RNLI Selects Ensono for Digital Transformation Plan

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), the UK’s largest charity saving lives at sea, has selected Ensono, a leading hybrid IT services provider, to evaluate the company’s current IT Infrastructure estate, and create a digital transformation blueprint. Once implemented, IT modernisation will drive greater agility and efficiency, and will enable new technologies and processes.

The RNLI provides a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service and a seasonal lifeguard service. The charity has 238 lifeboat stations, operates over 450 lifeboats, and has lifeguards on over 200 beaches. Founded in 1824, the organisation has saved in excess of 141,500 lives since its formation.

As an organisation that has been running for almost 200 years, the RNLI has lived through an enormous amount of change. The charity plans to migrate all services and applications from two of its on-premise data centres, reducing the presence of costly legacy infrastructure, reducing risk, and modernising its capability to power organisational objectives. In preparation for this migration of business-critical systems, Ensono undertook a comprehensive review of the RNLI’s complex IT environment.

Ensono’s plans will enable new IT services, improved disaster recovery, and will provide a clear plan for services that can be re-hosted, re-platformed or retired. The blueprint will be aligned with the RNLI’s guiding principles, strategic thinking, and industry best practices.

Paul Smith, Head of IT at the RNLI, said: “With a more modern IT architecture, we will be able to increase our focus on meeting the needs of the charity, without the drain of technical debt. We now have the opportunity to make a vertical step-change in our digital ecosystem capability, providing agility, cost savings, and improvements in efficiency and effectiveness that will power the organisation’s mission through technology.”

“With Ensono’s deep experience in digital transformation and an approach, way of thinking, and values that resonated with our own, we saw its Consulting & Advisory services as the best solution to take us on that discovery journey. We have found the Ensono team to be highly professional and knowledgeable in their approach, and our expectations for this activity were exceeded.”

Mike Lewis, Director of Consulting & Advisory at Ensono, said: “Our consulting services will lay the groundwork for a modern IT infrastructure that is an asset to the organisation. The charity can look forward to an IT estate that enables new technologies and ways of working, and we’re delighted to help the RNLI as it moves forward on its journey.”

For more information about Ensono’s Consulting & Advisory services, please visit: https://www.ensono.com/uk/consulting-advisory

About Ensono

Ensono helps IT leaders be the catalyst for change by harnessing the power of hybrid IT to transform their businesses. We drive digital transformation by enabling increased agility and scalability through the modernization to public cloud. Our broad services portfolio from mainframe to cloud, powered by an intelligent governance platform, is designed to help our clients operate for today and optimize for tomorrow. We are award-winning certified experts in AWS and Azure and recognized as Microsoft Datacenter Transformation Partner of the Year. Ensono has nearly 2,000 associates around the world and is headquartered in greater Chicago. Visit us at www.ensono.com. 

In June 2018, Ensono acquired the hosted data center services business of Wipro Limited.

Key facts about the RNLI

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the charity that saves lives at sea. Our volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 238 lifeboat stations, including four along the River Thames and inland lifeboat stations at Loch Ness, Lough Derg, Enniskillen and Lough Ree. Additionally, the RNLI has more than 1,000 lifeguards on over 240 beaches around the UK and operates a specialist flood rescue team, which can respond anywhere across the UK and Ireland when inland flooding puts lives at risk.

The RNLI relies on public donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. As a charity it is separate from, but works alongside, government-controlled and funded coastguard services. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 our lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved at least 140,000 lives. Volunteers make up 95% of the charity, including 4,600 volunteer lifeboat crew members and 3,000 volunteer shore crew. Additionally, tens of thousands of other dedicated volunteers raise funds and awareness, give safety advice, and help in our museums, shops and offices.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

For media inquiries, please contact Beth Burghgraef at: [email protected].