Located around 45 minutes across the border in Northumberland, The Alnwick Garden is a unique visitor attraction and charity with over 20 years of history in delivering a memory filled day out. With 350,000 visitors per year, its cascades, ornamental gardens, and treehouse have seen it win numerous awards. But it’s more than that. The vision of the Duchess of Northumberland is focused just as keenly on the community programmes that deliver much needed support, education and employment in the area.
The Challenge
Variety of Disparate Suppliers
Proposal
100’s of suppliers after your time to sell you their “best offers”
Procurement
Multiple bills and invoices from different suppliers
Deployment
An unclear understanding of who manages what with suppliers coming and going
Business & Organisation Challenges
Despite the unarguable beauty and serenity, the organisation faced all the same technology challenges as any other business – security, infrastructure, communications, and software – all of which were being sourced from a variety of disparate suppliers.
With thousands of daily visitors, a fast effective response was required when, for example, till-points failed or problematic phone lines meant communications were difficult.
More than that though, was the need for a clear IT strategy that pulled the various strands of activity into one coherent approach to technology. A Digital Transformation!
The Solution
End-to-end IT Support
Dunedin IT Strategy
An IT strategy that not only matches the current organisation’s plan but future aspirations
Dunedin IT Procurement
Using our wholesale relationships with key suppliers, we are able to provide one single bill to know where exactly your money is being spent
Dunedin IT Deployment
Delivering on time and on budget was crucial to building trust and improving the user experience
Close Business Partnership
Dunedin IT took a holistic view of the environment at The Alnwick Garden. An over-arching strategy that incorporated full-time on-site support was developed, as we quickly realised that close partnership and a deep understanding of the organisation and its people would be crucial.
We quickly worked to understand the business priorities and the key operational challenges that could be solved with improved technology.
Leave it to the Experts
Our ability to take care of all aspects, from proposal, through procurement, to deployment, mean the Garden staff can focus on delivering the amazing customer experience they are renowned for, and the community services that give the organisation its purpose.
With reliable, secure infrastructure and the right tools for the modern workplace, staff know they can rely on Dunedin IT.
Key deliverables to date have included:
Business Grade Protection from Cyber Crime
Security at the Garden is now taken seriously. All users with Multi-Factor-Authentication.
High speed fibre internet
High speed 300+ Mbps fibre internet sourced and managed by Dunedin IT
New Till System
New phones system
Delivering on time and on budget was crucial to building trust and improving the user experience
New CCTV system
The site has reported significant improvement in the stability of the livestream camera, as well as a huge reduction in the time required for uploading to their social media feeds. And the bandwidth management has meant no one application has a noticeable impact on any others that might be running in parallel.
The deployment of WiFi has enhanced the visitor experience and allows staff access to their online resources, no matter their location.
This includes providing connectivity to the volunteers who live on site during the summer months, allowing them to stay more connected to family and friends.
It’s a solution Scottish Wildlife Trust are already assessing in relation to other wilderness sites across Scotland.
The Results
Never a dill moment
Our ability to take care of all aspects, from proposal, through procurement, to deployment, mean the Garden staff can focus on delivering the amazing customer experience they are renowned for, and the community services that give the organisation its purpose.
Continued Growth
We continue to work closely as the organisation grows and develops its aims and objectives, ensuring the IT environment is performing as it should, and ensuring emerging technologies are included where appropriate.
Positive Impact
The visitor experience has been significantly enhanced, having a positive impact on the revenues that can be generated and invested in the community projects which address issue such as poverty, wellbeing and education.
Connected and Effective
Staff report being more connected and effective in their roles, even through the pandemic and our on-site engineer has become an important embedded member of the overall team.
“It’s a rarity to have a service provider partner who genuinely cares for your organisation. They want us to be the best, they want us to succeed, and they’re invested in us. That’s a really special thing”
Mark Brassell
Director of The Alnwick Garden
