Cloud-based office 365 set up for new boat dealership
Inspiration Marine Group is one of the UK’s largest new boat dealerships, representing luxury brands from some of the world’s best boat builders.
The business operates from several UK locations, with partners in Barcelona and Mallorca.
Inspiration Marine prides itself on its wide-ranging client base and exclusively represents four luxury brands: Hanse Yachts, Dehler Yachts, Fjord Motor Boats and Privilege Catamarans. The boats range from 30ft to 70 plus feet and can cost over £3m.
With an emphasis on customer service, the business is a multiple award-winner, most recently winning the “Dealer of the Year Overall” for Hanse Group for the 10th time.
The Challenge…
As a customer-facing business in the luxury boat market, a rapid response to potential buyers and existing clients is always needed. Key to the business strategy is inspiring confidence and fostering a solid relationship with customers to ensure they feel supported throughout their years of ownership.
This requires a responsive and reliable IT set-up that minimises downtime, optimises efficiency, and allows easy collaboration between teams in four locations.
Inspiration Marine had switched from an old Citrix-based system no longer fit for purpose to a fully cloud-based Office 365 environment. This allowed team members to work anywhere, with full access to the shared resources.
However, the Inspiration Marine team noticed increased phishing attacks on their systems over time. Staff were having to deal with ever-smarter fraud attempts and spam emails.
To futureproof the business for further growth, the team at Inspiration Marine wanted to undertake a full review of their IT systems to ensure they were protected and secure.
The team also noticed issues around hardware not updating and suffering glitches in specific applications. This was becoming a drain on time and resources for senior managers.
The Solution
Aura leads with IT strategy as the bedrock of all its solutions, and the first task was getting to know the business and gaining a complete understanding of all aspects of the organisation –operationally and at the strategic board level.
Aura specialists initiated a strategic review and immediately identified several areas for improvement in the public cloud model Inspiration Marine had been using.
Working closely with the senior directors, Aura began modifying the organisation’s licensing and Office 365 set-up to help improve efficiency and the user experience.
Aura’s team delivered a security software suite that secured the company’s network, significantly increasing resilience to prevent ransomware attacks, phishing attempts, malware infections, and virus outbreaks.
As GDPR compliance has been a priority, Aura reviewed the CRM provision and has been instrumental in guiding to ensure the correct procedures are being followed.
With an emphasis on solving IT problems before they arise, Inspiration Marine has been allocated a dedicated Proactive IT Engineer to ensure its IT systems are always fit for purpose and that operational efficiency is regularly reviewed.
As part of a seamless onboarding experience, Inspiration Marine has been working closely with a Proactive Virtual IT Director to assess future IT needs and ensure decisions are aligned with business requirements.
In addition to the proactive team, Inspiration Marine has had full 24-hour access to Aura’s reactive support engineers, who have been available remotely and for on-site visits whenever required.
The Result
Aura’s strategic, proactive approach has helped to transform the IT set-up at Inspiration Marine, significantly reducing downtime and giving managers more time to focus on what they do best – growing the business.
James Stone, Director at Inspiration Marine Group, said: “Ultimately, IT is our daily tool – and Aura have delivered on every level.
“They have allowed us to focus much more on growing our business and have helped the team across the UK work more efficiently and securely.
“The planning meetings help us map out a plan for the future and have resulted in us planning a longer-term strategy for our IT and identifying how we can maximise the features of Office 365.
“The ongoing support has been nothing short of excellent – friendly and approachable, but with a high level of technical knowledge. If any issues are encountered, Aura ensures that users return to work quickly. Over a year, this improves efficiency, productivity, and ultimately, less stress for all our employees.
“Aura’s approach to IT is unique, and I highly recommend them to any business looking for a fresh and intelligent perspective to help them grow.”
To learn more about how a managed IT solution could benefit your business, get in touch with our team.