Leading IT solutions consultancy ramsac today announced it has been chosen by national charity The National Gardens Scheme (NGS) to streamline and maintain its vital IT systems. NGS, which opens gardens, (many of them private) to the public to raise money for charity, relies heavily on email as the primary line of communication (for practical and economic benefits) between staff and the volunteers who support the local garden openings. The charity has turned to ramsac to optimise its IT infrastructure and help it make the most of its email and other ICT technology to support core fundraising.
“We support over 3,600 gardens across the country, with the equivalent of only eight full-time staff”, comments Julia Grant, Chief Executive of The National Gardens Scheme which is based at Hatchlands Park in East Clandon, near Guildford. “We therefore heavily rely on a team of around 350 volunteers who facilitate the events and our email and website are valuable tools of communication and promotion, so our IT is vital for this as well as our general business operations.” It had become apparent to the NGS that the existing IT systems needed to be streamlined and simplified to make the most of its resources and allow for future needs, in conjunction with permanent ongoing expert support.
The NGS chose ramsac following recommendations via Business Link and were impressed by their IT consultancy work with other charities such as the CHASE hospice care for children. “We are delighted to be working with NGS,” says Paul Mew, Technical Director at ramsac. “It is very rewarding to work with a charity that helped raise £2m last year for charitable causes. We appreciate they need to get the best value from their IT services and we aim to continue their development in this area, offering both ad-hoc support and strategic IT planning.”
ramsac performed an initial IT ‘Healthcheck’ and in discussion with the NGS looked at the best ways to improve the charity’s IT functions and fully utilise their IT infrastructure. “Essentially the NGS’ IT infrastructure was able to serve most of their needs, but its complex nature meant there was little room to grow,” says Mew. “Having suggested they upgrade their server and update the version of Microsoft Windows they use, we simplified their email systems to streamline communications and make full use of their resources, allowing further scope for development in the future – as well as advising on the best direction for their overall IT facilities.
“We are now working with the NGS to improve their website and central database, which contains details of all the participating gardens in the scheme and forms the core information for the ‘Yellow Book’ – the charity’s key guide which chronicles opening dates and garden details,” added Mew.
The NGS have been impressed with the improvements already implemented: “ramsac has helped us significantly increase the speed of our vital email communications with a minimum of disruption and additional investment, which has been essential for us as a charity,” adds Grant. “We also have a programme of maintenance in place with ramsac to make sure our IT continues to fulfill our needs.”