An IT facelift

Earth Trust manages an estate that includes Little Wittenham Nature Reserve beside the Thames in Oxfordshire, a conservation farm and new woodland dedicated to forestry research. It also promotes conservation through education in schools via its travelling Wild Waste Show. Since 2004 the charity has expanded substantially and now employs over 30 people.

Specific needs

Until 2004, the Trust was operating with an eclectic and unsatisfactory mix of PCs dotted around a series of small, scattered offices, a situation which was starting to impact adversely on its development. The award of a Heritage Lottery grant in June that year meant that plans for a facelift on several fronts could go ahead, not least the much-needed overhaul of its essential back office. With the subsequent stepping-up of activities on the Trust’s 300-hectare estate, the revamp of its existing IT infrastructure was crucial for successful expansion.

The brief

Local company, Riverbank IT Management, advised the charity on how to make the change from a small unconnected network with a slow Internet link, to a server-based network with broadband Internet access.

The solution

By making these changes they were also able to get rid of all their old mismatched computers and buy up-to-date equipment. With the email for all staff, including those operating in the field, and speedier broadband Internet access, the Earth Trust has seen a huge improvement in both external and internal communications.