger Computing.
The Challenge
In 2011, the CSU needed to replace an ageing Windows-based intranet server with a more robust, flexible, and cost-effective Open Source solution. While they had the internal technical capability to rewrite the site and manage network hosting, they lacked specialist Linux expertise to architect, build, and maintain the infrastructure securely and efficiently.
The Solution: Expert Support and Proactive Monitoring
Tiger Computing provided exactly that — designing and deploying two dedicated Linux servers (development and production) to support the CSU’s new intranet system. The servers were configured to meet high standards for security and availability, and Tiger has continued to support them with proactive system monitoring and regular health checks.
“Tiger Computing supports two servers at the North of England Commissioning Support Unit, where they run regular health checks on our system… Tiger has my complete confidence, not just because there’s nothing they don’t know, but because they’re ahead of all of the faults.”
Darren Fickling, Infrastructure Systems Manager
This proactive approach has meant that issues are typically resolved before they ever cause disruption — a critical requirement for NHS teams.
Going the Extra Mile
Soon after deployment, a few performance issues surfaced. Rather than relying on guesswork, Tiger collaborated with the CSU to identify the root cause. To rule out the client’s existing virtual environment, Tiger loaned them a physical server — which ran the system reliably for several years. Eventually, the servers were successfully migrated to a new virtualisation platform with no disruption.
“It’s also great that the Tiger team can talk at all levels – dealing with the senior team and technical guys with the same ease.”
The Outcome: Total Confidence, Zero Surprises
Today, the CSU continues to rely on Tiger’s specialist Linux expertise to safeguard its systems and support internal teams. With regular maintenance, fast responses, and a partnership built on trust, Tiger enables the CSU to focus on serving the NHS — without worrying about infrastructure.
“I don’t need to check-up on them or the system, and can absolutely trust that any issues will be resolved before they ever have the chance to inconvenience us.”
