UTS:INSEARCH Website Solution Case Study

See how We've transformed

UTS:INSEARCH is a division of the University of Technology, Sydney dedicated to providing students with a pathway into UTS and beyond. Established over 20 years ago as the UTS language school, the organisation has grown to supply specialised UTS pathways.

The Challenge

Previously, INSEARCH’s main website was developed and managed by an in-house web team. The site was heavy in Flash content and operated on a centralised publisher model.

Over the years the site had grown organically and as a result, a variety of problems arose which included a lack of consistency throughout its design, content, navigation, workflow and architecture.

INSEARCH needed a new system and required it to:

Provide a robust and user-friendly CMS environment that enforced publishing standards while supporting distributed content creation.
Have out-of-the-box functionality that minimised the need for customisation or in-house development; but ensured enough flexibility so that qualified personnel were able to do their job.
Be supported by a creditable company that could provide end-to-end services.

You are here:

Using the Elcom platform, our teams are able to deliver superior sites that are mission critical, reliable and scalable. It allows us to reuse and repurpose content and automate processes. As a result, we are saving resources, time and money allowing each project to be delivered on time, on budget and to scope a win-win for all. UTS:INSEARCH, INSEARCH Business Systems Manager
UTS:INSEARCH

The Solution

After extensive research, Elcom was chosen for its modular and feature-rich design, ease of use, architectural design and above all, ability to meet key requirements. Over the last few years, Elcom and INSEARCH have worked on a number of projects including:

Website

INSEARCH launched their new Elcom site. The solution removed all previous challenges and allowed them to concentrate on new online strategies; starting with delivering video content, such as recorded testimonials.

Three years later, as part of a greater marketing and re-branding exercise, the site underwent an entire overhaul. This included a fresh look and feel, improved navigation, social media integration and easy access to information such as brochures, publications, news, events and more. The site makes use of Elcom's document management, dynamic widgets, search and taxonomy features.

Staff Intranet

Managed as a Multi-site, INSEARCH’s Staff Intranet provides centralised access to information and updates. Through the Elcom Corporate Directory and Active Directory Modules, members can search for contact and department details. They also have access to news updates, support and HR information such as service desk links and pay roll information; and project management forms and templates – this information is managed through the use of Elcom's Dynamic Widgets. To enhance collaboration and communication, Forms are used to provide staff with the ability to submit questions to managers easily.

Student Extranet

The Student Extranet provides students with personalised and secure access to their course details. The extranet is also managed as a Multi-site; and through the Elcom Developer API module, INSEARCH has created a custom student timetable which provides users with a view of all enrolled lectures and tutorials. The timetable is integrated with the central database for seamless data management. Google Maps has also been integrated to provide campus directions; social media to enhance their student community and implemented polls and surveys to gather feedback for the continuous improvement of processes.

International Sub-sites

As part of their international campaigns, INSEARCH also owns Chinese, Vietnamese and Indonesian multi-sites and mobile site. These are all managed through the Elcom Multi-lingual module.

The Benefits

As a result of implementing Elcom, INSEARCH has experienced the following benefits:

Reduced administration and publishing times and costs
By moving away from a centralised publisher model, individual teams are responsible for creating and publishing their own departmental content. Workflow and approval processes managed through Elcom, help to reduce the burden on the web-team and ensure the level of quality and professionalism is maintained.
Faster roll-out of new strategies
The modular, flexible and intuitive design of Elcom means it is very easy for INSEARCH to implement and roll out new online strategies and campaigns with minimal effort.
The ability to adapt to technology demands
The flexible nature of Elcom allows INSEARCH to build functionality or sites to meet and adapt to technology demands. This supports INSEARCH’s image as a leading educational institute.
Improve support and services
By providing subject matter experts and department leaders with access to update and add content easily, INSEARCH is able to provide a content-rich environment to improve support and services to all stakeholders.
Increased staff engagement
Staff now have centralised access to information that is easy to navigate and search through. Through the implementation of functionality that encourages engagement and collaboration, such as feedback and Q&A forms, staff are able to engage with other staff members and senior managers easily and effectively.

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