A problem shared…

Arts organisations are always saying they want modern software that meets their needs for ticketing, marketing, memberships and fundraising. They want a system that can enable them to manage their customer relationships, benefit from e-marketing, transact with customers over the web and gain real intelligence on their customers from the information that they collect. However they don’t want to pay the costs associated with making the step from the old to state-of-the-art software – establishing the necessary file servers, backup systems, staff training, data conversion, licence fees and, not forgetting, the on-going upgrade costs for hardware and the electricity to run the servers.

Justifying the expense of moving systems can be difficult. However, such a system is business critical. Furthermore, with Customer Relationship Management software systems such as Tessitura, organisations can share their system in a privacy-protected manner with others to the benefit of all.

Shared services is a term that is often discussed and many think refers to shared functions such as payroll or HR advice, but there are other ways of sharing. Wales Millennium Centre is one of a number of UK Tessitura licensees that have set up consortiums to share their system, and was the first UK licensee of the software back in 2003. Tessitura enables arts organisations to manage their ticketing, marketing and fundraising needs, bringing everything together in one place so that organisations can manage their relationships with their customers. Critically, it enables all staff members to see customers ‘in the round’. Since 2008, the Centre has established a consortium of Tessitura partners that vary in scale, including National Dance Company Wales, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the brand new Pontio in Bangor and Venue Cymru.

These partner organisations benefit from this in many ways:

• there is no need to invest in the file servers needed for the software or
the data storage

• software license costs are reduced

• Centre staff manage software upgrades, maintenance and hardware backup

• software support is also taken care of by the Centre, with the full backup of the Tessitura Network

• partners can use packaged web services or develop their own websites with companies that have experience of Tessitura integrations, such as Fusion Workshop or Alienation

• they retain 100% of their own transaction fees.

In addition, all partners are part of a community of organisations sharing experiences and expertise. In return the Centre receives annual support from each partner which contributes towards core costs, which would be incurred whether or not Tessitura was shared with others.

Where sharing with another arts organisation isn’t appropriate then it is still possible to obtain the same functionality as an in-house system via a cloud-based model offered by Tessitura Network. All the computer power needed is supplied by Tessitura Network, which manages any upgrades, adjustments and database administration required. Instead of having to buy hardware and run servers, users can access the system by simply logging on to their desktop wherever there is an internet connection. So there are always options available to achieve a move to new technology.