British Council achieves 40% faster page loads and reduces deployment downtime by 75% with modern IT infrastructure

Hosting & support
CMS websites
Digital marketing

Client overview

The British Council is an esteemed international organisation in the UK, dedicated to promoting cultural relations and educational opportunities across the globe. With a presence in over 100 countries, the Council is committed to fostering mutual understanding and shared knowledge.

Since 2015, we have collaborated with the British Council on various projects, including website design and build, digital marketing, and hosting & support. This long-standing partnership has enabled us to support and enhance their online capabilities.

The challenge

The British Council has historically faced significant challenges in managing a vast network of websites on a legacy infrastructure. Their online presence consists of over 120 sites, including 116 country-based sites and several 'white label' sites used for various initiatives. This extensive portfolio posed unique hurdles:

  • Performance issues

    The existing infrastructure resulted in slow page loads and a fragmented user experience, significantly impacting over 10,000 content editors' ability to upload and manage content effectively.

  • Deployment inefficiencies

    Deployments were cumbersome; updating one site meant having to deploy updates to all sites, taking over four hours. This caused lengthy downtime and hindered the Council's responsiveness to the needs of its global audience.

  • Inconsistent user experience

    The need for personalised services was not being met due to the limitations of the legacy infrastructure, making it challenging to maintain user satisfaction and engagement.

  • The partnership

    We partnered with the British Council to undertake a comprehensive digital transformation reflecting their commitment to modernisation. As we moved into the subsequent phases of development, it became clear that the British Council required a robust, agile solution that could manage current needs and also adapt to future requirements. This led to the ambitious decision to migrate their entire digital ecosystem to a modern, container-based infrastructure. Key projects included:

  • The Learn English websites

    A complete redevelopment of the web infrastructure using the Drupal content-management framework. This overhaul was designed to improve functionality and management ease.

  • International School Award

    The replacement of a cumbersome legacy system to streamline accreditation processes for schools, automating application reviews and enhancing the overall user experience.

  • Schools Ambassador's Network

    The establishment of a cohesive platform to support various educational programmes, ensuring ease of communication and resource sharing among ambassadors and participants.
“The web infrastructure project has played such a critical part of our wider digital transformation. We recognise that the digital medium is the single most important source of innovation for organisations like ourselves, and with the completion of the project, we’ve experienced huge improvements across every KPI. Ultimately, this means that British Council employees around the world can continue to communicate our message and innovate with new services that create more international opportunities for the UK.”
— Nick Morgalla Head of Digital Operations

The approach

To tackle the British Council’s unique challenges and propel their digital transformation journey, we adopted a flexible and collaborative approach focused on innovation and efficiency. Our strategy revolved around several key initiatives designed to enhance performance, streamline processes, and elevate user engagement. With this holistic approach, we successfully provided the British Council with a modern digital infrastructure capable of evolving with their needs, ultimately enhancing their ability to fulfil their mission of fostering cultural relations and educational opportunities worldwide.

  • Revamping the Learn English websites

    The redevelopment used Drupal to create a user-friendly and accessible platform that supports multiple languages, meeting the diverse needs of its users, including teachers, learners, and parents.

  • Implementing mobile-first design principles

    Throughout the development stages, we ensured a stringent mobile-first approach, optimising the user experience across various devices and contexts.

  • Streamlining workflows

    We automated various stages of the application processes for projects like the International School Award and Schools Ambassador's Network. This included creating user-friendly forms and implementing back-end reporting tools, reducing the time and resources needed for administrative tasks.

  • Building a flexible data warehouse

    We created a data warehouse tailored to the British Council's needs, enabling real-time data collection and reporting across various initiatives. This new system replaced cumbersome legacy reporting processes, providing stakeholders with actionable insights and access to comprehensive data.

  • Ongoing maintenance and updates

    Our partnership extended beyond the initial implementation, as we continued to provide support and optimisation services, ensuring that the British Council could adapt to future challenges and digital demands.

  • Regular check-ins and training

    To guarantee a smooth transition for British Council staff, we conducted regular updates and training sessions, equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively manage and utilise the new systems.

The results

Through innovative technology solutions and strategic enhancements, the British Council has realised several impactful outcomes that bolster its mission to provide educational opportunities and foster cultural relations. Key achievements include:


  • Users now experience significantly faster access to content, enhancing their overall satisfaction and facilitating greater engagement with the resources offered.
    40%
    reduction in page load times
  • Streamlined deployment processes have minimised disruptions, delivering a more reliable user experience for over 10,000 content editors globally.
    4.5
    hours reduced downtime during deployments
  • This efficiency shift empowers the digital team to concentrate on innovation rather than maintenance, significantly refining workflow.
    3.5
    hours cut to deployment time
  • The improved backup procedure ensures security and accessibility of content while significantly reducing downtime.
    5
    hours reduced daily backup time
  • The newly implemented data warehouse enables real-time analytics access, equipping stakeholders with actionable insights to inform decision-making across various initiatives.
    data
    enhanced reporting and data management
  • The redesigned Learn English platform showcases user-friendly and accessible features, effectively catering to the diverse needs of teachers, learners, and parents.
    user
    engagement improved

Want to talk about digital transformation?

Get in touch