The Big Apple Ball is a charity event that raises tens of thousands of pounds every year for the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. The event is a formal dinner dance with high-calibre entertainment, interspersed with several fundraising activities. One of the key fundraising regulars is the Silent Auction. This takes place continuously through the evening. Up until recently, the auction was carried out with guests submitting bids to assistants who then updated a Powerpoint slide, and this in turn was displayed on large screens positioned around the Ballroom.

The organisers however recognised that this process did not provide an instant display of the bids - because of the time taken to update the slides, the speed of the bidding was slowed down and consequently limited the final amount raised.

Axial I.T were commissioned to implement an improved method for management of the Auction Bids for the Apple Ball in April 2008. A solution was therefore developed. We designed a software system that allowed the data entry tasks to be carried out speedily, and the results to be displayed instantly. The system also provided the operators running the presentation various options of how the results could be presented: either for individual lots, or as a summary table. In each case, the results could now be displayed the very same instant that the bid was entered. By also incorporating short animations, a set of dynamic Audio Visuals were presented - which in turn speeded up the bidding.

When asked how the Axial Silent Auction system performed, Morag Cunningham, the Director of the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice said

"Axial IT have supported a couple of our fundraising events with their Silent Auction system. I was very impressed by how well their system worked, and the high quality of their graphics. The Axial team's professionalism has been exemplary in all my dealings with them."

Without a doubt the system improved the amount raised by the Silent Auction. Axial I.T. have now been booked for several other charity and corporate events where a high quality of graphics are required.