Credit: Microsoft
Microsoft partner Enlighten Designs has developed a cloud-based platform aimed at giving local animal management and security firm Gallagher Group a shot at tackling the small business market.
In addition to its traditional animal management technology offering, Gallagher makes perimeter, access control and intruder alarm solutions to protect high-consequence assets and locations.
However, the company wanted to take its security offering to small businesses, while still providing the same quality security as it does to large assets.
But to do that, it needed a new platform to enable businesses of all sizes to access the information associated with their security systems, while also providing Gallagher with data that could help it scale up its service to its newly-expanded market.
Broadly, the solution was slated as an online platform that would be scalable, user-friendly and which could collect customers’ information. The platform was intended to help the Gallagher team automate service delivery and personalised offers to a vastly larger customer base.
This is where Enlighten Designs stepped in.
The Waikato-based creative technical agency, which is also a Sitecore partner, moved into Gallagher’s Hamilton office for 10 months to work on the new system — a platform that can host automated or mobile security solutions.
Enlighten Designs came in with a plan to integrate customer engagement and digital marketing platform Sitecore with Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure.
Also involved in the project was the integration of Gallagher’s core back-office functions, such as its SAP finance modules, as well as enabling resellers to invoice, fulfil day-to-day orders and track interactions with customers.
Additionally, a mobile app sends alerts to the local reseller whenever customers have requested an appointment.
The Enlighten and Gallagher teams also added a feature to allow customers to switch alarm systems on and off via their smartphones and check the status of their alarms.
While still in its pilot phase, the new platform is touted to have already transformed the way Gallagher does business.
Indeed, with the portal replacing the company’s old CMS, it can now monitor the customer journey end-to-end, from lead generation to nurturing relationships, generating quotes, making sales and providing follow-up service, to full customer maturity.
The portal the creative technical agency has created is broadly designed to monitor how customers navigated through the site, not only learning their interests, but enabling rapid adjustments to be made for a vastly improved experience — an important factor, according to Enlighten account manager Gerard Mould.
“User experience was the number-one non-negotiable,” Mould said. “If any decision needed to be made, it had to be the one that provided the best user experience, and putting Sitecore on Azure did exactly that. It also provides seamless, end-to-end reporting on customer behaviour.
“As we were getting more and more data we were able to really see how Gallagher’s customers were behaving on a macro level and make the necessary changes to improve customer experience. For example, if lots of people were getting stuck on a particular form or pages were taking too long to load, we could fix that,” he added.
