Fat lady sings as Dell transforms the Royal Opera House's IT infrastructure

The Royal Opera House (ROH), one of the world’s leading arts organisations, has deployed a complete end-to-end infrastructure from Dell. Over the course of a year the ROH revamped its data centre, installed a new wireless network infrastructure, thin clients and next-generation firewalls, consolidated and updated all desktops and laptops, and introduced tablets to its executive-level employees.

Technology is at the centre of every aspect of the ROH; from the productions to back office support systems including marketing and finance to a very busy online booking system. In order to ensure that it can continue to provide its visitors with the level of service they expect in an increasingly connected world, the Royal Opera House IT team decided to carry out its biggest IT transformation in 16 years. Following an initial tender to upgrade the ageing data centre and desktop infrastructure, the ROH decided to deploy a range of solutions.

Virtual desktop infrastructure was a key component of this first wave of deployment providing flexibility to staff members, some of whom spend time overseas during the course of their work. To help secure the full infrastructure, the ROH introduced the Dell SonicWALL NSA 5600 (NGWF). Dell, alongside partner Circle IT, also worked with the IT team to upgrade the ROH’s network infrastructure including the core network and wireless network.

Impressed with the speed and success of the initial deployments, the ROH decided to expand its relationship with Dell by providing members of the Chief Executive’s office with Dell Venue 11 Pro tablets, eventually replacing their existing desktops with their Dell tablet, tablet dock, keyboards and a monitor. They now benefit from increased flexibility and the ability to connect to their colleagues, and the company systems, anywhere at any time.

Jason Oliver, Head of Technology Operations at the Royal Opera House explains: “The core network had been in place for 16 years and was a piecemeal environment. The equipment that we had just wasn’t giving us what we needed and was costing a huge amount to upgrade. Dell networking solutions ticked every box for us, with three years warranty and at 50 percent of the cost to upgrade the legacy switches. A robust wireless solution was also an important part of the upgrade as it allows members of the public to validate their access to the internet. It has also been vital to the success of events such as the BAFTA Awards, with journalists using the network to send news of the winners.

We have some exciting future plans in the works for the Royal Opera House but none of these would be possible without the modern, flexible IT infrastructure that we now have in place. A successful aspect of the revamp has been the introduction of tablets. The flexibility and portability of the devices have been popular with our executives, and the IT team, who can manage the devices with the same freedom as the desktops and laptops.”

“Carrying out a full technology overhaul can be a daunting task for any business so it’s vital that they feel comfortable with the vendor partner that they choose to deliver the best solutions for their specific needs,” explains Richard Rawcliffe, executive director and general manager, Dell UK. “This was certainly the case for the Royal Opera House as they embarked on a complete end-to-end deployment that would impact every aspect of the organisation. We worked closely with our partners NEC and Circle IT to introduce a new IT infrastructure that will support the ROH now and in the future, as it looks to expand its offerings and build upon the service that it provides to visitors and staff alike.”