Background:

Clinton Devon Estates is a family business, responsible for the stewardship of some of the most beautiful surroundings in Devon. The Clinton Barony is one of the oldest in England. Formed in 1299, today Clinton Devon Estates owns and manages 25,000 acres of land across three separate Estates in Devon.

These are the Heanton Estate in North Devon and the Beer and Clinton Estates in East Devon and including a major part of the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths. In addition to farming and forestry, the Estate operates a range of rural businesses and a portfolio of residential and commercial property. The Estates have been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise three times and is a Sunday Times Top 100 Company to work for.

Overview

The Objective

Revitalize the infrastructure of Clinton Devon Estates, necessitating a comprehensive undertaking encompassing meticulous scoping, design, development, and implementation of a novel system spanning diverse site locations. Our proposal was rigorously formulated to guarantee the system’s adaptability, heightened operational efficiency, and fortified data security across multifarious departments.

The Solution & Approach

System communications: Moved from their old legacy PSTN phone system which had limited functionality to a more modern VOIP system. Liaised with their existing provider to port all numbers into the new system. Spent time with CDE devising their ideal phone system settings.

Data infrastructure: Moved key data from the server into SharePoint. Allowing for data to be accessible offline, adding collaboration and reducing outages. All data migration was done outside of hours to minimize disruption.

Security backbone: Increased their security protocols by introducing “Intune”. Our policies dictated mandatory compliance for laptops, mobiles, and BYOD devices. To achieve this, we had to reenroll all devices into AAD.

Results

Scalability & cost savings: The new system will now dynamically grow with adaptable licenses which directly transition them from CAPEX to OPEX. This can increase their working force quickly whilst also giving them the option to reduce costs at a quicker rate if needed.

Real-time Insights: The new system covers all the above points with advanced daily reports. These will include metrics about sign in data, who accessed what and at what time.

Productivity: CDE went from using a non-coherent system to a collaboration suite. Removing their email sending rates by 35% which directly correlates with their internal policies about reducing their carbon footprint.