Ravensdown sees advantages in outsourcing service, expertise and added value

14 August 2019

Customer Profile

Ravensdown is a big player in the fertiliser and agricultural sector. They provide services, products and technology, that help farmers reduce environmental impacts and optimise value from the land. IT has always been important to Ravensdown, they value and invest in it, to get strategic advantage over their competitors. From state-of-the-art laboratories, mapping technologies, laser tracking measurement of grass growth, nutrient modelling software, GPS-controlled applications and algorithms to help calculate soil nutrient status from the air – Ravensdown uses technology to enable smarter farming.

Ravensdown SIGN

Challenges & Goals

To meet their customer’s ever evolving needs, Ravensdown continuously develops world-class, interactive and responsive customer-facing apps. This requires a high level of IT service delivery.

Ravensdown’s on-site infrastructure was up for renewal. Instead of reinvesting in new hardware, Ravensdown reviewed the market and decided to outsource their IT infrastructure requirements and appointed Softsource vBridge (formerly vBridge) as their cloud service provider.

Solution

Some key members of the Softsource vBridge (SvB) team previously worked at Ravensdown and had a unique understanding of the business. However, Ravensdown did not offer SvB any favours and put them through their paces which included a robust Ernst and Young technical audit. This involved a series of rigorous tests, pushing their security systems and evaluating their policies, procedures and financial performance. Any questions or concerns that arose, were worked through together and ironed out.  SvB’s infrastructure solutions deliver superior processing power, 24/7 uptime, super responsiveness, and full security compliance. On top of the high-calibre hardware, Softsource vBridge also offers smart services. This includes the MyCloudSpace portal, allowing Ravensdown to scale and configure their requirements, monitor and manage costs, and activate smart shutdowns at the touch of a button. However, SvB’s real advantage is they don’t see cloud services as an IT business, but rather a customer service business, offering extra customer care and a deep level of expertise. It is this empathy for the customer’s needs that allows Softsource vBridge to understand the intricacies of the environment, and then deliver a relevant and effective service.

Results & Return

When the three-year contract came to its conclusion, Ravensdown again evaluated the market, procuring the best service for the best cost. From large global service providers, offering out-of-the-box solutions, to other local providers, Ravensdown saw the advantages in Softsource vBridge’s service, expertise and added value. Ravensdown decided SvB was still relevant to their needs and the right partner for them and signed up for another three-year term.

The relationship is a strong and healthy one, as it is based on a high level of trust, with Ravensdown seeing Softsource vBridge as a key partner in their business.

Softsource vBridge is continuously working hard to deliver the services Ravensdown require to be the best in the business.  They are always pushing to find new ways and opportunities, to improve and maintain their high level of service.

Ravensdown finds comfort in knowing Softsource vBridge is there to sort out any issues that may arise, while the Ravensdown IT team focus on innovation, to stay one step ahead of software development.

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