Canadian Museum of Nature
The Canadian Museum of Nature Gets Help from NeoLore for Present & Future Needs
“NeoLore has all the positive attributes of a family-run business.”
With over 200 full-time employees and 450,000 visitors each year, the museum depends on a durable IT infrastructure to maintain consistent operations.
As the national natural history museum in Canada, The Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN) is a vibrant, multi-layered, multi-faceted organization composed of world-renowned research scientists, collection specialists, education and multimedia specialists, and innovative museum professionals.
With over 200 full-time employees and 450,000 visitors each year, the museum depends on a durable IT infrastructure to maintain consistent operations.
An article in “Curator: The Museum Journal” (January 2022), lists a leading objective of technology in museums is to safeguard “the integrity of information resources…”
“Continuity of business”
According to Museum Next, a network for museum employees, “As museums continue to adopt new technologies, it is vital to ensure that security measures grow and mature in line with innovation… Failing to fully explore growing security requirements or simply hoping that a breach never occurs is never a solution.”
“I would say that continuity of business is a core objective,” says Adam Hooper, Project Leader, IM/IT, at CMN. “Similar to many other organizations, that means we pay attention to an issue like cybersecurity—which we take very seriously.”
Recently, CMN’s IT group began transitioning to multi-factor authentication (MFA), a process that requires the user to provide two or more verification methods to gain access to a resource or application. MFA was added to Microsoft 365. The museum has adopted YubiKey technology—a physical device that offers an additional form of identification when logging into a system or account.
“In terms of security, all of our information is in the cloud,” Adam explains. “We maintain top levels of protection.” A recent study from Sales Force revealed “94% of business saw an improvement in security after switching to the cloud.”
Hosted email offers greater business efficiency and email security, with instant access to email from Android, Apple, and Windows computing devices. Hosted servers provide real-time, high availability and disaster recovery architecture that keeps data and business information safe.
“When NeoLore came on board,” Adam says, “they really helped to fill a void. They looked at a lot of issues from the ground level up, one of which was security.”
“NeoLore has been excellent from the beginning”
“NeoLore successfully bid on a RFP (Request for Proposal). Their work essentially started as an audit,” says Adam, describing NeoLore Network’s first assignment. “This was back in April 2022. We wanted a kind of state of the union analysis of where our IT stood—what needed to be done right away, and what could be scheduled for later. NeoLore has been excellent from the beginning.”
NeoLore treats each organization’s IT needs as unique. In the discovery phase, NeoLore defines an organization’s goals, its pain points, and special challenges. A snapshot is created of current business versus goals and projections. The next step involves the development of an IT blueprint, contributing to SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) recommendations.
“There are many areas that IT touches,” says Adam. “It’s a public institution, so every day we accommodate school visits and families. That’s a good example of the need for the continuity of business. It all involves a lot of data collection. You also have regular, internal projects with staff. In the end, there’s a wide range of challenges.”
Museums rely on a robust IT infrastructure. Activities include:
- Administration – facilities management, event planning, and ticketing; marketing, donor relations and fundraising; and publishing.
- Internal Communications – website communications and collaborations with other institutions.
- Collections and Collection Management – the museum collects information as much as it collects objects.
“When NeoLore came on board,” Adam says, “they really helped to fill a void. They looked at a lot of issues from the ground level up, one of which was security.”
“NeoLore gets it”
NeoLore has helped CMN develop an IT strategy, addressing current needs while anticipating future demands. “For me, NeoLore has all the positive attributes of a family-run business,” says Adam. “They’re reliable, you know the people you’re dealing with, and you have trust in their decisions.”
NeoLore’s objective to provide personalized client network support solutions, has resulted in substantial experience across a wide range of industries and groups, with a sterling reputation based on results. “I would have to say, at the end of the day, NeoLore gets it.” Adam concludes. “They understand where we are and where we need to go. It’s a pleasure dealing with them.”
