15 Years of Partnership and Resilience with TIEVA

Founded in 1978, DLA Architecture is a leading architectural practice with offices in Leeds, London, and Manchester. Having delivered award-winning projects across the UK and Europe for more than 40 years, the firm is recognised for its commitment to design quality, technical excellence, and making a positive difference through the spaces it creates.

Behind the scenes, robust and reliable IT systems play a vital role in supporting that creative output. Since 2010, TIEVA has been DLA’s trusted IT partner, providing a full suite of managed services; from server management, backups, and patching, to endpoint protection, email security, Office 365 licensing, and hardware support.

IT Manager, Anthony Byron joined DLA Architecture in 2016, fresh out of college, and has seen the partnership evolve over the years.

"I think it says a lot that for over 15 years - with all the competitor sales calls we receive promising us the world, changes at both TIEVA and DLA, and even two IT manager changes - we’re still working together."

Challenges

For DLA Architecture, security and resilience are always top priorities. With teams spread across multiple offices and projects operating to tight deadlines, maintaining reliable systems and protecting sensitive data is critical to keeping the business running smoothly.

Like many organisations, DLA has faced its share of IT challenges over the years - events that have tested its systems and required rapid, coordinated response. On the few occasions where systems have come under pressure, TIEVA’s engineers have worked closely with DLA to restore performance and minimise disruption.

“There have been some times where things didn’t go to plan, but TIEVA really stepped up and supported us every step of the way. The communication, dedication, and small gestures from the team made a huge difference."

Those experiences reinforce the importance of proactive management, clear communication, and trusted partnerships: values that have shaped the way DLA and TIEVA continue to work together today.

Solutions

DLA Architecture’s small IT team manages most day-to-day operations internally, but when larger projects or business-critical challenges arise, they turn to TIEVA for additional expertise and delivery support.

Over the years, that partnership has led to a number of successful projects; from server and hardware refreshes across remote offices to new fibre connections at their London site. One of the most transformative initiatives was the rollout of Citrix, completed just before the pandemic.

“The Citrix rollout was huge for us,” Anthony recalls. “It was tested and deployed just before lockdown, and it’s still the same solution we use today. It meant staff could work from home straight away without any disruption.”

TIEVA supported DLA by building the servers and virtual machines around ten days before the first lockdown, ensuring a seamless transition to remote working. Every member of staff was able to work from home simultaneously without a single issue. Since then, the infrastructure has been further strengthened with enhanced security controls, including multi-factor authentication and geo-location restrictions to prevent unauthorised access.

Beyond major projects, TIEVA continues to provide proactive support across DLA’s entire IT environment; managing backups, firewalls, antivirus, patching, and updates to keep systems running securely and efficiently. With TIEVA’s technical expertise and close relationships with vendors like Barracuda, DLA benefits from deeper insight into emerging updates and potential issues - for example, knowing whether a new patch is stable or if it’s better to hold off until any bugs are resolved.

The day-to-day relationship with TIEVA’s service desk has also evolved significantly. The introduction of support “pods”, where engineers are assigned to specific clients, has made communication faster and more personal.

"The service desk is the most business-critical service for me. It gives peace of mind knowing I’ve got access to great engineers with what feels like unlimited knowledge. And since the pods were introduced, tickets are resolved faster because the engineers know our IT infrastructure inside out."

Outcomes

Today, DLA operates from a strong IT position. Security has been hardened with multi-factor authentication, geo-location blocking, account takeover protection, and advanced filtering.

Backups and firewalls are proactively managed, giving Anthony confidence that risks are minimised.

"With the help of TIEVA, we’re in a pretty strong position on IT security. And I’ve got peace of mind that whether it’s hardware, software, networking issues, or just advice on upcoming solutions, I’ll get answers quickly."

The partnership has not only delivered resilience but also freed Anthony and his team to focus supporting DLA staff and more strategic priorities. With TIEVA managing backups, patching, and other routine but business-critical tasks, DLA’s internal IT team has more time for end user support, reporting and IT governance.

“I’d like to think I’m one of your easier, less needy customers - but I’m very grateful for the support. We’re definitely more efficient and productive because of the relationship.”

For Anthony, the real value lies in trust and consistency.

"It’s peace of mind. I know I can reach out and get answers quickly, and the team knows us inside out. Of all the major things we’ve called on TIEVA for, such as the Citrix rollout, I can’t imagine another IT support company doing a better job. I’d recommend TIEVA; I think we’ll definitely get to 20+ years together."