COVID-19 has changed the game for a lot of organisations, but at the end of the day most desired outcomes do remain the same. We’ve connected, problem solved, and delivered solutions at pace to ensure not only business continuity, but setting people up to thrive during the response and upcoming recovery phases of the pandemic.
The past several weeks have not only been a strange time for Kiwis, but the world, as the invisible grip of Covid-19 has changed the face of the world.
As a digital service business, which includes UX and UI design, development and hosting and support services, we’ve thankfully to date been relatively unaffected. Staff moved from their usual office desks and workloads to working from home to continue to partner with our clients to deliver positive outcomes.
COVID-19 has changed the game for a lot of organisations, but at the end of the day most desired outcomes do remain the same. We’ve connected, problem solved, and delivered solutions at pace to ensure not only business continuity, but setting people up to thrive during the response and upcoming recovery phases of the pandemic.
Here’s just a handful of client partners we’ve helped:
- New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) - We helped NZSO host and manage a series of online concerts (Engage at Home) that saw over 15,000 Kiwis login into www.nzso.org.nz to connect with their amazing talents to ensure we can experience a bit of normality in our lives.
- NZ Mountain Safety Council (NZMSC) - We partnered with NZMSC to deliver www.covid19outdoors.nz(external link) to provide clear information to New Zealander’s around what we can do outdoors at the different level statuses, with the aim of keeping Kiwis as safe as possible when exploring our great backyard. The Covid19 Outdoors website was built with the support of over 30 organisations including Recreation Aotearoa, Water Safety New Zealand, Hunting & Fishing New Zealand, Land Search & Rescue, Surf Life Savings and retailers like Kathmandu, Bivouac Outdoor and Torpedo7
- NZ Women’s Refuge - With an increase in domestic violence around NZ with many women forced to live within the bubble with their abusers, we upgraded the Women’s Refuge shielded widget, which is located on some of NZ’s biggest sites (TradeMe, The Warehouse, ASB to name a few) allowing Women to anonymously connect with the Women’s Refuge to provide advice to get them out of abusive environments.
- Outward Bound NZ - Outward Bound NZ has been a New Zealand institution since 1962, with the vision of Better People. Better Communities. Better World. Overnight they saw the demand for their services disappear and under NZ law they were unable to operate as normal under Covid-19 restrictions. They had to make the call to close their doors for a period of 4 months, facing an uncertain future as they needed to raise emergency funds. To help turn this tragic tide, Somar built the website that enabled and underpinned an urgent donation appeal which has now raised over $400,000 NZD. Outward Bound now has a more certain future to support many more Kiwis enjoying a life-changing experience.
Conclusion
We’re entering into a new world but many of the fundamentals are the same. We’re adapting many of our problem-solving and delivery approaches to the challenges our partners face, and have found that it is working.
If you’d like to talk with us about how we’re working towards supporting NZ organisations and citizen experiences please get in touch.
