A Foundation for Growth, A Vision for Excellence

The roar of the crowd, the thundering hooves, the thrill of the race – these are the hallmarks of a day at Morphettville Racecourse, home to the South Australian Jockey Club (SAJC). With a rich history and a vibrant present, SAJC embarked on a strategic journey to elevate its operational capabilities and enhance every visitor's experience, solidifying its position as a premier destination.

The South Australian Jockey Club isn't just a racing club; it's a vibrant, multi-purpose venue, hosting 44 race days annually alongside conventions, exhibitions, weddings, and a myriad of events for over 200,000 visitors annually. Spanning 25 hectares of picturesque gardens with a panoramic backdrop of the Adelaide Hills, Morphettville is a true jewel, offering much more than just horse racing. With a dedicated team of 56 permanent and up to 400 casual staff, SAJC’s vision was clear: to create an unparalleled experience for every visitor. This included ambitious plans for new facilities and expanded offerings, such as a recently opened $22 million Wolf Blass ‘The Man’ Event Centre and a complete overhaul of its grandstand's top floor, all aiming to solidify Morphettville as a leading destination, not just a racecourse.

To fully realise its expansive vision, SAJC identified a significant opportunity within its IT infrastructure. The club’s network had evolved over time into a complex mix of separate systems for point-of-sale, betting, and audio-visual operations. While functional, this fragmented setup made unified management and scalability challenging, especially when adding new facilities like the maintenance shed or supporting major development projects. IT resources were frequently absorbed by maintaining these diverse systems, limiting the team’s ability to focus on strategic improvements. With so many essential operations - communication systems, race management, on-site information displays, and wagering all relying on the network, any disruption could immediately affect customer experience and revenue. 

The continuity of essential services hinges entirely on a robust and reliable network. A lapse in network availability would lead to immediate operational disruptions and negatively affect the visitor experience.

The Strategic Shift: Investing on a Unified Future

Recognising the potential for a more cohesive and efficient technological backbone, SAJC sought a partner who could provide a unified, scalable, and intuitive solution. The club's leadership understood that a modernised IT infrastructure would be key to unlocking new levels of operational excellence and visitor engagement. The motivation was clear: to revamp the entire grounds to attract more people, transforming Morphettville into a true destination. This led to the strategic partnership with Cisco and Hexicor.

The choice of Cisco Meraki was driven by its promise of unified management. This innovative approach offered the ability to consolidate all network components under one centralised, cloud-based dashboard, a significant advantage over the previously disparate systems. The ease of deployment, troubleshooting, and overall management was a key factor. The goal was not merely to address current operational considerations but to strategically position the club for future growth, making IT a proactive enabler of business objectives. Furthermore, the investment was viewed as a cost-effective long-term solution, moving away from the high costs associated with maintaining aging hardware.

The Game-Changing Implementation: A Unified Network Solution

Partnering alongside Cisco and Hexicor, SAJC implemented a unified network infrastructure:

• Cisco Meraki Dashboard: This intuitive, centralised platform provides SAJC's IT team with comprehensive visibility and control over the entire network, enabling efficient monitoring, quick troubleshooting, and proactive management from any location.
• Cisco Meraki MX Series Security Appliances: These cloud-managed devices now form the secure perimeter of SAJC's network, providing advanced threat protection, VPN connectivity, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring a robust and secure network foundation.
• Cisco Meraki Access Points: Strategically placed throughout the sprawling 25-hectare venue, these access points deliver high-performance, secure wireless connectivity across the entire grounds, including the newly constructed maintenance sheds. This pervasive Wi-Fi ensures seamless connectivity for all users and devices. Their cloud management simplifies deployment and ensures consistent performance, even with a self-healing mesh feature that automatically adjusts and optimises the network.
• Cisco Meraki Switches: These intelligent switches underpin the wired network, bringing all previously distinct systems – from digital signage and point-of-sale to audio-visual and betting systems – onto a single, converged network. Like the access points, they offer centralised cloud management, streamlining operations and enhancing connectivity.

Beyond the Finish Line: A Transformed Experience

This technological transformation has ushered in a new era for the South Australian Jockey Club, delivering significant advancements and empowering its strategic vision:

• Enhanced Network Stability and Scalability: The consolidation of various independent networks into a single, converged infrastructure has dramatically improved stability and simplified management. The network is now highly stable, providing a robust and reliable foundation that readily accommodates new developments and supports the club's ambitious expansion plans. This integration brought all technology into one stack, simplifying the entire IT system and ensuring everything flows and relies on a highly stable network.
• Empowered IT Team and Streamlined Operations: The centralised management has significantly streamlined IT operations, greatly reducing the day-to-day workload for the IT operations team. This allowed the team to shift focus to strategic points rather than constantly maintaining the network. This newfound efficiency enables the team to concentrate on proactive planning, comprehensive documentation, and exploring advanced technologies. The goal for the IT team is to maintain network uptime at 99%, ensuring smooth operations for staff and critical systems across the venue, including ticketing, digital signage, and Point of Sale, all of which rely on the network for seamless connection.
• Enhanced Customer Experience: A stable and high-performing network is a cornerstone for enhancing visitor engagement. This opens the door for SAJC to explore innovative ways to interact with visitors and create a more dynamic and rewarding experience. The club envisions leveraging future capabilities to uplift the visitor experience and provide tailored experiences, fostering greater loyalty, and encouraging repeat visits and memberships.

The South Australian Jockey Club's journey is a testament to the power of strategic IT modernisation. By embracing a unified, cloud-managed network, SAJC has not only overcome its legacy challenges but has also laid the groundwork for a future where technology enhances every aspect of the racing and event experience, ensuring that Morphettville remains a premier destination for years to come.