Donating Hardware to Harrogate Hospital Radio


Background

Supporting our local community is incredibly important to us. So, when a long-term customer reached out to us with a request for Harrogate Hospital Radio where he now manages the IT, we were more than happy to help.  

Harrogate Hospital Radio is a charity that provides entertainment for patients and staff in the hospital and surrounding area. What really sets it apart is the personal service it provides, which has been vital during the pandemic when patients have been separated from their friends and family.

After taking over as Studio Manager in 2021, Ross wanted to improve the station’s systems to future proof its operations and enable presenters to work from home. A hardware update was required for this, as they were relying on old equipment that offered no redundancy or resiliency, leaving them unable to carry out maintenance.   

“What we have isn’t going to last, and any single failure of any part could be enough to grind us into the ground because of the retail cost of buying new.”  

Ross Lee, Studio Manager 

Ross also wanted to ensure the integrity of the station’s data, which includes crucial things like the music, jingles, and sponsors’ messages, as well as the records of shows that they are required to keep for several years in line with Ofcom rules. To do this, he needed reliable storage and systems that could cope with hardware failures. 


UN GLobal Goal 3: Good Health and WellbeingUN GLobal Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing

Harrogate Hospital RadioHarrogate Hospital Radio

A Win-Win Scenario

After speaking with Ross, our Sales Executive Joseph Keane worked through the use case to ensure we arrived at the best solution for their needs. We agreed this would be two refurbished DL380 Generation 8 servers with 12-core CPUs and a SAN storage array. Combined, this kit would usually cost over £2,000, but the station’s budget was tight, so we donated it for free.  

We also recognised that this was a great opportunity to promote sustainable technology, so we asked if they would like to interview Joseph. This is a hot topic at the moment as people become increasingly aware of the number of rare materials in ICT and the carbon cost of internet usage. As experts in the field, we thought it would be valuable to share the information we have learned over the years and offer some practical tips on how individuals can reduce the impact of their internet usage and buying choices. The interview was broadcast on the 10th of February then repeated every day the following week on the breakfast show.   

Techbuyer has committed to establishing long-term relationships with 35 health and wellbeing charities by 2025.

“It’s people like Techbuyer who we’re eternally grateful to for helping us in this way because it will enable us to put funds into something totally different. What you guys are offering is a lifeline.”  

Mark Oldfield, Harrogate Hospital Radio Chairman 

HP DL380 Server SolutionHP DL380 Server Solution

Benefits of this Collaboration

As a self-funded organisation, Harrogate Hospital Radio has struggled during the pandemic, which has made fundraising difficult. Not only did this collaboration save the organisation a huge amount of money on hardware, but it also protects it from risks – failing to keep the records for Ofcom, for instance, could result in massive fines.

Another benefit is that it opens the door to new technologies that the station’s older hardware could not reliably. Presenters can now use solutions like the voice tracking tool, for instance, which enables them to build a show around their voice by simply recording the sections between songs. This can be crucial for volunteers who are limited on time. 

We donated two refurbished HP DL380 Gen 8 servers to the self-funded Harrogate Hospital Radio.