An organisation in the energy industry wanted to create a modern network infrastructure that would support its increasingly mobile workforce.
Managing a network at more than a hundred sites meant that the in-house IT team was used to working on very large, complex projects. Data#3, also a trusted Cisco partner, had demonstrated capabilities in managing large, multi-site network modernisation projects, and this made them a reliable choice.
The highlight is that our technology is more secure, and the mobility for our users has improved dramatically.
As an organisation in the energy industry performing the essential role of delivering energy to the general population in homes, businesses and communities, having the right technology to better support business objectives is essential.
Although the organisation’s existing Cisco network infrastructure had performed reliably, the changes in work practices as well as the COVID-19 pandemic meant there was a greater demand for secure, mobile capabilities for users. With this in mind, the organisation identified an opportunity to modernise its networks and create a better user experience while further supporting a highly agile workforce.
Having a vital role in providing power to local communities means there are rigorous processes are in place to ensure that best practice. In the IT team, this means building and maintaining a secure, efficient environment that enables the large workforce to perform at their best. When it came to renewing the organisation’s network, the energy organisations The Manager for Cyber Security said that considerable planning was involved. It was also standard practice to prepare well ahead for the end of each technology cycle.
“The project was started by the previous manager to modernise our environment and technology, and it was determined we should move to Cisco Meraki as the older technology was getting towards its end of life.”
“If we didn’t consider modernising our environment, we would have run the risk of not having the right support and maintenance we needed. Subsequent security threats in our wireless network would have been unacceptable.”
Changing work practices were factored into the decision. Enabling a more seamless mobile experience was a priority, whether for staff moving between the 100-plus sites, or working from home.
“Previously, people mostly worked with a desktop or laptop at a workstation, but we planned a move to a more mobile, wireless environment. We worked on another project rolling out Windows 10, and we wanted to build on this to take advantage of the wireless environment, so that people could pick up their devices and walk around the building, or any site throughout our multiple companies.”
The few staff travelling between sites previously were accustomed to connecting manually to different networks, but this could be challenging, with different systems in place at different locations. Unsurprisingly, this resulted in additional support calls, and there was clear room to improve on the user experience.
Support was not made any easier for the team by the lack of visibility in the complex network environment, so a better view of network traffic was needed. Consolidation of the wireless environment would bring greater consistency, making management simpler and more effective.
The Data#3 project team consisted of a senior project manager, project administrative support, six consultants, and a network of regional electrical partners who worked closely with the in-house IT group and Cisco to develop and implement a detailed plan to modernise the network. The solution included deployment of 1,089 wireless access points, 632 switches, and more than a hundred routers. Using a combination of Cisco Meraki switches and indoor and outdoor access points, as well as Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series switches and Cisco Integrated Service routers, the infrastructure was designed to give maximum performance and visibility.
“It was a big project, definitely large and complex, but not the biggest we’ve done. The project took around 18 months in all, and we now have all sites upgraded, which is no small undertaking,” described the Manager for Cyber Security.
“We took a collaborative approach. Data#3 did the running up of the equipment, but didn’t have to go to all the locations, we shared the responsibility, so sometimes it would be just Data#3 and sometimes it would be just us.”
The approach varied according to location. While some smaller sites could be cut over during business hours, in the larger offices, it was necessary to work outside 9-5 in order to minimise disruption to staff. While the Manager for Cyber Security said that Data#3, as a Cisco Gold Partner, had a “very high rating” for technical expertise, they maintained that skilled, experienced project managers are equally vital in large, multi-site undertakings.
“My advice is to get a good project manager who understands logistics, that is the most important thing. For example, working with Data#3, we pre-staged and tested equipment before it was sent anywhere, which meant there was less need for senior people onsite – an experienced project manager understands these logistics are critical,” explained the Manager for Cyber Security.
“Everything has to be staged, packaged, shipped, and unboxed, the site has to be ready for it, plan where the boxes will go, and what happens with the boxes that are removed – it is the logistics that will kill you.”
The IT team is appreciative of the simpler management and increased visibility of the modernised network environment. The clearer view of network traffic allows the organisation’s team to better understand and predict organisational needs, and to anticipate issues, so that they can act more proactively in providing capacity and in preventing problems. The visibility, and the ability to define access based on client, identity, and intent, are especially a benefit in terms of meeting stringent security requirements. Importantly, access control is seamless and consistent between the many locations.
“The Cisco Meraki technology enables us to provide a more robust security process for wireless and roaming.”
