01 · THE CHALLENGEWhat the practice was facing.
Alexia Mills, a veterinary director, and Lucy, a registered veterinary nurse and practice manager, had been running the Newton Abbot practice for years, but on behalf of someone else. In February 2024 they bought it themselves, and the 15-strong team that had been M Care Pet Vets became Whiskers Vets.
This was not a normal share sale, where the systems carry on and you simply become the new owner. Alexia and Lucy wanted to change everything, and they wanted to do it on day one. That included pulling out the old IT entirely and replacing it, in a single working day, without losing the practice for any longer than they had to.
When they first spoke to Jack, the plan was clear: the old IT company would arrive at 8 in the morning and strip the place out, and a few hours later we would rig up the new setup, with a managed outage in between. It was a genuine challenge, and everything had to be ready to go.