Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA)
Founded in 1990 and aided through the Department of
Arts, Sports and Tourism, the IMMA is housed within the impressive
surroundings of the former Royal Hospital Kilmainham. It's
Ireland's leading national institution for the collection of modern
and contemporary art, attracting over 400,000 visitors
annually.
| Industry: |
Not for
profit |
| Geographic: |
Dublin |
| Employees: |
84 |
| Turnover: |
€9 million |
| Solution: |
Access Dimensions Lite |
| Modules: |
Core ledgers
Cash Book
Access Crystal Documents
Automated Bank Reconciliation
Costing/Project Management
Access Office Integration (AOI) |
The challenge
Users of Access software since 1996, IMMA was looking to upgrade
its Access Horizons system as part of a phased project to improve
both the software and hardware within the organisation. Financial
Controller Frank Brennan and Company Accountant Andrew Williams
were key stakeholders of the upgrade project.
"As established customers, upgrading to Access
Dimensions was a natural progression for us. It's not that
there's anything wrong with Horizons; we've always found it easy to
use," comments Frank. "But like everything, the technology has
moved on, and we were keen to take advantage of this."
A popular benefit of the Access Dimensions system is the two-way
integration it provides with Microsoft Excel. Using this
feature, users can work on accounts data using familiar
Office-based programs and upload these changes in a single click -
saving time and increasing accuracy. This was a key purchase factor
for Andrew, who, when creating management reports,
"spent a lot of time manually grouping and totting up information
separately." Andrew and Frank were also interested in the improved
Costing functionality and the new Automated Bank Reconciliation
module - only available in Access Dimensions.
The journey
To kick off the upgrade project, Frank and Andrew met with their
local account manager from the Dublin office to view a
demonstration of IMMA's data using a Dimensions platform. This
enabled all involved to see how easy the system is to use. Frank
comments, "We could clearly see how we would get better usage out
of Access Dimensions - it was much easier to navigate."
By utilising real-time information about IMMA's latest
exhibitions, the Access consultant was also able to highlight how
the Dimensions Costing module would bring obvious benefits to the
company's existing manual project costing procedures.
The solution
IMMA's account manager recommended an upgrade to Dimensions
Lite. This package offers customers all the benefits of the
flagship Access solution, but is specifically designed for
companies with smaller user numbers (typically less than 10).
Should IMMA's needs change in the future, then it's easy to step up
to Access Dimensions' Microsoft-SQL based platform, suitable for
500+ users.
Following the demonstration, Frank was provided with detailed
price breakdown which fitted well within IMMA's budget. A proposal
was agreed, and a timeframe decided for implementation.
The implementation
"The implementation was very quick... we were up and running in
a couple of weeks with very little downtime and we saw the benefits
of upgrading almost instantly."
Frank Brennan, Financial
Controller
Following straightforward planning, Dimensions Lite was
installed quickly. Andrew comments, "We were very impressed with
the Access consultant. Implementation was very fast...
we were up and running within a couple of weeks, with very little
downtime." As part of the implementation process, training on the
new system was also provided, enabling key users to build
familiarity with their new system straight away. In fact, the
system proved so easy to pick up that training costs were
minimal.
"Following the initial implementation, we only needed half a
day's training and from there, we were able to find out things for
ourselves," says Frank. "Our Access consultant was on hand to clear
up any questions we had, so the whole process was pretty easy."
The results
Straightaway, Frank and Andrew noticed how much faster their
routines were on the new system. "Compared to Horizons, Dimensions
Lite does everything much more quickly. The old system wasn't
'wrong' but now, there's far less work on our side to get the same
result," Frank comments.
In fact, IMMA saw an almost instant return on investment. Frank
continues, "Using the Excel integration, we've reduced monthly
management reporting from two days to a couple of clicks. Before it
would be a bit of a chore to get the information together, and now
we can do it very quickly."
Improved costing functionality has also provided far greater
control and visibility of information over the Museum's revenue
streams, essential in the current climate where grant aid is
generally more difficult to come by.
Months on, IMMA has continued to find their new system very easy
to use, barely needing to contact the Access helpdesk. "We don't
ring that often, but it's very efficient when we do," concludes
Frank.
Post implementation
With Dimensions Lite up and running, the next phase of the
project is to install the Automated Bank Reconciliation module,
which will significantly reduce a process that currently takes one
day to just a few hours.
Summary
An established user of Access solutions, IMMA decided to upgrade
its Access Horizons system as part of its overall efficiency
review. By upgrading to Dimensions Lite, the company has taken
advantage of key features including: faster reporting through Excel integration;
more sophisticated project costing functionality; improved
navigation and greater capacity.
Having undergone a fast and smooth implementation, its key users
found little trouble navigating their Dimensions Lite system and
saw a return on investment almost straightaway. Overall, IMMA is
very impressed with its new solution.
Frank concludes: "It's important to us as an organisation to
keep up to speed with what's out there. We've already seen the
benefits of upgrading to Dimensions Lite, and going forward, we're
confident that Access will continue to support our changing
needs."
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