Objective
As the time came to renew its enterprise agreement with Microsoft, the Bega Valley Shire Council conducted a full review and assessment of its licensing situation. By understanding exactly what was in use, and comparing available options, the council could seek the best enterprise agreement for its needs.
Approach
As a government-funded organisation, the Bega Valley Shire Council views compliance and value as critical elements of its overall IT strategy. For this reason, it conducts a review before renewing its substantial investment in Microsoft licensing. The council chose Data#3 to perform this assessment thanks to a trusted relationship and the provision of highly competitive pricing provided in the quote, as well as an awareness that Data#3 has the considerable experience needed to deliver positive outcomes they sought.
Business and IT Outcomes
Our contact was very responsive – I can pick up the phone and talk any time, or send an email, and always get a quick response. Data#3 has always been really, really good for us to deal with.
Thomas Lennon – ICT Co-ordinator, Bega Valley Shire Council
Background
Nestled in the South-East of New South Wales, the Bega Valley Shire Council (“the council”) area is known for its beautiful coastline, fertile farmland, and production of some of the nation’s best-loved food products. In the 2019-2020 bushfire season, the region experienced heavy loss, and the council plays an instrumental role in nurturing the community through a massive rebuilding project.
From servers to user productivity software, Microsoft technology is essential to the day-to-day activities of the council’s 500 staff. The council’s small, busy IT team follows best practice by commissioning an assessment of its software use and needs before negotiating every enterprise agreement, to ensure it is fully compliant while avoiding any unnecessary spend.
The Challenge
Whether supporting the community through the aftermath of severe bushfires, maintaining services through the COVID-19 pandemic, or providing essential services such as waste management, the Bega Valley Shire Council’s 500 staff work hard for the local community. The council’s small, but busy IT team plays a key role in enabling the staff to perform at their best. For ICT Co-ordinator, Thomas Lennon, it all comes down to a passion for serving the local population.
“We do this because we are there to serve the community. If we don’t provide a service to staff, they’re not able to give the best service to the community,” explained Lennon.
In recent times, the council has faced the impact of massive bushfire damage, followed immediately by responding to a global pandemic. The IT team needed to be ready to step in and handle whatever challenges it faced.
“The bushfires of 2019 to 2020 opened up a lot of positions with the council, and the grant-funded branch established for this purpose meant an influx of people. Many properties were damaged, resulting in a lot of clean-up work, there was so much to be done, as we were a heavily damaged council area,” said Lennon.
“Our team was dealing with that extra load when the COVID-19 pandemic came along, and like any IT department, we had to enable work from home for our staff almost overnight.”
While working tirelessly to face both ordinary and extraordinary challenges, Lennon said that it is important to still maintain good practice with ongoing needs. The council had previously found it valuable to perform an assessment before renewing its existing Microsoft enterprise agreement, and no matter what else is happening, the responsibility to remain compliant is unchanged. Still, the team was glad to have that work completed before the impact of COVID-19 was felt.
“Compliance is always important to us. Being a government agency, we make sure we do everything by the books. Before we sign up to a three-year Enterprise Agreement, we are always on the front foot with getting an assessment done,” outlined Lennon.
“We have been audited in the past by Microsoft, and it is nice to have the assurance that we have done everything within good conscience to get it right. We can tell Microsoft we have done an assessment with their partner, and that we have done everything recommended.”
Business and IT Outcomes
The council engaged Data#3 to provide Software Asset Management Services, in order to complete a full assessment of its licencing position and needs. Choosing an experienced partner was, said Lennon, a high priority.
“We’d built a relationship with Data#3 over the years, so there was a level of trust there. We knew Data#3 would get the job done based on them doing similar work before. You want to know you have a good relationship when going through a rigorous process, that you are not going to be left in the dark or provided with wrong advice.”
After an initial kick-off meeting, Data#3 used a utility that ran unobtrusively in the background of the council’s environment, gathering information about software use over the course of two weeks.
“This captured the lion’s share of what was needed, but some locations are not on the LAN, such as childcare centres, so we couldn’t rely on the agent for everything. Data#3 gave us templates to capture information accurately from those sites, which made it a simple process. It was mainly hands off, but because there were little bits of information to capture manually, it proved useful to dedicate a resource to the project from my side – if they just did it when they had some spare time, we may not have got all of the information,” explained Lennon.
Because the council has followed best practice in performing such assessments before each Enterprise Agreement renewal, Lennon was pleased to note that there were few surprises.
“It was pretty much as I expected because it is a regular process. When we conducted a review for the first time, years ago, there were more surprises, but this time there was nothing from left field. Still, it proves useful, because the assessment will identify anything we are using that we weren’t taking into account, and at other times, tell us if we have a software application installed that has never been used. The process prompts these conversations around the organisation, so it is about far more than just running a utility,” said Lennon.
Once the information was gathered, it was analysed and reviewed. One of the most useful elements of the process for the council was having a software licensing expert consider the best options to fit the council’s unique usage pattern.
“Data#3 can give insight around licensing changes, make recommendations around our workflows, look at what we’re using, and show where we could be better off. Practices have changed with licensing, especially when it comes to our servers. Historically, we were charged per server, then multi-CPUs came in and then virtual machines on physical servers, so licensing has changed with technology, but with our assessment, we know we will keep getting the best deal,” explained Lennon.
Armed with the resulting recommendations, the council was able to confidently finalise the software licensing required for the agreement renewal.
“Ultimately, we were able to get the best value, which is absolutely important when deciding how to spend public funds,” commented Lennon.
Conclusion
Employing best practice by conducting a software assessment before renewing an enterprise agreement pays off in two keyways. First, it prevents the potential financial penalties, loss of reputation and damaged reputation associated with non-compliance. By taking responsibility, the council is acting ethically, and maintaining its standing as an organisation that does the right thing. Secondly, the council can use the resulting knowledge to ensure that there is no waste in its software expenditure.
To make the most of a commissioned software assessment, Lennon advises that it is valuable to get an initial understanding of what needs to be done.
“Having an independent understanding gives you a time advantage, and puts less strain on both yourself and the vendor, streamlining the whole process. When I asked for quotes for an assessment, it was evident from the confidence and conviction of the responses who knows what they are doing, and who has been through this before. Data#3 gave a full breakdown of what the project involved, and this aligned with both our own past experience and Microsoft’s recommendations, showing that they know what they are doing. It made for an easy decision,” said Lennon.
“The Data#3 team know what they are doing, they have done this a thousand times with a thousand customers.”
Lennon cited responsiveness as another important success factor. In a busy and complex environment, his team cannot spare time to chase technology partners for information that is not forthcoming.
“Our contact was very responsive – I can pick up the phone and talk any time, or send an email, and always get a quick response. Data#3 has always been really, really good for us to deal with.”
Objective
As a large organisation that places a high priority on IT security to protect its business, it was clear that a replacement of aging firewalls to a more modern Cisco solution was needed to ensure business continuity.
Approach
To ensure a smooth transition, the organisation enlisted the help of an experienced IT partner. The organisation had prior experience using Data#3’s Project Services team for other Cisco projects so the organisation turned to their trusted partner for guidance and assistance to deploy the new technology.
IT Outcome
Business Outcome
Project Highlight
The most important outcome for the organisation was enabling a large component of the workforce to work remotely, something that the aging ASA firewalls could not have handled before the project.
Technology is only one piece of the equation – careful planning and a partner with the skills required to implement and architect the solution are key. The Data#3 and Cisco teams worked alongside one another during the implementation and design phases, and only highlights how important it is to find the right technology partner to address your key security challenges.
Doug Browne – Director of APJC Cybersecurity SecOps, Cisco
The Background
The existing Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (“ASA”) firewalls had worked well, however as the workforce became more flexible and technologies evolved, it was time to replace them with the more modern Cisco Firepower solution. A complex change, the endeavour needed to be completed without disruption to the business. Additional, outsourced expertise was essential.
The Challenge
The quality and dependability of the existing Cisco ASA firewalls had played a core role in IT security for several years, but as needs changed and technology advanced, stakeholders within the organisation knew it was time for an upgrade.
The growing need for working flexibly meant there was a greater load on the ASAs. The organisation’s previous experience with Cisco technology made it an obvious choice to move to Cisco Firepower.
“It is important for any organisation, and its stakeholders to know what they need and what they are hoping to achieve. Do your research, and don’t be afraid to seek guidance. An experienced partner will provide valuable insight to help you on your technology journey,” said Data#3 Account Executive, Nicole Grice.
The organisation acquired the new firewalls, which offered twice the traffic capacity than the existing technology, with the intention of performing the transition in-house, however during planning it became clear that this would be no simple matter. Although the in-house team had experience managing the existing ASA firewalls, the magnitude of developments in Cisco technology highlighted concerns around potential disruption to business operations, and external help was needed.
“The customer had experience from an administrative view, but not from a transition perspective. ASA and Firepower are two very different beasts in terms of architecture and configuration, so they needed to minimise the risk,” stated Grice.
However, when the initial attempt fell short of expectations set by the previous IT partner when an unplanned outage that impacted users, the in-house team elected to source a better suited partner to address what had become a pressing issue. As availability limitations meant using Cisco engineers would cause delays, the organisation chose to source an accredited Cisco partner with the necessary capabilities. Their first experience had made them more cautious.
“When you have a bad experience that can make you tread extra carefully. To help restore their confidence, we worked very closely with Cisco. Cisco provided guidance on the designs before we positioned them with the customer. This gave the customer the confidence that they needed to proceed,” explained Grice.
IT Outcome
After examining the environment and reviewing user needs, Data#3’s Cisco specialists determined that it would make most sense to proceed in carefully managed stages. During the planning stage they identified that migrating the VPN service in advance of other traffic would reduce risk and ensure that the transition proceeded more smoothly.
“As with any changes to plan, we helped the customer adjust their strategy slightly. It increased complexity for the Data#3 team, however our position with Cisco as a partner made it easy to accommodate the changes,” said Grice.
The initial VPN element was prioritised, with cutover and support made possible within standard working hours. The new Cisco Firepower firewalls were installed in separate data centres, connected by a L2 link. Undertaking the first phase in January 2020 proved to be a sound choice that addressed the increasingly urgent challenge of enabling a remote workforce.
“For the customer, timing was imperative. If they had not sought out a fresh perspective, it could have been another six months of not knowing what was around the corner, and the impact on business if it went awry could have been disastrous,” commented Grice.
What lay around the corner was a year that nobody could have imagined. With reduced pressure on the overloaded ASA firewalls and increased capacity, it meant that when lockdowns occurred, it was possible for the business to quickly switch to a work from home model. The timing proved critical to maintaining business continuity.
“We were able to minimise the impact to the organisation through our plan to stagger the implementation instead of taking a ‘big bang’ approach. Although COVID-19 increased the number of remote workers, it would have caused more load on the ASAs to the point where the straw was going to break the camel’s back if the customer hadn’t sought help when they did.”
Facing a changing situation as lockdowns and restrictions shifted, the in-house team adjusted the process to fit its needs, and Data#3 supported this approach. Data#3 is one of the largest and most experienced Australian partners for Cisco, who have a high availability of specialist resources. Data#3 was ideally positioned to allow flexibility to match their needs. This capability proved beneficial, and ensured the in-house team was able to transition additional workloads.
“To provide assurance to the organisation, we left both firewalls in place for four to six weeks before implementing the VPN piece. This gave the organisation the opportunity to experience and gain familiarity with the new firewalls. Once the organisation was comfortable, our Data#3 team mentored their techs, so they had a strong knowledge from a live operating point of view,” said Grice.
“Not only did the organisation benefit from maintaining business continuity, they could also see the statistics and connections which allowed them to troubleshoot issues that could arise.”
Business Outcome
As cyberthreats proliferated amidst the backdrop of a global pandemic, bolstering security with Cisco cutting-edge technology meant the business could better protect its environment. In particular, the Cisco Firepower firewalls are designed for today’s flexible, hybrid workforce. As it turned out, the firewalls acted as a vital enabler for the workforce as they dealt with the ongoing challenges of 2020.
While the choice of investing in modern Firepower firewalls was relatively straightforward, the right planning and implementation support is essential.
“Without direct experience, they are more complicated. Like a lot of organisations, they upgraded without fully recognising that they were dealing with a very different architecture and platform. They knew they couldn’t just move their existing configuration on to the new firewalls and expect it to know what to do,” explained Grice.
After the downtime caused by the initial attempt with the previous IT partner, it was important for the IT team to rebuild trust with the business. Knowing that Data#3’s Cisco certified engineers had a wealth of experience handling similar transitions, and access to a highly skilled professional services team, helped to build confidence that the firewall upgrades could happen without disruption.
“From the very beginning, Data#3 conducted workshops with the business. Our teams would collaborate with the customer before going to work on the plan and would then re-present it to the organisation. When COVID-19 hit, our teams were able to maintain this collaboration despite working remotely.”
More than ever, the service that the organisation provides to its customers was vital in keeping businesses operational throughout unprecedented challenges. A benefit of the project was that staff within the organisation were dedicated to ensuring business continued, no matter what. To ensure that the business, already impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, was able to continue uninterrupted, some key parts of the firewall upgrade process were conducted overnight.
Ultimately, the most important outcome for the organisation was enabling a large component of the workforce to work remotely, something that the aging ASA firewalls could not have handled before the project.
Conclusion
With the benefit of hindsight, the in-house team learned much from the experience of upgrading its firewalls to the superior Cisco Firepower technology. After a disappointing experience with an initial partner, utilising a qualified partner in the project was critical.
“There is a real difference between knowing the technology from an administrative sense and performing a complex upgrade process. It is vital that your business knows that they are working with technology partners who not only have the capabilities, but also understands your business and where it wants to be now and into the future,” commented Grice.
For Doug Browne, Director of APJC Cybersecurity SecOps at Cisco, this project was a clear example of what can be achieved when you leverage a partnership like Data#3 and Cisco.
“Technology is only one piece of the equation – careful planning and a partner with the skills required to implement and architect the solution are key. The Data#3 and Cisco teams worked alongside one another during the implementation and design phases, and only highlights how important it is to find the right technology partner to address your key security challenges,“ said Browne.
“We’re proud of the impact the joint effort between Data#3 and Cisco was able to make for our customer, and we are thrilled to not only be their partner, but also part of their technology journey,” concluded Grice
The event, which took place last Friday and hosted a large number of agencies, presented how Project Fortify will play a pivotal role in accelerating the cybersecurity posture within the WA Government Sector. It covered how Data#3 will assist with deploying security services across key domains including security operations, Essential 8 compliance, legacy systems risk assessment and more.
Supported by the Office of Digital Government and the Department of Finance, the security outcomes will be achieved by leveraging a Digital Innovation Fund – a unique initiative created by Data#3 through the WA Government Microsoft Licensing Agreement. The fund was established to assist with maximising the value of Microsoft technologies to help drive digital transformation in the WA Government Sector.
Data#3 Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Laurence Baynham, commented, “We have a long-standing history of working with the Australian Public Sector to deliver real business value. Security is a business imperative and we continue to place significant investment into our dedicated Security Practice and security solutions. Cybersecurity has ranked the number one priority for our customers over the last four years, and we will continue to adapt to fast changing security requirements.”
Peter Bouhlas, WA Chief Information Security Officer at the Office of Digital Government, said, “This is a great opportunity for agencies with limited resources to accelerate their cybersecurity maturity and improve the public sector’s resilience to cyberthreats.”
Data#3 General Manager for Western Australia, Kingsley McGarrigle, commented, “We’re proud to support the WA Government as they accelerate their cybersecurity posture. Together with the Office of Digital Government and the Department of Finance, we aim to protect the integrity of government systems and to grow cybersecurity maturity across the sector. The Digital Innovation Fund will allow the WA Government to access our local experts. I look forward to seeing the team at Data#3 leveraging their extensive skills to assist the WA Government in achieving their security objectives through maximising their Microsoft technology investment.”
Combining the experience of a dedicated strategic consulting team, as well as hands-on cybersecurity specialists, Data#3 has one of the most mature and highly accredited security teams in Australia. As Microsoft’s largest Australian partner, and a Microsoft Gold Security Partner, Data#3’s team is recognised as a leader in securing environments with the Microsoft Security portfolio.
ENDS
Objective
The customer organisation utilised a range of operating systems across the business, with some at the end of mainstream support. Introducing a standard operating environment (“SOE”), a modern, Microsoft Office 365 (“Office 365”) based workplace, and a refresh of the intranet and electronic document and record management system (“EDRMS”) would lead to new opportunities to support the community. Furthermore, the backup environment needed modernising to ensure recovery was consistently dependable.
Approach
Aware of the importance of modernising their IT systems to enable a continued high standard of processes for the future, the organisation embarked on a rigorous tender process to find a deserving partner, with the capability to empower staff throughout their digital transformation journey. Data#3 was determined to have the right mix of expertise, reputation and price.
IT Outcomes
A comprehensive digital transformation, across the following organisational and technical facets:
Business Outcomes
“The complexity of transitioning to a modern workplace with the right back up can be daunting but working closely with a partner like Data#3 can help make your digital transformation journey simple.”
Carlos Gouveia, General Manager for Victoria & Tasmania, Data#3 Limited.
The Challenge
The customer’s technology landscape had changed little in recent years and they knew there were many new technologies available to modernise the current work environment. There was an opportunity to embark on a digital transformation journey that would allow the business to continue serving the community well into the future.
“As an organisation that provides support to the people of Victoria, we knew it was vital that their IT systems supported the best processes possible. Fortunately, they knew that to be successful, they would need to embrace digital transformation,” said Data#3 General Manager for Victoria and Tasmania, Carlos Gouveia.
Modern Workplace
The existing environment included a combination of Windows 7 and 8, as well as some current Windows 10 operating systems along with Microsoft Exchange running on ageing on-premise infrastructure. In addition, the previous intranet and electronic document and record management system (“EDRMS”) did not support the collaborative environment needed. A change was due, which was seen as an opportunity to introduce technologies that supported the business’s ‘cloud first’ strategy to create a digital transformation in the way staff worked.
“Understanding the capability of your workplace as it stands is only the first step of a digital transformation journey. But knowing where to go from there can be difficult without the right help,” said Data#3 General Manager for Victoria and Tasmania, Carlos Gouveia.
Standardising the operating system ensured the organisation adhered to the value of “keeping it simple”, and allowed the IT team to work in a consistent environment with lower support demands. The solution required a skills transfer to Windows 10 and Office 365, so that the team was fully prepared to support the business through the transition.
For the organisation’s 200 users, the technology updates represented significant changes to their familiar work environment. Addressing the human side of the project was a critical need, and one they knew would dictate the outcome.
“Resistance to change is often greater than technology change, as a business it is important they are managing the human aspect of implementing any new technology. Some of their users had been using Windows 8 for many years, they had familiar apps, and the moment you say you’re upgrading, there can be resistance,” explained Gouveia.
Further change was required for the ageing EDRMS and intranet technology in use across the business. The existing solution made it difficult for staff to access a centralised source of truth, as multiple records were in use across the organisation.
Deployment of a modern EDRMS and intranet solution positions the company to not only seamlessly align the new application, database and infrastructure with the new technology deployed as part of the overall digital transformation project, but also ignite organisational change in the working processes for staff.
“The organisation works with a great deal of information every day.Being able to share and collaborate with each other was extremely vital. It was important that the new environment would support the ability to share and access information internally as quick as possible,” said Gouveia.
Backup and Recovery
To support a modern workplace, the customer needed ready access to systems and data. Compliance with data storage and backup regulations was key.
“Simply having on-site backup storage is no longer practical or modern. Upgrading to a modern workplace meant they needed technology that was simple, modern and efficient. Part of that meant moving to the cloud,” outlined Gouveia.
“It’s important to remember that a business cannot be a specialist in everything. Given their core business wasn’t backups, they knew they needed an experienced partner like Data#3 to help.”
The existing backup eco-system was a frustrating drain on the IT team’s time. It required frequent intervention, and they sought a replacement that they could trust to do the job.
“The existing solution struggled to keep up with the growing demands of business. At Data#3 we know how important it is to have confidence in your technology with day to day business, and we needed to make sure that the new technology would do that,” said Gouveia.
IT Outcome
With the new technology in place, the organisation undertook a digital transformation, with its ageing IT environment transformed into a simple, modern workplace with reliable and high-performance foundations.
Modern Workplace
With the support of Microsoft, skilled Data#3 specialists replaced the previous Exchange environment with Office 365 and updated the existing operating systems throughout the organisation to Windows 10. Intune and Microsoft security services were used to unify endpoint management and protect data. The solution followed the organisation’s focus on secure, simplified and easily managed IT.
“There is consistency in simplification, so now they can provide users either a desktop or laptop with standard specifications; while keeping it simple. The organisation can then achieve things quickly by simplifying, and making sure they understand any exceptions,” explained Gouveia.
Devices were built and deployed at the client site with minimal disruption, so that the organisation could continue focusing on upcoming high priority projects. The solution replaced existing systems and integrated into the overall network infrastructure. Aside from simplicity, improved management and introduction of a modern operating system prepared the IT team to ensure all security updates and patches are applied promptly.
“We knew it was important that the business didn’t have any impact to their business, and if they weren’t patching, the risk to business continuity could be severe.”
The new intranet and EDRMS technology have been a key component in ensuring business continuity. The project has seen the creation and deployment of a digital depository where staff can seamlessly access all records through a new AvePoint Cloud Records and LiveTiles solution. The underpinning architecture was designed at the program level, incorporating key components from Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure with a focus on security, identity and collaboration.
“With the new technology in place, the organisation is now in a position to rapidly share communications across the entire business. It doesn’t matter if it is a news update, an internal communication or helping ensure compliant record management, they now have confidence in their technology so they know their staff have the tools they need to keep going,” said Gouveia.
Backup and Restore
Data#3 embarked on a design phase where they worked to identify what data was to be backed up and how it would be configured in the cloud. An innovative hybrid model was created that went beyond the initial brief, with Veeam’s simple, flexible and reliable backup management deployed via iland, and handed over to the Data#3 Managed Services team. Opting for a managed service allowed the customer to increase focus on its core business.
The solution met the organisations requirements for simplicity, with a low cost and absolute reliability. 100% of backups have been successfully stored in the cloud and can be quickly restored if the need arises. A risk factor has been turned into an efficient solution with predictable costs.
Business Outcome
Originally, when the organisation recognised the need for a digital transformation, no one could have foreseen the state of emergency to be faced in the form of COVID-19. The new technology environments was quickly put to the test.
“For many organisations COVID-19 presented a number of concerns for business continuity. An organisation that has a modern workplace environment can ensure many of their staff are prepared and have the capability to work remotely whenever needed,” said Gouveia.
Recognising that change of the workplace environment is often met with resistance, business leaders sought the help of a change management specialist, allowing him to focus on delivering the technology aspects of the SOE solution.
Staff across the organisation had been using the same technology for a decade and handling change did present some hurdles. Staff worked closely with Data#3 to ensure staff were empowered to use the new technology and the path to adoption of Windows 10 and Office 365 was smooth.
“Instrumental to the successful adoption of the new technology was that the organisation took it away from being just about IT, and made it an organisational matter. It is about enabling their people instead of trying to force change on their users. All users were taken on a journey, with corporate services within the organisation the champions of change,” outlined Gouveia.
“Data#3’s change consultant also assisted with communications and held us to good governance and discipline.”
Understanding the importance of the human aspect and confident of the overall solution, slowed introduction of the SOE to six users per day, taking time to ensure each was comfortable with the new technology. The customer identified Office 365 champions throughout the organisation who had the skills to aid less confident users in the new features and applications available. Collaboration tools were especially valuable.
“We helped them with the introduction of Microsoft Teams, which is a collaboration-centric, modern way of working. They were moved from a siloed organisation, which was a big change. Some of their younger people then became involved in using collaboration tools, and helped changed the culture across the organisation,” said Gouveia.
“The breakdown in siloes was significant. Microsoft Teams is intuitive, so users are just getting on board and collaborating extensively. It is all integrated, all the documents are there, they are sharing screens – it is very easy.”
Conclusion
Like many organisations facing the impacts of COVID-19, the organisation has many challenges ahead, but the digital transformation they underwent for a modern workplace means their workers can perform their roles remotely when needed.
“As part of moving to Microsoft Intune, people can take their devices home and work securely there, which in the last few months has been the backbone of ensuring continuity of their business,” asserted Gouveia.
Not only can staff now work remotely, they can collaborate from anywhere, in virtual meetings and on shared projects. With the improved collaboration environment key to their strategy vision, Microsoft Teams helps support an environment that puts knowledge management and decision making in the right areas.
The right partner was a key ingredient in a successful digital transformation and is invaluable to an organisation completing a complex task. Strong account management with a single point of contact helped to smooth the path.
“The complexity of transitioning to a modern workplace with the right back up can be daunting but working closely with a partner like Data#3 can help make your digital transformation journey simple,” said Gouveia.
Transition from a partly implemented legacy Office 365 billing subscription to a cost-effective, organisation-wide Microsoft Agreement-based license solution.
Engage Data#3 to assist with the cloud transition process from planning and design through to migration and configuration.
A robust, flexible and scalable technology platform that enables employees to access and share files and collaborate on documents with ease.
The ability to pursue a cloud-based strategy for future technology projects and further leverage the investment in Microsoft software licensing.
As an organisation that supports a diverse workforce and provides a wide range of services to the community, having a flexible and well configured technology platform is essential. The new subscription-based Office 365 solution streamlines the way the Agency works and unlocks the power of the cloud to grow and prosper in a rapidly changing business landscape.
Craig Ellis – Sales Manager for Infrastructure Solutions, Data#3
The Background
The Agency provides a range of public services to a community based in Western Australia, which consists of over 15,000 residents.
The Challenge
The Agency was operating on a legacy Office 365 billing subscription that had been originally procured through another third party provider. However, the solution had only been partly implemented for a subset of users within the organisation and a lack of momentum meant the project had progressed no further since deployment.
Not only was this ad hoc technology landscape creating workflow inefficiencies across the organisation, such as restricting users in their ability to connect, share and collaborate with each other, it was also costing the Agency money it didn’t need to spend with the existing costs calculated on a ‘pay as you go’ basis.
Solution
Recognising the need to address the existing technology challenges, the Agency turned to Data#3 to help plan and implement a new, more user friendly and efficient solution.
Through a combination of solutions and services, Data#3 proposed transitioning from the legacy Office 365 billing subscription to a more cost-effective Microsoft Agreement-based license model.
The solution involved Data#3 providing and managing both the licensing and the technical transition, allowing for a more collaborated response.
Specifically, the new solution involved:
IT Outcomes
Thanks to the new Microsoft Office 365 licensing model, the Agency is now reaping the benefits of a thoroughly planned and well-configured technology platform.
Importantly, the new solution has been rolled out across the organisation, meaning everyone is connected to the same tools and systems – not just individual teams and departments.
Transitioning servers and applications to the cloud enables the workforce to enjoy improved mobility and the full ‘anywhere workplace’ experience. This includes accessing email, files and Office programs anywhere, any time and on any configured device.
What’s more, the ability to share large files and collaborate on documents has streamlined the way staff work, creating new efficiencies that reduced ongoing administration costs for the existing legacy infrastructure as it was replaced.
Business Outcome
There are many business benefits associated with the new Office 365 solution.
Firstly, direct cost savings have been made thanks to the subscription-based licensing model.
Next, the improved flexibility, mobility and collaboration that Office 365 offers means the Agency’s workforce are more connected and more productive than ever before.
And finally, the new solution enables the Agency to confidently pursue a cloud-based strategy for future technology projects, further leveraging their investment in Microsoft software licensing.
Conclusion
Data#3 Sales Manager for Infrastructure Solutions, Craig Ellis, is clear about the benefits of the new solution and its successful implementation.
“As an organisation that supports a diverse workforce and provides a wide range of services to the community, having a flexible and well configured technology platform is essential.”
“The new subscription-based Office 365 solution streamlines the way the Agency works and unlocks the power of the cloud to grow and prosper in a rapidly changing business landscape.”
Company Overview:
The Agency provides a critical service within Australia by acting on behalf of the community to ensure that serious crimes are prosecuted.
Challenge:
As a key part of its operations, the Agency needed to transfer a number of very large documents via the web to ensure all parties have access to documents in a timely manner. While undertaking the transfers, the Agency experienced significant latency issues with files taking a long time to transfer via a two-tiered content filtering solution. It was a customer service nightmare.
The nature of the files meant that a cloud solution would not be appropriate. A scalable, highly secure, on-premises solution was needed urgently to meet the agencies project deadline. The Agency needed a solution that would provide the scalability and flexibility to consolidate vendors without compromising the security of their information or organisation. In addition, the new solution needed to be delivered quickly and within budget.
Solution:
Data#3 leveraged its partnership with Cisco to undertake a proof of concept (POC) to showcase to the Agency how the solution would integrate into their already existing security infrastructure. The POC also highlighted how the new solution would be managed and the improvements to the web experience.
The Agency’s existing Cisco environment which included Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) gateway devices, was a good starting point for the new solution and provided the foundation for a strong, secure and integrated solution.
The new solution also utilised Cisco Web Security Appliances (WSA) with Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) to ensure the Agency’s environment was protected from potentially malicious documents and making it safe to transfer critical information across the organisation and to their customers.
In addition, a physical web security appliance was installed in the primary data centre, and a virtual machine in a second location. The virtual appliance provided the required redundancy the Agency needed while significantly decreasing latency and reducing costs.
Outcome:
Since implementing the new solution, the Agency has seen a significant decrease in challenges with latency, leading to increased customer satisfaction. At the same time, the added protection from Cisco WSA with AMP means the Agency has reduced malware and has an improved web experience. As a result, the Agency has experienced a sharp drop in helpdesk calls from mobile users.
The Data#3 team considered the value of the Agency’s existing technology investment, and broader business aims, when designing the POC. Integrating the Cisco security solution has increased vendor consolidation at the agency, leading to greater security visibility and simplified how the Agency manages the environment. The agency now has peace of mind knowing that they are covered in the event of a failure at the primary data centre.
Technology:
The solution had to go beyond increasing latency, also ensuring advanced malware protection and dependable DR without overstretching a tight budget. With the help of Cisco, Data#3 was able to deliver an outcome beyond the customer’s expectations.
Richard Dornhart – National Practice Manager – Security, Data#3 Limited
Company Overview:
Supporting one of Australia’s most scenic coastlines that features fertile farmlands, towns and cities, the Agency views technology as a vital tool for advancement.
Challenge:
In its role supporting local people and businesses, the Agency often creates many reports about multiple topics. While they contain large amounts of very useful information, reports were presented via varied methods to management teams. As a result, managers were often facing a deluge of information, with not all of it specific to their roles. There was a need to present reports securely, with simplified data. The Agency also understood the increasing mobility of their users and needed to ensure the reports would be available to those anywhere, at any time. To add to the challenges facing the IT department, the Agency is in the process of transitioning from on-premises to a hybrid IT model.
Solution:
After working closely with the customer, the Data#3’s team reviewed the current business intelligence (BI) situation. From this, they developed a detailed proposal and designed a proof of concept for a mobile-friendly, cloud-based solution that would position the Agency for the future.
The proposal included a planning service that would simplify reporting, and in turn reduce the information overload for managers. The plan identified future data and analytics needs, while demonstrating Microsoft’s Power BI capabilities and features that would put them in control of their reporting output.
Outcome:
As a result, the Agency is now positioned to lift its BI reporting environment from SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) to a cloud-based Power BI platform, making reports easy to access from any device, including smartphones and tablets.
With the Agency’s vast amount of data simplified, users are able to view summaries on an easy to use dashboard. Meaningful reports are easily created and shared, facilitating closer collaboration between the management team and staff. Robust security includes strong access control options, so the Agency can be assured that their data is safely guarded against unwanted intrusion. Due to the simplicity of the implementation, the solution can be implemented quickly, with minimum interruption to the Agency’s business.
Technology:
“After a detailed assessment, we were able to recommend a secure, cost-effective, mobile solution that cut through the customer’s business intelligence complexity and offered greater access to insights.”
Scott Gosling, National Practice Manager – Microsoft, Data#3 Limited
Company Overview:
The Agency provides a range of services to the community including the provision of medical facilities and healthy living campaigns for over five million Australians.
Challenge:
The Agency needed to update the devices that were in use across the organisation and were running both outdated and unsupported operating systems. In order to ensure security updates and technical support would be available when needed, the Agency needed to migrate over 70,000 desktop PCs, and more than 6,000 types of applications, from Windows XP to Windows 7. Given the numbers involved, it was vital that the Agency could minimise manual processes and simplify the overall management and deployment of the new solution.
Solution:
The new solution leveraged Data#3’s partnership with Microsoft Consulting Services, to build a central application SQL data warehouse to collect application information. SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) reports were built to manage the migration progress. Data#3 assigned a SQL and BI specialist to work collaboratively with the Agency’s team to understand the current warehouse status and what was needed for the extract, transform, load (ETL) and reporting.
Furthermore, SQL Server optimisation and configuration, along with refinement of the ETL database functions, were undertaken. The data model was enhanced to improve performance, with potential improvements identified by the development of complex queries and reports. A number of additional measures, such as index creation and building a performance optimisation and backup plan, were included to ensure the desired outcome could be achieved.
Outcome:
A stable, well-supported SQL environment has been created, not only to support the immediate project, but to support future development, testing and production activities.
The automated ETL functions delivered by the Data#3 and Microsoft alliance enable fast, up-to-date reporting. Business intelligence reports have been developed to encourage collaboration and sharing between branches of the service, reducing duplication and increasing efficiency.
As a result, the migration rate has been increased from 1000 PCs per week to 9000, so the project will be completed far sooner, and users will be better protected by working on updated machines.
Technology:
“Increasing the migration rate nine-fold was a great outcome for the customer, saving them a lot of time that can now be better used on other projects and servicing their customers.”
Scott Gosling, National Practice Manager – Microsoft, Data#3 Limited
Business challenges
Solutions at a glance
“The transition between work environments is seamless. Staff work in an environment that’s cloud-like and extremely flexible.”
Matthew Smith, Information Technology Manager, City of Kwinana
Overview
Kwinana is a tight-knit community 38km south of Perth, on the shores of Western Australia. It’s home to a range of industries and activities, from agriculture to oil refineries to a motorsport complex.
The City of Kwinana provides a wide range of services to its nearly 39,000 residents. As well as the standard services such as libraries, parks, waste collection, building and planning, it hosts a range of annual events, providing youth services and capacity building in the community. With over 400 staff members across 10 local offices, fast, reliable technology infrastructure is vital for the city to service its community efficiently. It manages essential government data, which is growing by five per cent a year.
Infrastructure limited by lack of control
In the past, the city used an off-premises cloud service, but realised that the service was insufficient in meeting the city’s standards as the solution was slow, patchy and not mobile-friendly. In addition, the IT department encountered challenges in servicing and managing their resources due to lack of control.
“We had almost no control over our own data. Often, IT department staff could only assist by escalating issues to our third-party provider,” says Mathew Smith, Information Technology Manager at the City of Kwinana.
Buildings such as the recreation centre, retirement villages and parks management services were served by a shared network. Accessing the cloud required a private internet connection, and a desktop connection in city buildings, negating the flexibility of a cloud environment. And with up to 300 people logging in simultaneously and a download speed of 10Mb/s, server outages were common.
This compromised efficiency, especially for essential city services such as housing inspections, fire-fighting, parkland protection and other duties that rely on mobility. The city wanted to address these issues, reduce costs, improve service delivery and ensure it could innovate.
Implementing unique solutions
The City of Kwinana engaged technology consultants and Dell EMC Titanium status partner Data#3 to strategise and redevelop its technology infrastructure. It soon became clear that Dell Technologies, a collective of technology leaders focused on developing innovative solutions, would enable change within the city.
“We could see that the city’s initial solution wasn’t working,” says Craig Ellis, Infrastructure Solutions Manager, Data#3. “It needed a system that was agile and flexible, and these issues could be directly addressed with the Dell Technologies solutions we were able to provide.”
An on-premises solution built on four Dell PowerEdge R630 Host Servers, alongside an R330 Management Server and an R530 Backup Server would address its off-premises cloud storage issues and enable the city to regain control of its data.
The City of Kwinana chose Dell Technologies due to its adaptable suite of cloud and cloud-supporting solutions, including VMware and Aerohive wireless networks, alongside its work-ready PC and laptop range. This offering would also integrate easily into its current infrastructure; it already used Dell’s Endpoint Management Systems.
Value for money was important when selecting the preferred supplier. “Pricing was definitely a strong point,” Smith explains.
“Dell Technologies actually exceeded the specifications we wanted – well within our budget.”
The new infrastructure included a streamlined, on-premises cloud system running over four Dell PowerEdge servers with reliability and backup features. In addition to this, VMware computing virtualisation software enabled a streamlined management process.
These technologies were paired with Dell N-Series networking and two Dell Aerohive wireless networks (AP550 and AP1130) run over 200 Dell desktops, workstations and laptops, creating a system linked by integrated, on-premises cloud solutions.
“Installing this system meant that all of our performance issues were gone,” says Smith.
Installing flexible capability
Given the city’s unique requirements, this new infrastructure was essential in making certain it could meet its community’s needs now and in the future. Integrating these technologies across its facilities meant streamlined communication channels and new opportunities for a flexible workforce.
Staff are now reaping the benefits of a more mobile workplace. Instead of Kwinana rangers returning to the office at the end of a shift to fill out reports, they can use the Dell Latitude Rugged tablets in their vehicles. By reducing time in and travelling to the office, and being enabled with state of the art, robust devices such as Dell Rugged tablets, staff can deliver more to the community via safe, secure and mobile work solutions.
Pairing the Dell 2-in-1 tablets with its VOIP system also provides the option to eliminate the need for desk phones, with direct contact through their tablets. Once the 300 phone lines are phased out, with each costing $40 a month, the City of Kwinana will benefit from additional cost savings around $12,000 per month.
“The transition between work environments is seamless,” Smith says. “Staff work in an environment that’s cloud-like and extremely flexible.”
Overhauling business process
This technological overhaul has changed operations, reducing costs, streamlining business processes and enabling it to deliver high quality service to its community. Integrating a full suite of Dell Technologies’ solutions reduced the annual IT budget by $300,000 according to Smith – a cost that is now being invested into future developments and initiatives for the local community.
As with any new technology, it required a change in the way work was done, but with training and open communication guided by both Data#3 and Dell Technologies teams, staff quickly embraced the change.
“The feedback from staff since the implementation has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Smith, with mobility and accessibility being the key benefits identified.
Giving back to the community
The City of Kwinana invested these savings into other IT initiatives. A renewed focus on innovation in the community has led to new developments, such as a stronger, interconnected wi-fi network.
Since beginning this project, it installed a range of Dell tablets and computers in its public library, including the Dell Latitude 5285 and 5290 2-in-1 tablets and Dell Latitude Rugged tablets alongside Dell Optiplex 7050 SFF desktops, Precision 7520 mobile workstations and the Precision 5820 fixed tower workstations.
The city has integrated its Dell N-Series network across its training facilities and the fire brigades. This has enabled a public network of multi-use Dell computers available to all local community members.
Through this technology transformation, the City of Kwinana has fostered ongoing and long-term community growth that will continue long into the future. “This change means we can now invest in a range of tech-driven projects,” says Smith. “The time we saved is being invested right back into the community.”
Assemble a team capable of designing and building a complete ICT ecosystem to ensure the company can operate independently.
Engage Data#3 to source and place a highly skilled and experienced technical team to implement the project and deliver on objectives.
A specialist team that delivered a fully operational ICT ecosystem featuring hardware devices, phone system, network infrastructure, servers, business applications, corporate services, data storage, and more ahead of the end of financial year deadline.
An ICT project that was successfully implemented on time and on budget, providing powerful IT infrastructure that enables the efficient and cost effective delivery of services.
“To build an entire ecosystem within seven months is extremely challenging. We knew we had to get it right the first time, and with the right people and the right skills in place, that’s what we did.”
Alex Mardon, Augmentation Services Manager, Data#3 Limited
The Challenge
In 2017, it was decided that the company would be split into two separate entities. A requirement of the split was that both operate independently from a technology standpoint. That meant that each company was effectively making a fresh start from a people, corporate structure, and IT systems and platforms perspective. The technology environment needed to be built from scratch, this meant there was complete separation from the existing support systems by the required deadline.
In short, the company faced a number of key challenges, including:
Solution
Data#3 had previously provided a range of resourcing services to the company, including the provision of highly skilled IT resources in areas such as network infrastructure, software development, business intelligence and data analytics.
As such, Data#3 had extensive knowledge of the company’s business and culture, and had become a trusted advisor on sourcing and building technical teams. Finding the right people can be challenging, however as an experienced technology solutions provider, Data#3 was asked to assemble the right resources required for a successful outcome.
The first step was to source a Senior IT Strategic Advisor to oversee the technical transition.
After this appointment was confirmed, Data#3 worked with the customer to understand the outcome they were looking to achieve. This included advice and recommendations on the skill sets and budgets required across a variety of functions, including strategy, IT management, project management, network and systems configuration, and help desk. This advice was used to formulate a plan to submit to the CEO for approval.
Once approved, Data#3 commenced the recruitment process. This meant sourcing a group of IT professionals with the right mix of technical skills and the right personalities to form a highly effective and cohesive team – and it had to be done as a matter of urgency.
IT Outcomes
Thanks to the highly skilled and experienced team assembled by Data#3, the company was able to design, build and deploy an entire ICT ecosystem quickly and seamlessly.
The ecosystem set-up required expertise across a number of areas, and delivered the full range of technology services, including:
Business Outcome
The complexity and urgency of the company’s project meant that this wasn’t just another straightforward recruitment transaction. Thanks to its expertise in IT resourcing and existing relationship with the customer, Data#3 fully understood the end goal, and was best placed to source and implement the right resources for the project.
Whilst the new team was ultimately responsible for the ICT project, Data#3 provided monitoring services to ensure KPIs were being met and consistently on track. And when resources were stretched, Data#3 sourced additional resources to assist with the workload.
The team put all the necessary software and hardware infrastructure in place to deliver a fully functioning department within seven months – ready for the deadline.
This meant the company could become a standalone entity without relying on systems and support from a third party.
From a business perspective, the success of the project has enabled the company to hit the ground running.
Conclusion
Starting from scratch just a short seven months ago with no people, corporate structure or IT systems and platforms in place, the company is now on track.
Every benchmark has been reached and every goal has been achieved thanks to a dedicated, experienced and highly skilled technical team that was sourced and assembled by Data#3.
“Right from the start, we understood exactly what they needed and the urgency of the project,” says Alex Mardon, Augmentation Services Manager, Data#3.
“To build an entire ecosystem within seven months is extremely challenging. We knew we had to get it right the first time, and with the right people and the right skills in place, that’s what we did.”