While the project was planned before the world was faced with a global pandemic, the increased capacity for staff to work from home quickly showed its worth. The combination of the network modernisation and a remote work project proved essential.
“We had 4,000+ employees, and previously fewer had asked to work from home,” said the Manager for Cyber Security.
For users traveling between locations, the ease of getting onto the network at each new location meant they could simply pick up their work without wrestling with separate sign-on process, and without calling the helpdesk. Whether working on a laptop or corporate mobile phone, at each new site, the network recognised their device and assigned the correct access levels, even when they had moved from one location to another. The users have access to their familiar corporate applications wherever they go.
“I regularly travel for work, and since the deployment I’ve been able to connect to the wireless seamlessly wherever I am. It doesn’t matter which company network we now use; they are consistent. Our executives can travel around the state and connect at any spot easily and securely.”
“The two large projects we completed took the pain of logins away. This was originally a pain point going between different companies because cabling and networks were structured differently,” said the Manager for Cyber Security.
While the choice of the modern Cisco network technology was relatively simple due to its combination of reliability, manageability, and performance, there were other considerations that were important in selecting the best solution. Data#3 procurement specialists were able to help make the project happen within the right budget. “We have a strong cost management focus. Cisco offered an Enterprise Agreement and a bundle package that made it financially palatable for our current management to support.”
I regularly travel for work, and since the deployment I’ve been able to connect to the wireless seamlessly wherever I am. It doesn’t matter which company network we now use; they are consistent. Our executives can travel around the state and connect at any spot easily and securely.
– Manager for Cyber Security, Organisation in the energy industry
For the wider organisation, much of the success of the project is down to communication, and a strong project manager that their in-house team worked with well.
“We met with the senior project manager weekly, and had a monthly account meeting with Data#3. There were ad-hoc meetings as well. It was a luxury to pick up the phone to call people if I had a problem, and they would respond positively,” said the Manager for Cyber Security.
“We have such a collaborative partnership with Data#3, and they do multiple activities for us, not just on Cisco technology but also Microsoft, and some security pieces. They are able to focus on what we need, they have good quality quoting and processes, and strong expertise.”
The greatest icing on the cake, has been the improvement to user experience while also improving security.
“Our highlight is that the technology is more secure, and the mobility for users has improved dramatically. They can pick up their laptop or phone and head into another room, go home, come back into the office, and voilà! They are connected.”
“With this project, they can use any device, anywhere,” concluded Manager for Cyber Security.
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A primary industry organisation wanted to simplify management of its Cisco renewals and improve collaboration options available for its staff.
Data#3 had worked with the organisation previously on a number of projects that highlighted their Cisco and Microsoft specialisations. Data#3 understood what was required and their highly regarded Customer Success practice also offered access to Cisco collaboration experts, making it an easy decision to enlist their help.
Improved collaboration for all users who can now seamlessly transition between Cisco Webex meetings and Microsoft Teams meetings.
As an organisation in the primary industry, prioritising sustainability and quality in its operations is a must. The organisation’s head office had recently begun a rapid adoption of Microsoft Teams to enable staff to work from home in the wake of COVID-19, but it presented integration challenges with Cisco Webex.
As corporate staff were required to hastily transition to remote working their reliance on Cisco’s Software Support Service increased. So, when it reached end of life, the organisation knew there would be significant risk to business continuity if they didn’t ensure continued support.
The organisation has long depended on robust technology from Cisco to support the business in both corporate and operational environments. This extends from core networking and infrastructure through to collaboration tools and support leveraging Cisco’s Software Support Service.
Given the extensive history the organisation had with Cisco technology, sticking with the familiar was preferred to ensure seamless collaboration not only in the Australian offices, but the many offices they held around the world.
When they opened their new Australian offices, the organisation’s dedicated in-house IT team took the opportunity to use some of the latest Cisco collaboration tools to create an exceptional user experience.
The result was a modern, sleek collaboration environment that showcased the organisation’s desire to be the best in every facet of its business. Smart use of technology is at the heart of their drive to deliver optimal results through efficiency and quality performance.
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, the challenges of supporting a complex, multi-site business grew. Until then, most users had worked on-site, with a smaller number working from home via Cisco Webex. Like most businesses, they were forced to quickly support their entire workforce to work remotely. To ensure the wider business was supported, the decision was made from the global head office to adopt Microsoft Teams, due to the rapid roll out that was needed. This led to integration challenges at a time when the IT team was already extremely busy supporting a now mostly remote workforce.
