Every now and then in local government, you have an experience that makes you stop, stare, and think:
Oh. This is what modern IT operations can really look like.
A small group of us from Essex Digital Service took a tour of CDW’s Logistics and Technical Centre (LTC) in Rugby — a behind‑the‑scenes look at how one of our key partners manages large‑scale device preparation, logistics and configuration. We expected it to be interesting. We did not expect to walk into the future. But that’s exactly what it felt like.
First impressions: scale on a different level
Walking into the facility, the first thing that hits you is the sheer size - racking stretching floor to ceiling, row after row disappearing into the distance. storage and logistics operation that felt more like an airport terminal than a warehouse. It was genuinely awe‑inspiring — and not a word we use lightly in our sector.
And that was before the forklifts appeared. Not the forklifts you’re imagining - we’re talking driverless, towering machines navigating the space at speed and with perfect precision. Autonomous vehicles taller than some of the buildings we work in, moving with purpose, efficiency, and not a single human steering them. It was one of those moments where you can almost feel your brain recalibrating:
Oh. Automation can do that.
When modularity becomes a work of art
If the warehouse was impressive, the configuration area was something else entirely. Modular build stations lined up in perfect symmetry, devices flowing through the setup process with astonishing speed, teams able to scale up or down instantly without needing to redesign the entire operation.
For one of our colleagues, Will, this triggered what can only be described as technical joy — or in his words:
As someone who gets a hit of dopamine whenever I see modularity and efficiency done to that degree… I was like a kid in a candy store.
Seeing configuration done with that level of thought and pragmatism gave us a real glimpse of what our own future operations could look like — cleaner, simpler, more scalable, and far more resilient
Automation isn’t the enemy — it’s the enabler
The biggest takeaway from the tour wasn’t the robotics, or the scale, or the efficiency - although as you can tell they were quite exciting to see 😊
It was the reminder that automation isn’t about replacing people. It’s very much about freeing up time - removing the repetitive, manual, time‑consuming tasks that drain capacity and morale — and shifting our people towards the work that requires thinking, creativity, judgement, and human connection.
In ECC, this is exactly what we’ve been moving towards in Operations & Platform:
- seamless Windows 11 upgrades that don’t interrupt staff
- Intune deployments that quietly manage devices in the background
- app deployments without tickets
- device health monitoring that prevents issues before they appear
The CDW tour didn’t introduce this vision — but it absolutely strengthened it and convinced us all we’re heading in the right direction to support our colleagues.
Sometimes you need to see what’s possible before you can fully imagine how it could work for you. And that’s what the visit gave us - a tangible, physical reminder that the future of device management doesn’t have to be slow, manual, or painful.
Thank you
A huge thank you to CDW for hosting us so generously, and to Geoff and Gareth for making the visit happen for us. It was so worth taking the time to be away from the office in a different setting and we can’t wait to do more of this. It was energising, inspirational, and genuinely exciting — and it’s given us even more confidence in the direction we’re taking for ECC’s device operations.
Because now, more than ever, the opportunity is clear: We can build services that are modern, scalable, automated, and human‑centred — all at the same time. And after seeing Rugby… we are more motivated than ever to do exactly that.
By the Operations & Platform Team (with reflections from the tour)
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