The Challenge
Almost a century and a half ago, none other than the then Viceroy of India founded Mayo College as The Heritage School for aristocrats, princes and heirs. The school was witness to the anarchy of the British rule, the Indian freedom struggle and the subsequent takeover by the Indian government. Through these phases the conversion of a school of stately heirs with dozens of servants, food tasters, horses and elephants to the modern age of democracy and equality, where Mayo College has adopted the role of a well-endowed public school. The institution sought from Olive a portal that could knit its alumni together and reunite them to their alma mater. Promotion of the portal became a challenge to reckon owing to the large number and distances of Old Boys and Girls having got scattered over time, some having settled in the farthest corners of India while a whole bunch of them working abroad with offshore companies.

The Opportunity
The route of an organization like Mayo College spanning numerous decades is obviously peppered with incidents - interesting, funny and even educational. Olive decided to charter this path in a section of the portal devoted to the history of the College right from its foundation assigning a page individually to the era of each principal's reign. Moreover the Internet solution could become a platform for sale of memorabilia, CD, postcards and books that describe Mayo College in parts.

The Strategies
Olive strategized to gather the alumni together by getting them to register at the portal so a database could be made. This database is searchable facilitating an Old Boy or Girl in tracking an old friend or classmate down. Thus each registered person instantly opened his/her doors to all the previous classmates. In addition the chat feature between alumni encourages them to meet and communicate instantly, like they'd never been apart! An exhaustive and vivid gallery of the buildings, Houses, uniforms, activities, teaching staff, college groups, principals, presidents of the general councils, prominent visitors and teachers of the College from inception to date was also made a part of the portal to retain the nostalgic visitor.

The Solution
With an easy search for a registered alumnus, latest on Old Boys and Girls and convenient chat and message board feature, the portal has now ceased to be a mere software project and is rather on the threshold of becoming a meeting place for all students passed out of Mayo College. It also provides scope for establishing symbiotic relationships between alumni, what with one posting jobs online and another applying for them. Furthermore, the site encashes on the nostalgia of alumni using the aforementioned online shopping feature. A site search and site map completes the fascinating package. The portal, replete with images and aura of the past is a visual treat even for a non-Mayoite.