With their Cisco Collaboration Software Support Service approaching end of life, the organisation had started discussions with Data#3 about their next step. Key stakeholders had identified that managing renewals could be time-consuming, and they were keen to drive value and efficiency. As a Cisco Gold Partner with Cisco Master Specialisation and Microsoft Gold partner, Data#3 was already the organisation’s supplier of Cisco equipment and Microsoft licensing for the last decade which made it easy to know who to turn to for advice.
Data#3 proposed a Cisco Flex Enterprise Agreement (EA) that would not only simplify the management of the collaboration software portfolio, but offer other significant benefits around growth and future proofing of the solution. Additionally, the EA would include access to Data#3’s Customer Success program. This program includes adoption and enablement support from certified Cisco specialists, as well as consumption and adoption monitoring, regular technology health checks, and a host of benefits within a tailored success plan for the business. This additional support proved invaluable for the organisation as they ironed out integration challenges.
Where users had previously switched between Webex and Microsoft Teams as they moved between different meetings, the transition is now effortless, and they don’t need to adjust between different features and functionality.
The biggest benefit is that it made the transition to the new office and systems straightforward. Staff are now able to go from meetings in Microsoft Teams directly into Webex meetings seamlessly.
Previous limitations in a closed environment where the organisation could only leverage Cisco endpoints for meetings were no longer a barrier to collaboration. The new solution equips staff with the integration needed to book meetings from Microsoft Teams while accessing the same meeting on the Webex platform with the click of a single button.
Along with the Customer Success program, the organisation had been using Data#3’s Lifecycle 360 platform since its early development. Lifecycle 360 offers extraordinary visibility of their IT environment. Updated via direct integration with Cisco’s systems, Lifecycle 360 provides near real time insights into Cisco hardware, licensing and support and offers a centralised view of agreements with other vendors. It alerts IT departments to upcoming renewal needs, and, supported by a team of annuity specialists, it helps organisations to consolidate their renewals to make them more manageable and cost-effective.
The investment the organisation had already made in building strong, reliable systems put them in a good position in the early days of the pandemic, so they were able to adapt to the demands of working from home without stressing about the underlying infrastructure.
As an organisation that required a lot of travel interstate, the border closures could have proved to be significantly problematic for the business. However, their forward thinking and planning meant they still had the Cisco video conferencing units to do everything remotely. Their investment in technology meant at a time with unprecedented change impacting every aspect of day-to-day life, they were well positioned for success.
Still, adjusting to a new collaboration platform was challenging for a small number of staff unaccustomed to working remotely, and with the benefit of time additional change management to support users would prove valuable.
As equally important as it is to make sure technology supports your businesses evolving needs, it’s also important to help your teams get up to speed with new technology to really maximise the investment in technology. Through a committed partnership, the in-house technical team has developed deep expertise across Cisco’s portfolio, a service that gives Data#3 an edge when it comes to solving business challenges with the best technology solutions.
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This organisation’s Microsoft enterprise agreement was approaching renewal and they wanted clearer understanding of the software in use to prevent overpayment.
As this organisation’s chosen Microsoft licensing partner, Data#3 was known to have the expertise needed to gain visibility of their software usage. A three-year agreement was signed to ensure optimal license agreements could be put in place as needed.
Data#3 recommended a good product and the way they manage it is very good. They provide recommendations around non-financial items such as a value-adds including security and hygiene measures, which we greatly appreciate.
Spokesperson
With extensive experience in providing essential infrastructure services, the organisation operates across many sites, including in regional areas, so it places high value on technology that supports modern communication and collaboration needs.
Microsoft 365 is a key tool for more than 10,000 of the organisation’s employees and is used by all its staff. With little visibility of licensing usage, it was imperative that the organisation had a clearer understanding of its software landscape to avoid unnecessary cost when renewing its Microsoft Enterprise Agreement.
Its large workforce meant the organisation’s Microsoft 365 licensing commitment was the largest financial component of its Microsoft Enterprise Agreement. Microsoft 365 was highly valued as an essential business tool – however, the organisation’s spokesperson said a clearer picture of usage was needed for the business to avoid overspend.
“We were essentially staring in the face of our Microsoft Enterprise Agreement renewal, with indicative volumes and pricing significantly higher than we had budgeted for. We spoke to Data#3 about what we could do to rationalise and bring it back closer to our budget number. They were the logical people to ask because they are our Microsoft partner and we transact all our Microsoft 365 licensing through them, as well as using them for other software licensing.”
