350
100
8
Colchester Zoo is one of the UK's leading zoological attractions, welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to its 60-acre site and playing an active role in global conservation and education. Recently transitioning to charitable status, the organisation now operates as a registered charity, reinforcing its commitment to wildlife conservation, research, and public engagement while continuing to deliver a high-quality visitor experience.
The Challenge
Operating a large, fast-moving visitor attraction like Colchester Zoo brings significant IT demands, from maintaining critical systems across a 60-acre site to ensuring customer data is kept secure. Any network downtime or security breach has an immediate operational impact, including the loss of admissions capability and a direct risk to revenue.
In 2018, the zoo came to us looking for a hosted cloud server to support the implementation of a new ticketing system. Since then, they've significantly expanded, undergoing substantial transformation and facing increasing security requirements whilst maintaining limited internal IT resource. This created the need for a true partner: someone they could both rely on and that could grow and adapt alongside them.
The Solution
Our solution has evolved alongside Colchester Zoo, supporting the transformation of their IT environment into a fully managed, strategic platform.
The partnership began with moving their resource to a hosted cloud server. Since then, we have modernised core infrastructure using Fortinet technology, enhanced network performance through a private network hosted within one of the UK's largest purpose-built data centres and strengthened security with the introduction of the CrowdStrike XDR platform alongside wrap around cyber services.
Throughout this journey, services have been consolidated into a fully managed model, creating a secure, scalable foundation for ongoing growth.
The Stats
97.3%
99.98%
100%
"Without Communicate, I don't think I'd be able to function effectively in my role - I'd need a much bigger internal team, and it would be too much of a stretch on our resources. They act as a true extension of my IT team, and having that level of trust is invaluable in a complex environment. Everything is so much easier having one partner who already understands how our systems are set up. I don't have to explain the bigger picture, issues get resolved quickly, and I know I'm getting advice I can trust. They know our systems just as well as I do, and having that support is something I couldn't do without."
Caitlin Jones — IT Manager, Colchester Zoo
The Impact
Colchester Zoo now benefits from a single, trusted partner delivering a joined-up approach across infrastructure, cloud, workplace and security. The partnership has enabled the internal IT function to extend its capabilities, combining in-house knowledge with external expertise to create a more responsive, resilient operating model.
Resilient operations across a complex estate
The zoo now runs on enterprise-grade infrastructure spanning its 60-acre site, supported by resilient connectivity, cloud hosting, and secure backup, ensuring critical systems remain available and protected at all times.
A proactive cyber security posture
With advanced monitoring and response in place, supported by vCISO guidance and incident response capability, the organisation has moved to a proactive, risk-aware position, reducing exposure and increasing confidence in day-to-day operations.
Scalable capability without increasing headcount
The partnership enables the IT function to operate like a much larger team within budget, with the capacity, modern work tools and specialist support to scale infrastructure alongside the organisation.
Joined-up support with full visibility
Working with a single managed service partner that understands the environment end-to-end ensures issues are resolved faster and more effectively, providing clear accountability and greater confidence in day-to-day operations.
