Running a student accommodation business across dozens of sites is complex. For Now Student Living, growing through the operational takeover of assets and portfolios from other operators, the operational IT picture had become fragmented.
As Now expanded across multiple sites, their existing endpoint protection, device management, and infrastructure needed to evolve to match the demands of a growing, multi-site organisation. Like many operators in the Living Sector, their teams needed everything to simply work (connectivity, devices, telephony, desktop support) without IT becoming a distraction from their core business.
The solution
ASK4 took on full managed IT responsibility across NOW Student Living's estate, covering every layer of their operational technology. From cloud infrastructure and Microsoft 365 management to device provisioning, endpoint security, and a fully supported helpdesk, everything is now delivered and managed by a single partner who understands the sector.
- ESET Protect Advanced replaced Now’s existing endpoint protection
- BYOD devices were brought under enhanced management through Microsoft Intune
- Telephony was reviewed and consolidated
190 staff across 24 sites, alongside a growing central team, now have access to a dedicated helpdesk with defined SLAs, clear escalation routes, and consistent support from day one.
The results
Now Student Living went from a fragmented, stretched IT setup to a fully managed, resilient platform without the overhead of managing multiple suppliers, contracts, or relationships.
The operational impact has been significant. Infrastructure standards are now consistent across every location, and with proactive monitoring, automated patching, and 24/7 alerting in place, problems are identified and resolved before they affect the business.
What the client says
"Since moving to ASK4 for our managed IT, the difference has been night and day. Our site teams no longer have to think about IT as issues get resolved quickly, everything is consistent across our portfolio, and we have a provider that actually understands how our business operates. The assurance that our IT infrastructure will scale in line with our growth, without operational disruption, gives us real peace of mind."
Paul Watson, Managing Director, Now Student Living
Why it matters
For operators in the Living Sector, the real cost of poor IT isn't just downtime, it's the time, energy, and focus that site teams spend managing it. ASK4's Business IT service removes that burden entirely, replacing a patchwork of suppliers and in-house workarounds with a single, sector-specialist partner who takes full ownership. For Now Student Living, that means a scalable, secure platform ready to grow with their portfolio.