The spokesperson described a “budget hole of about $2 million” if the issue wasn’t addressed, and none of the alternatives were palatable to the business.
“Our options would be to find additional dollars, or slash and burn by taking licenses away from people. We wanted a cleaner way to do this, with the knowledge to slash and burn idle licenses so that users would be unaffected.”
The challenge had been complicated by significant changes in the organisation. The lack of visibility meant that the organisation could not readily identify licenses actively being used. As users came and went, or took extended leave, the business was still covering Microsoft 365 licenses and there was no clear picture to support the IT department in its licensing negotiations.
Data#3 ran a series of workshops with key IT staff in the organisation to determine the approach that would work best. They recommended a solution that combined Data#3’s Microsoft 365 Optimiser managed service with Microsoft Licensing Optimisation (MLO) consulting services. This would give the organisation intelligence they needed about their license usage, as well as expertise to interpret resulting information and make recommendations for the best licensing cover. Their spokesperson said implementation was straightforward.
“For us it was simple. We didn’t really need to do very much at all, just login and authorise servers for Data#3 to access our Microsoft 365 system. Outside of that, Data#3 managed the rest. The Optimiser service runs entirely in the background, and it is cloud based, so there are no agents to install – just a five-minute job to authorise it.”
With the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement renewal looming closely, the speed of results was well-received. The first priority was to identify and eliminate wasted licenses, and results exceeded those expected from a proof of concept.
“We corroborated that we had about 1,500 users who had full licenses, but minimal usage. We allowed them to drop down to an E3, saving 20% of the cost. We identified one-to-two thousand users who were not using any Microsoft products at all.”
“We put some criteria around what would classify users as inactive and settled on 90 days of no use. This could be detected for us automatically.”
The increased visibility has given the organisation greater insight, and the spokesperson said the additional intelligence is driving greater efficiency through tightening processes.
“For example, we are planning changes to the way we onboard people. Users may have been automatically allocated full Microsoft 365 licenses when they only use email or need to access the timesheet system. Another thing that was beneficial was that people may have been using non-standard products like Microsoft Visio or Microsoft Power BI, then changed roles and stopped using them. We can now clear up that software.”
While the Microsoft 365 Optimiser service from Data#3 enables automation of licensing changes, the organisation has not yet followed that path while it gains further understanding of the platform and its potential. The initial focus is on considering where additional process changes in the business can further increase efficiency. This may include determining which idle Microsoft 365 accounts may indicate that other software may also be licensed unnecessarily.
“If we identify 200 idle Microsoft accounts, for example, we may also learn that 50 of these were also Adobe users. There may be potential for additional savings not in our original business case,” said the spokesperson.
“We continue to find opportunities to reduce our licensing costs month-on-month, as well as highlighting areas we can improve ongoing management.”
This process is facilitated by the ongoing service in the organisation’s three-year contract, which includes regular meetings with Data#3’s Microsoft 365 Optimiser experts who are experienced in hunting down further opportunities for cost avoidance. While not the primary objective, recommendations on security have also been well received.
“Data#3 recommended a good product and the way they manage it is very good. They provide recommendations around non-financial items such as a value-adds including security and hygiene measures, which we greatly appreciate.”
“They hit the ground running very quickly – we initiated the conversation with them in mid-January and our Microsoft renewal was due in May, so we were on a tight timeframe to identify savings. They were fast and agile in getting it up and running.”
The Data#3 Microsoft 365 Optimiser service gave the organisation vastly improved visibility and understanding of its IT environment – but its spokesperson said it is important to translate that awareness into improved processes.
“The way we onboarded people meant that by default, everyone got a full Microsoft license, where in many cases, this is not needed. We are now able to address where processes can be adjusted to prevent over-allocation. I think the important thing is to try and keep track of actual usage, and to categorise what people require when we are onboarding them, so we can attack the issue at the onset.
“That said, a service like this is still beneficial as people’s roles change, and this makes it easy to tell where there are potential savings.”
While several products can pull together some elements of the data now at the organisation’s fingertips, they were clear that the advantages lie in the way it is pulled together into actionable insights.
“Where the service makes the biggest difference is the way it aggregates the data and finds all the information in such a way that we don’t need to combine different extracts to get to the information we need.”
