Sitecore enables 40% more people to reach mental health support

Over 330,000 Australians a year reach out to Beyond Blue for help, including people with mild anxiety and depression through to those at risk of suicide. Providing a range of support services, Beyond Blue is one of Australia's most well-known, trusted, and visited mental health not-for-profit organizations. Eager to reach as many people as possible and make access to its services easier, Beyond Blue wanted to improve its digital connections and communication.

The organization was restructuring and advancing digital transformation to increase efficiency and improve service delivery. The existing platform had reached its end-of-life and was costly and difficult to support and maintain. Visitors found it difficult to manage content quickly and efficiently. In addition, the platform’s inability to support deployment of new digital channels hindered Beyond Blue’s strategy to make it easier for people to access high-quality mental health support at the earliest opportunity.

In collaboration with Sitecore and Sitecore partner Luminary, Beyond Blue migrated to the cloud-based Sitecore DXP for scalability, security, scope for future omnichannel content delivery, and the ability to facilitate a microservices architecture approach. The Sitecore XM Cloud platform was deployed quickly and under budget through effective collaboration between Beyond Blue, Sitecore, and its partner. Seamless deployment was achieved by using the Sitecore360 customer success plan which enabled Beyond Blue with access to Sitecore experts and resources to maximize the value of their Sitecore investment.

With Sitecore XM Cloud, Beyond Blue has deployed a combination PaaS/SaaS solution which provides flexibility and helps improve total cost of ownership. The new digital experience platform offers improved search functionality, easier content management and control, better security, and the ability to use best-of-breed microservices to deliver features such as personalization and more robust data management. Next up, Beyond Blue is planning to deploy Sitecore Personalize in the next phase of its DXP improvement.

The Sitecore digital experience platform has seen a significant uplift in engagement from people seeking help from Beyond Blue. The Wellbeing Action Tool, a self-help guide and template, has seen engagement increase by 50%. First-time site visitors have risen by 35%, while new inquiries for help and support are up by 40%. One critical indicator—access to services via mobile—saw its Lighthouse rating shift from red to green with a score of 91/100 for accessibility, 93/100 for best practice, and 100/100 for SEO. Pages on the website also load six times faster than previously.

Besides a fresh, easy-to-navigate, and fast web experience, Beyond Blue’s Sitecore-based solution enables users to chat with a councilor, visit online forums, take an interactive anxiety and depression test, and access an Urgent Help button. Sitecore XM Cloud is a strategic move for Beyond Blue that has significantly improved operational efficiency and created a platform that is easy for content administrators to edit. It has enabled the organization to deliver a more seamless and enhanced digital experience that is helping the community manage and improve mental health outcomes.