About
Art Gene is a socially built environment organisation based in Barrow-in-Furness, working within the community and delivering a wide variety of projects on behalf of third parties. As National Portfolio Agents for the Arts Council, their field for collaboration has grown significantly, involving more volunteers and freelancers across multiple sites, including a new allotment space.
The Challenge
Art Gene’s old Panasonic phone system and existing Wi-Fi network were no longer fit for purpose. The organisation needed to support:
- A growing number of staff, volunteers, and collaborators.
- Two operational sites with reliable connectivity.
- Multiple Teams meetings running at the same time.
- Future ambitions for live streaming events and seminars to wider audiences.
The age of the building also created technical challenges. With walls over 100 years old and very thick, Wi-Fi signals were difficult to maintain across the space.
The Solution
Art Gene has worked with Bluebox since 2018, when their first phone system upgrade was delivered. With that trusted relationship in place, they chose Bluebox again for this project – confident enough in the service that they didn’t feel the need to go out to tender.
Bluebox implemented:
- A full phone system upgrade from Panasonic to 3CX.
- An upgraded internal network and Wi-Fi.
- Careful installation planning to avoid blackspots caused by the old building’s structure.
The Bluebox engineer provided hands-on support throughout, ensuring the system was designed to meet Art Gene’s specific needs.
The Outcome
The upgrade has had a huge impact on communication and connectivity:
- Smooth, reliable communication across both sites.
- The ability to hold multiple Teams meetings simultaneously, something previously impossible.
- Reliable Wi-Fi coverage throughout the building, with no loss of call or internet quality.
- A strong platform for future plans, including live streaming events and seminars to reach wider audiences.
Testimonial
“I would absolutely recommend Bluebox. We would usually go out to tender for a project of this nature, but since 2018, Bluebox have looked after us so well. When we encountered issues in the past, they were very responsive, and problems were resolved quickly and mostly remotely. Because of this level of service and their reliability we decided to stick with them.
The smooth implementation of the upgrade and level of service we have, has shown that we made the right choice.”
Norman Wild, Company Secretary | Art Gene