Streamlining and consolidating technology
Partnering with RBC Technology Group powered by Ducentis on technology services, including hosted email and internet, phone communications and printing systems, has allowed this Australian childcare group to streamline and consolidate business processes across 25 different sites.
Imagine Education Group has been operating childcare centres across multiple Australian states for over 20 years, working with approved providers and nominated supervisors to deliver positive outcomes for each centre and its community. RBC Technology Group started with Imagine Education Group providing printer fleet management five years ago and has continued to expand its technology services.
The Challenge
Nathan Dodds, IT Manager for Imagine Education Group, says as the business grew across multiple locations, it became more and more difficult to deal with multiple providers across technology and printing needs.
“It was a lot of work to manage the different accounts; we were looking for a trusted partner to provide all the services under one umbrella,” says Nathan. “Services were inconsistent across sites, with different internet providers, siloed phone systems and processes, and constant email speed and outage issues.
“RBC Technology Group were already providing our printer fleet management, so we decided to engage them to help streamline and consolidate our technology needs.”
The Solution
Scott Holzberger, Chief Technology Officer for RBC Technology Group, says his team focused on designing more efficient technology solutions for Imagine Education Group while rolling out fast turnaround services to deal with aging equipment and software.
“We came in with a really holistic approach to Imagine Education Group and its business processes. First, we dealt with immediate problems, like servers running at capacity and hardware end of life issues,” says Scott.
“We’ve now created a full technology strategy that can roll out to new centres as they come online, enabling rapid deployment and transparent budgets for Imagine Education Group’s IT needs.”
Today, RBC Technology Group’s services for Imagine Education Group include hosted email archiving, offsite backup services, management of a network data centre and establishing a voice2me solution across all locations.
“We also have a larger strategy looking at Imagine Education Group’s core infrastructure to roll out over two or three years.”
The Result
Nathan says Imagine Education Group are happy to have Group-wide IT solutions that are built into each new childcare centre as they come online. “The 3CX phone system has worked so well, we are now incorporating it into an internal call centre we are establishing to act as a base for enquiries from prospective and current families, to ensure no call is left unanswered due to care requirements in-centre.
“The VoIP system we previously had in place simply didn’t have the features and reporting capabilities that 3CX can bring to a call centre environment, which includes having our sales team and care teams sit side-by-side within the technology.”
In addition to giving Imagine Education Group stability and cost confidence when rolling out new centres, RBC Technology Group’s technology solutions have led to a 15% decrease in IT spending.
“They also have the peace of mind of using our team as second or third level support to assist the internal IT team with issues that go beyond the day-to-day. We can help resolve them quickly and always with the larger strategy in mind.”
For Imagine Education Group, the advantage of engaging RBC Technology Group technology solutions is clear. “We have found a trusted partner we can work with and fall back on when needed. The RBC Technology Group team has been invaluable in helping us streamline and consolidate business processes, and set up standardised systems that work across all our locations.
“The client service from RBC Technology Group has been communicative and helpful, we feel very supported in what we’re looking to achieve for our business now and into the future.”
