Case
Studies

Agriculture

Preventing and combatting rising rural crime.

Challenge

We were presented with the challenge of assisting rural landowners experiencing a rising wave of targeted crime. CCTV systems and traditional burglar alarm systems were insufficient for this particular issue due to the specific needs of modern farms.

Process

We established that the farmers needed a real-time system that could deliver alerts for all assets on their farms and in remote places. We attached tags to assets and livestock, and plugged a gateway into the farmhouse to give an instant network of coverage using our proprietary Orion Data Network. The area extended to a 10km radius, allowing the tags we installed to provide real-time data and alerts across the site.

Fire service

Real-time notification system for immediate action.

Challenge

Dorset Fire Service (DFS) used portable misting units for vulnerable people. The notification system, which alerted DFS to activation of the unit, used existing autodialler technology. Unfortunately, this system could be unreliable. They asked Smarter Technologies to provide backup in the form of a communications channel.

Process

Smarter Technologies conducted initial testing by integrating our tags into the misting units and setting up an Orion gateway to provide the coverage. The concept was simple; when the misting unit was activated, the tag would send a command to the fire service via the Orion gateway. As the tags are independent of gateways, an alert will be triggered and sent in real-time to the fire service (as long as the tag is in a coverage zone), notifying them of the need for immediate action.

Legal

Cybersecurity systems and training.

Challenge

Smarter Technologies was approached by a leading UK law firm who had concerns about their staff awareness of cyber security, specifically the threat from phishing attacks. The firm had recently been targeted via a Business Email Compromise (BEC) threat that was attempting to embezzle a significant amount of money from the firm.

Process

The Smarter Technologies approach comprises a six-stage process, which can be adopted and tailored to suit the requirements of any organisation:

Stage 1 - Identify the users
Stage 2 - Design the campaign and select the themes
Stage 3 - Delivery of the campaign by our phishing specialists
Stage 4 - Analyse the results
Stage 5 - Awareness & learning content delivered in multiple formats
Stage 6 - Continual improvement by adjusting the campaign

Finance

Compliant cloud migration.

Challenge

A financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom were planning to move their business intelligence and information storage to a cloud-based platform. They required assurances as to the risks associated, as well as a secure migration strategy. They also wanted clarity on the specific requirements they needed from a cloud service provider.

Process

We conducted a full vendor-agnostic IS1&2 Risk Assessment complete with treatment plan, development of a security strategy and ethical phishing roadmap.

We also completed a Cloud Security Assessment that fed into the cloud security strategy. The key findings from both of these deliverables were detailed in a report and workshops were held with the key stakeholders to discuss the findings.

Water Hygiene

Automating the water testing process.

Challenge

AquaCare specialises in Legionella control measures, which typically require a field technician to travel to the site to manually carry out temperature monitoring and flushing. But hiring physical labour for such a menial task is expensive for companies and has several disadvantages, including the risk of human error, human resource costs, and access to remote locations.

Process

We implemented our auto-flush unit to schedule automated temperature testing and flushing according. All reports are now generated automatically. The system removes human error from the testing, record keeping and reporting process, significantly reducing the costs associated with water hygiene risk assessment and monitoring.

Public Sector

Enabling digital transformation.

Challenge

A UK government department needed to ensure that the disparate legacy systems and local "solutions" (which had become the mainstay of departmental business) would not hamper the desire to create a digitally transformed organisation. Part of the challenge meant ensuring minimal business disruption while undergoing the digital transformation process.

Process

Smarter Technologies designed the roadmaps through acceptance, technical debt, inherited backlog and beyond. Thereafter, we embedded high-performing agile teams, working in collaboration with civil servants to ensure effective skills and knowledge transfer. Our strategy and technical innovation enabled the department to move its operational, data and digital streams to cloud-hosted solutions.