INTHEBLACK April 2022 - Magazine - Page 24
MEMBER PROFILE
// T H E S T R AT E G I S T
“THE FOCUS OF PUBLIC
INSTITUTIONS IN THE PAST HAS
BEEN ON HOW MANY PEOPLE
WOULD COME THROUGH THE
DOOR. THAT WAS LINKED TO
FUNDING. NOW, IT’S
INCREASINGLY ABOUT BEING
SMARTER, ABOUT ENGAGING
POTENTIAL VISITORS BEFORE
THEY COME, AS WELL AS DURING
AND AFTERWARDS.”
AMIE SCRUTON CPA
from yesterday or last month are over. That’s
a bit useless now. The organisation expects
from us intelligent forecasting, and we’ve got
the ability to do that.
“The implementation of the solution and
the impact it has had on the business have
been probably a highlight of my career to
date.”
That same insight and transparency
are what will drive the company’s clients
forward, too. The business strategy,
developed in 2019, is built around helping
public institutions, galleries and other spaces
and events to engage their visitors in a
meaningful way.
“The only thing that changed in terms of
our strategic focus during the pandemic has
been a slight diversion in the technology
roadmap to release solutions to help with
COVID-19-safe reopenings,” Scruton says.
“The focus of public institutions in the
past has been on how many people would
come through the door. That was linked to
funding. Now, it’s increasingly about being
smarter, about engaging potential visitors
before they come, as well as during and
afterwards.”
There is much these institutions can do,
Scruton says, to upgrade the user experience.
Why make visitors queue for an exhibition,
for example, when they could sit at a nearby
bar or cafe, or wander another part of the
gallery and be summoned by a message on
their phone at just the right time?
24 ITB April 2022
Why have wall plaques when people could
be immersed in soundscapes, hear or see
narratives on their smartphones or interact
playfully with the artwork?
Why have large, empty lobbies when
the space could be used for immersive
experiences?
“If we didn’t go through this
transformation process, there is no way our
business would be where it is now,” Scruton
says. “Our finance function is now an
enabler for the rest of the organisation and
an invaluable support to decision-makers.
We want the same digital success for our
clients – it’s quite empowering.”