Two councils becoming one. Two IT estates. One government deadline. Services can’t stop.

Seven engagement templates for a council merger, from discovery and pre-procurement through to document migration. Each with a defined scope and timeline.

Talk to us about your LGR programme Browse templates
123
contracts separated
Bolton/Wigan demerger
0
unplanned outages
during transition
7
engagement templates
4–48 week typical
4–8 wks
LGR Discovery
where most programmes start

How we do this

LGR is not a standard IT modernisation. It’s transition management for merging councils — with statutory vesting dates that won’t move. Every template below is purpose-built for the complexity of merging multiple councils into a single authority. Start with discovery, sequence the workstreams, and protect live services throughout.

The Bolton/Wigan ICT demerger is the closest delivery precedent in the market — 123 contracts separated, zero unplanned outages. LGR is the reverse: merging two estates into one. The disciplines are the same.

25+ years in local government Microsoft Partner ISO 27001 G-Cloud 14

Seven templates. Defined scope, defined timeline.

Pick the templates that match your merger programme. Each has a defined scope and timeline.

Discover & plan

LGR Discovery & Readiness

Technology due diligence, contract mapping, risk register, pre-procurement strategy.

4–8 wks
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Cost Optimisation, TCO & Hybrid Licensing

Total cost of ownership analysis, licensing consolidation, hybrid optimisation.

4–16 wks
View detail

Identity & collaboration

Entra ID Identity Consolidation

Merge Entra ID tenants into a unified identity platform.

8–32 wks
View detail

M365 Tenant Consolidation & Migration

Consolidate M365 tenants — mailbox, SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive.

12–48 wks
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M365 Collaboration Rationalisation & Governance

Rationalise collaboration tools and establish governance for the merged authority.

6–20 wks
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Resilience & data

Backup & DR Standardisation

Standardise backup and disaster recovery across the merged authority.

12–26 wks
View detail

File Share & Document Migration

Migrate file shares and document libraries across merging authorities.

8–40 wks
View detail

Discover & plan

Understand both estates, map the risks, and build the business case before committing to delivery.

LGR Discovery & Readiness

Structured discovery programme: assessment of current organisational landscape, technical interrogation of systems, stakeholder engagement, target-state vision, and procurement readiness. The first engagement in any LGR programme — understand what you’ve got before deciding what to do with it.

What you get

  • Technology estate assessment across both councils
  • Contract mapping and risk register
  • Pre-procurement strategy
  • Prioritised consolidation roadmap

Timeline

4–8 weeks

LGR Cost Optimisation, TCO & Hybrid Licensing

Total cost of ownership analysis across merging estates, licensing consolidation strategy, and hybrid licensing optimisation. Two councils are paying for two of everything — this engagement identifies what to consolidate, what to renegotiate, and where the savings are.

What you get

  • Total cost of ownership analysis
  • Licensing consolidation strategy
  • Hybrid licensing optimisation plan
  • Costed savings model

Timeline

4–16 weeks

Identity & collaboration

Merge identity systems and collaboration platforms — the workstreams that touch every user in both councils.

Entra ID Identity Consolidation

Merge multiple Entra ID tenants into a unified identity platform. Directory sync, conditional access, MFA harmonisation. Every other workstream depends on identity being right — this is foundational.

What you get

  • Unified Entra ID tenant design
  • Directory synchronisation and migration
  • Conditional access policy harmonisation
  • MFA consolidation and rollout

Timeline

8–32 weeks

M365 Tenant Consolidation & Migration

Consolidate multiple M365 tenants — mailbox migration, SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive. The biggest single workstream in most LGR programmes.

What you get

  • M365 tenant consolidation plan
  • Mailbox migration (Exchange Online)
  • SharePoint and OneDrive migration
  • Teams consolidation and governance

Timeline

12–48 weeks

M365 Collaboration Rationalisation & Governance

Rationalise collaboration tools, establish governance for the merged authority, and clean up sprawl.

What you get

  • Collaboration tool audit and rationalisation plan
  • Governance framework for the merged authority
  • Sprawl clean-up and archival
  • User adoption and change management

Timeline

6–20 weeks

Resilience & data

Standardise backup and disaster recovery for the merged authority, then migrate the document estate: file shares, document libraries and unstructured data.

Backup & DR Standardisation

Standardise backup and disaster recovery across the merged authority. Two councils with two backup strategies, two DR plans, and two sets of RTOs/RPOs that nobody has tested together.

What you get

  • Unified backup strategy and policy
  • DR architecture for the merged estate
  • RTO/RPO harmonisation
  • Testing and validation framework

Timeline

12–26 weeks

File Share & Document Migration

Every council has terabytes of unstructured data spread across on-premises file servers, SharePoint, and personal drives. This engagement consolidates and migrates the lot.

What you get

  • File share and document library audit
  • Migration strategy and sequencing
  • Data cleansing and deduplication
  • Permissions mapping and governance

Timeline

8–40 weeks

Proof

Bolton/Wigan ICT demerger

123 contracts separated, TUPE managed, 12-month staggered transition, zero unplanned outages. Published by Dan Blows on techUK.

25 years inside councils

We understand council operating models from the inside — not from a strategy document. Anchor clients: Bolton, Wigan, Sefton, Reading.

The LGR market

21 county areas, 200+ councils, ~20M people affected. Surrey vesting April 2027. Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk, Suffolk vesting April 2028.

Is this for you?

You’re in one of the 21 areas and need to start planning

The structural order hasn’t landed yet, but the IT workstream needs to begin. Start with Discovery & Pre-Procurement.

You’re facing a vesting date and need to consolidate tenants

Identity and M365 are the biggest workstreams. Start with Entra ID Consolidation and M365 Tenant Migration.

You want to understand the cost before committing

Two councils paying for two of everything. Start with Cost Optimisation & TCO to see where the savings are.

Procurement frameworks — G-Cloud 14, TS4, and direct award routes on our Framework Procurement page.

We’ve done this before. Tell us which authorities are involved, where you are in the process, and what’s keeping you up at night — and we’ll come back with what we’ve learned and where we can help. No pitch deck. Just honest experience.

Or email us directly: info@agilisys.co.uk