“We have gone from the department of NO, to being completely engaged with the National Trust cause,” CIO Sarah Flannigan tells CIO UK in a profile interview. TheNational Trust is currently under-going a three year £40 million renovation project dubbed Systems Simplification Programme (SSP) for its technology and processes, the project is being led by CIO Flannigan. “We’ve had to have a DNA change in IT so we have brought in people who are as brilliant at communicating as they are at technology. “The organisation is heavily devolved so IT and finance can become disenfranchised,” she said before revealing how she prevents this happening again: “I have also introduced mandatory work experience. No one can work in our team unless they do time outside of the headquarters. So we have a blog where people post their pictures and experiences of working in the properties.” The National Trust IT team have a cuddly bear that wears a T-shirt that reads “IT loves special places”, a slogan similar to the organisational wide slogan that in recent times has reinvented the image of the National Trust as more than just the custodians of former stately homes. “The teams take it to wherever they are visiting and have to take a picture. It is a way in for people and a talking point and it is very very powerful. This teddy has been to the summer solstice in Avesbury and to see a newly-discovered Rembrandt at Buckland Abbey. It has been a really important part of IT to be embedded. I am always on the look-out for fun ways to engage the staff. “ Founded in 1895 the National Trust in fact had a remit to give kids of the London slums access to the countryside in its early days, but it was the National Trust Act of 1907, which enabled wealthy families to leave their historic houses to the trust and avoid taxation, that has shaped the image. Today the National Trust manages a wide variety of landscapes from southern Downs, East Anglian fens to the Lakeland fells and mountains, as well as castles, manors or mill houses. Related content opinion Website spoofing: risks, threats, and mitigation strategies for CIOs In this article, we take a look at how CIOs can tackle website spoofing attacks and the best ways to prevent them. By Yash Mehta Dec 01, 2023 5 mins CIO Cyberattacks Security brandpost Sponsored by Catchpoint Systems Inc. Gain full visibility across the Internet Stack with IPM (Internet Performance Monitoring) Today’s IT systems have more points of failure than ever before. Internet Performance Monitoring provides visibility over external networks and services to mitigate outages. By Neal Weinberg Dec 01, 2023 3 mins IT Operations brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers can save money during periods of economic uncertainty Now is the time to overcome the challenges of perimeter-based architectures and reduce costs with zero trust. By Zscaler Dec 01, 2023 4 mins Security feature LexisNexis rises to the generative AI challenge With generative AI, the legal information services giant faces its most formidable disruptor yet. That’s why CTO Jeff Reihl is embracing and enhancing the technology swiftly to keep in front of the competition. By Paula Rooney Dec 01, 2023 6 mins Generative AI Digital Transformation Cloud Computing Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe