Major investment in IT by a Hampshire charity has paid off.

With headquarters in Curdridge, near Botley, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT) has eight offices across its patch and employs 134 people, 86 full-time.

Over the past five years, it's been working with Southampton-based Aura Technology to ensure its locations — often in rural settings —benefit from being efficiently connected.

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The Trust is one of the largest of the 46 Wildlife Trusts that comprise the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts across the UK. Together, they are one of the country's most active and influential nature conservation partnerships, protecting wildlife in every part of the British Isles.

Each Trust works within its local community to inspire people and bring about change. With the invaluable support of volunteers and members, Wildlife Trusts manages over 60 nature reserves, working with other organisations and landowners to protect and connect wildlife sites across the county and inspire local communities and young people to care for wildlife where they live.

"Our relationship with Aura has been the major catalyst in providing us with the confidence to approach our digital transformation and to look at improving how we use IT to work effectively,” says Tara Puttock, Facility Manager at HIWWT. "These are tough trading conditions for every business, particularly in the third sector, and we must look for value for money without compromising delivery.”

"While IT is an essential resource to any business, as a charity, we face additional considerations such as budgetary constraints and the need for decisions to go through varying authorisation channels before approval. From the outset, in looking to appoint an IT company, we had to feel sure that we would have a partner who would not only have our best interests at heart but also be able to help us deliver on our strategy for growth, taking these considerations into account.

“It was important, too, that our IT partner shared our values for sustainability and conservation."

Aura Technology’s commercial director Richard Flanders added: “Our ethos is straightforward. We are geared to deliver everything we can that is best for their business and ensure they meet their strategic goals. That means that if we can save them from spending money, that’s exactly what we do.”