IT upgrade for The Met after £4.6m revamp

Bury’s newly-refurbished arts centre The Met has received a major IT upgrade after a £4.6m renovation project.

The building has been given new public and private wi-fi networks together with modern productivity software and an internet telephony system, all installed by local communication and data company Pennine.

The updates will mean that visitors to the centre will benefit from free wi-fi, a service which also allows The Met to gain demographic data about their guests based on their email addresses.

“Wi-fi is something customers want and expect,” said The Met’s chief executive Victoria Robinson.

“It also makes our facilities more attractive to hire. Hirers want not only people attending their events to be able to access the internet, but their performers and production staff.”

The project also involved the introduction of a computer network across the Grade II-listed building which allows staff to access their work at different terminals outside their normal working areas.

The final upgrades were the additions of both the latest Office 365 and an internet phone system which will allow some calls to be made over the web in order to save money.

Pennine and The Met have collaborated before, with the data specialists providing a free wi-fi service to Ramsbottom Festival, which the centre is responsible for.

Robinson also said: “We’re grateful to Pennine, both for the company’s long-term support of Ramsbottom Festival and the quality of advice and service it has provided to The Met when upgrading our communication and collaboration tools.”

The Met, opened in 1980, is operated by Bury Metropolitan Arts Association.