March 6, 2025
Organisation: Kind& co ludens | Industry: childcare | Customer with IT Local since: 2008 | Number of managed workstations: 4260
Social childcare organisation Kind&co ludens has been an IT Local client since 2008. Facility and Housing Manager Merel Dorst has worked there since 2020 and is responsible for IT within the organisation. Together with IT Local, she has made huge strides in recent years to improve the IT environment within the organisation. With success. The environment became better and more secure and IT changed from an afterthought to a strategic necessity. Recently, the contract with IT Local was extended for three years. The IT focus is now on further development: further optimising processes, especially to make work more enjoyable for employees. You can read all about it in this case.
Highlights 2020-2025
Fully in the cloud since April 2023
Increase in managed workstations by 506%
Enhanced security through role-based workplace, multi-factor authentication, security awareness programme rollout
Significant efficiency gains
Grip on applications through simplified and manageable application landscape
Less use of paper forms thanks to handy apps
Better controlled costs through flexible and scalable IT environment
Increase in user satisfaction
Strong reduction in service desk calls and calls
Kind&co ludens is a social childcare organisation in the heart of the Netherlands. Non-profit and therefore with maximum focus on the development of children, colleagues and the role of childcare in society. Where it started in the mid-70s with one playgroup in Maarssen, the organisation has now grown into one of the largest childcare organisations in the Netherlands. With over 450 locations, 3,000 employees, a host parent agency with some 70 host parents and 27,500 children it cares for.
More than 200 staff work at the newly completed and sustainable service office in Houten in 2023 (realised in connection with Kind & Co' s merger with Ludens). They support and advise colleagues at the various locations, take care of the pedagogical policy and help parents find a care place for their child. They do this from the departments Customer Service & Planning, Pedagogics & Quality, Marketing & Communication, HR, Finance & Control and Facility & Accommodation.
Manager of Facilities and Housing Merel Dorst has worked at Kind&co ludens since 2020 and is responsible for IT within the organisation. Together with IT Local, she has made huge strides in recent years to improve the IT environment within the organisation. With success.
The IT environment anno 2020: plenty of challenges
Shortly after Merel started at Kind&co ludens in May 2020, their IT manager left. Merel then took over that role and performed it alongside her other work she had been brought in for: "My family breathes IT so that affinity was there. And I saw that there was a lot of work to be done, because the IT environment was outdated. For me, a step back in time when I compared it to the one at the ROC in Amsterdam where I came from. The bar was not too high in the organisation: the RDS environment was doing fine, and had been for a long time, administration was still mainly on paper and welcome01 passwords were commonplace. Moreover, we were in corona time and that crisis was a painful confirmation of our outdated IT. Working from home, for example, was not possible."
Improving the IT environment was really necessary for Kind&co ludens to work more efficiently, securely and enjoyably. Merel: "I wanted to move towards a less fault-prone, secure and flexible environment. Also to get more unity and structure in the way we work. And set up in such a way that our employees stay in touch with each other and work well together."
"Do we keep riding the steam train or switch to the TGV?"
"In 2021, we merged with Ludens as Kind & Co. That accelerated the route to improvement. Because this organisation was working in a more modern IT environment and already with Microsoft 365, I asked the question internally at the time: Do we keep riding the steam train or do we switch to the TGV?"
By the time Merel started at Kind&co ludens, IT Local had been on board for quite a few years as IT partner to keep the steam train running. But with a switch to the TGV, IT Local needed to seriously grow and move with it. Merel: "I then contacted the then managing director Piet, who was fresh on board. We felt together that we should and could do this together. It was a good moment: IT Local was taking its organisation in a new direction, grew substantially and professionalised. New experienced people arrived, with Bart and Alwin as forward-thinking colleagues for our organisation, and the train went full steam ahead."
A big step forward: from RDS to cloud
Improving the IT environment, IT Local took a phased approach. With the first and biggest step being bringing the local working environment fully into the cloud. From a Microsoft base and with the online workplace (portal) as the starting point for employees.
Merel: "I find that IT Local workplace a major plus point: it provides an extra layer of security and offers plenty of opportunities for further development. From the workplace, my colleagues can easily access their apps via single sign on and quickly find the info they need. And only what they have access to, as the workplace is role-based. The implementation of multifactor authentication has ensured that we log into the workplace more securely."
The introduction of Teams was another major improvement implemented by IT Local in the first phase. This promoted digital collaboration among Kind&co ludens staff. And because, combined with a smart role-based set-up of channels, it was also the place for document storage, it also provided structure.
Help from the ICT Service Point
During the first phase, the ICT Service Point at Kind&co ludens also really took shape. Merel: "The childcare sector is not very digitally-savvy. Then it helps to have someone available who can not only take care of collecting and issuing devices, but can also help directly with setting up the devices. From a kind of chaotic Vodafone shop, we turned our ICT Service Point into a mini-IT Local office. In which our facilities ICT employee was seconded to us from an IT Local employment and ran the little office."
Taking IT to the next level
Once the basics were in place, IT Local took the IT environment to the next level in several subsequent phases. Merel: "When I look back at all the projects that have been done over the past few years... a stormy time... really everything in the IT field has been improved or touched: from tenant mergers, reorganisation of the app landscape, secure printing and development of Power BI dashboards to replacement of laptops, iPad optimisation and management via Intune. And with lots of focus on security, apps to work more efficiently and inspiration and support through customer success. And of course, IT Local also did a lot of work around the merger with Ludens and the relocation of our headquarters."
"Nice to see how IT Local helps and triggers us on security matters"
Maximum focus on security
Kind&co ludens works a lot with sensitive data; of children and their parents and of employees. Security is therefore of above-average importance. "It's great to see how IT Local is proactively working on this and helping and triggering us to improve further," says Merel. "For instance, a security awareness programme has been running for a while now that keeps our employees alert. Because they are the biggest risk in our security; just clicking on an insecure link can have major consequences. After all, security is a race against hackers who, with AI, have a new weapon to score even faster."
Testing with 'fake phishing email'
Within our security awareness programme, we send 'fake phishing emails' to employees unannounced at different times. This is how we test how alert they are.
Working more efficiently via apps
IT Local has developed various apps for Kind&co ludens. The most comprehensive is the Asset Management app, which enables the organisation to manage its assets easily. The roll-out is due to take place shortly. Employees will then be able to use the app, for example, to request a laptop or report a problem; managers can approve requests; and Merel herself will gain insight into who has what, as well as the history, status and usage of each asset. It will also show, for example, whether a device is compliant and when it will be written off. Merel: “With that app, I have control over all our hardware. To measure is to know!”
Apps that Kind&co ludens already works with are the Activity Broker app, the After-school Activities app and the Report making app. Merel: "Each of them is a handy solution that makes our work processes more efficient. I like to see how these apps come about: first the idea that arises somewhere, then further exploration of the question by IT Local's business consultant and then the design by their developers."
"Employees are aware that we can improve processes now"
"Our staff also now see that we can improve processes and come up with ideas themselves. For example, the idea of the Report making app originated from the Pedagogy & Quality department. From the need to centralise data around accidents and incidents involving children at our locations and then analyse it. And so this is now possible: site staff can easily record accidents and incidents involving children via the app. And our cluster and regional managers and policy officers can view these accidents and incidents and run reports on them."
Rob Robot: help with file creation
For Kind&co ludens, IT Local built a chatbot that helps pedagogical staff create a child file within Teams. The chatbot asks the employee a few questions and creates the file based on the answers. The advantage is not only that it is easier, but also that the file always has a correct file name. And is in the right Teams channel, in the right folder and with the underlying folders and files needed. Fun fact: the chatbot, without thinking too much about it, was given the name Rob Robot and that turned out to be a golden touch in hindsight. Everyone knew what it was and what it did."IT: from sideshow to strategic necessity"
Customer success
A factor that should not be underestimated in improving the IT environment at Kind&co ludens is the customer success team. The members of this team support staff through all changes, particularly where the functional side is concerned. This includes setting up a new laptop or tablet or working with Microsoft programmes. In addition, the team also organises inspirational sessions and training courses. Merel: “I’m really pleased with the support from the customer success team. For our staff, the barrier to asking a question is now very low; it feels like approaching a colleague.” The team’s supplementary guides, such as the new handbook detailing everything you need to do to log in for the first time, also meet a clear need. And those training sessions are a real hit: lots of sign-ups and extremely well received. Credit to Gaby for organising this so well!”
Staff from the customer success team have a permanent presence at the new ICT Service Point at headquarters. This now has its own desk, in a highly visible location in the heart of the building. Merel: "All basic facilities for us are on the ground floor, so the Service Point is there too. So this shows directly how important IT has become for our organisation these days: from sideshow to strategic necessity."
Collaboration with IT Local continues
Recently, Kind&co ludens extended its contract with IT Local by three years, which of course did not happen overnight. Merel is happy to explain why the collaboration will continue in the coming years: "We have an excellent working relationship with IT Local; truly a partnership, in which the human aspect and trust are central. That is the basis. Furthermore, I am keen to reap the benefits of what we have achieved together. A beautiful, secure IT environment is in place. Now that it is under control, we are entering a phase of cost control and the costs are lower and on a different plane than in the past. The focus is now on further development: further optimising processes, possibly supported by AI. In doing so, we are constantly looking at how we can make work more enjoyable for our employees."
Fruit sponsor
IT Local is an 'official fruit sponsor' of Kind&co ludens and provides vITamins at the head office every Monday and Wednesday.
"What are also important reasons for choosing IT Local are the proactive security I mentioned earlier and the openness to look for improvements. And the latter plays in all areas. Nice example is the service contract with flexible shell that saves me personally a lot of time. Instead of an invoice per project, I now receive only one invoice per month, where we steer the projects together. On this point, I really felt heard by IT Local."
"IT Local is really a partner for us, we work together"
The partnership also includes a role for Voice Data Technologies (VDT), the party that came in at the time through Ludens and provides the hardware at all locations. According to Merel, that works well in combination with IT Local: "Each does what it does best and both companies keep each other on their toes."
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