“Before we finalised the decision to go forward, we had Data#3 run a proof of concept where they ran their reporting tools across our system for a couple of weeks and gave indicative numbers of what they thought we could save. They were quietly confident that the savings would pay for the product twice over, and it was important we had that comfort level that we would get payback for our investment. It paid for itself.”
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Although they could not have predicted the impact of COVID-19, the IT operations and security teams at Hydro Tasmania had already built the modern, agile infrastructure that would be ready to transition 1,200 employees securely to work from home overnight.
Hydro Tasmania was looking to consolidate with a security provider that could support a new, modern architecture and an agile network that could connect users wherever they are.
The team worked extensively alongside Data#3 throughout the program which guided us for the rollout across the first few sites. It was a very positive experience which allowed us to deploy these sites on time and without any issues.
Fletcher Davidson – IT Operations Manager, Hydro Tasmania
Hydro Tasmania is Australia’s leading clean energy business, the largest generator of renewable energy, and the largest water manager. Leading Australia’s clean energy innovation, they have built 54 major dams, 30 hydropower stations and two major wind farms, employing more than 1,400 people mostly based in Tasmania as well as Victoria, Adelaide and India. Along with generating clean energy, they also sell energy into the National Electricity Market (NEM) through their retail business, Momentum Energy, and offer world-renowned expertise through their specialist consulting firm Entura.
To best position the organisation for the future, their IT and security teams embarked on a three-year infrastructure modernisation program back in 2018. This included a phased project to consolidate their perimeter and data center firewalls and provide remote access and security services alongside a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) rollout. Little did they know, it was this program and strategy that would prepare them to make a seamless transition to work from home (WFH) for 1,200 employees when the global pandemic suddenly struck in 2020.
Standardising network security and access for modern users
With a diverse range of firewall technologies in place in the past, Hydro Tasmania was keen to find a more efficient environment, explains Fletcher Davidson, IT Operations Manager. “Having multiple technologies for the one function is not ideal, and we wanted a more efficient way of managing day-to-day tasks and to strengthen our detection and response to incidents.”
With a growing number of employees working across Australia and India—in both central and remote locations—Hydro Tasmania was also experiencing challenges with connectivity and user experience. They needed a better solution to support their business growth and remote working environment.
In order to meet the changing demands of their business, the Hydro Tasmania team had the following requirements:
Unified management and simplified operations
Phase one involved deploying Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) and Panorama™ to manage network-borne threats, irrespective of where they are. This unified platform approach enables them to consolidate vendors for network security and drive simplification across their environment. Andrew Smith, Operations and Infrastructure Network Team Lead, says, “Palo Alto Networks enterprise security platform along with Panorama provides us with a unified approach and single-pane-of-glass visibility to simplify configuration, deployment, and management of all of our Palo Alto Networks security products.”
Better connectivity, user experience and enhanced security for the remote workforce
Hydro Tasmania’s employees across its three businesses are often working in remote locations or on the move—from Asia to Africa to the forests of Tasmania. The remote networking solution needed to meet modern user demands, delivering the required level of protection and even connectivity to families they may not have seen in weeks. To support this important human goal and better support remote workers with improved connectivity, user experience and enhanced security, they turned to Prisma® Access as part of the second phase of the project. “We needed a solution that would support our new strategy and BCP roadmap—shifting from a network-centric to user-centric security model. As a complete, cloud-delivered security solution, Prisma Access enabled us to eliminate hairpinning traffic back to our various data centers, and provided us the functionality and flexibility to cater to both current and future business needs,” shares Davidson.
The enterprise security platform offered by Palo Alto Networks enabled Hydro Tasmania to apply Zero Trust principles—eliminating implicit trust—to their users, applications and infrastructure so that the team can have confidence in being on their way to a Zero Trust enterprise.
Hydro Tasmania also leveraged the team’s skills at Data#3 to support the concurrent deployment of Prisma Access at various sites. Smith explains that “the team worked extensively alongside Data#3 throughout the program which guided us for the rollout across the first few sites. It was a very positive experience which allowed us to deploy these sites on time and without any issues.”
Achieving better security outcomes and reducing complexity through consolidation
James Pemberton, Cyber Security Operations Lead shares, “With the enterprise security platform, we leveraged Palo Alto Networks intrusion capabilities to streamline our environment. The consolidation enabled us to reduce complexity and hardware costs but also improved our security capabilities with one single device.”
Seamless remote working transition despite pandemic
In partnership with Palo Alto Networks and Data#3, Hydro Tasmania not only simplified operations, improved security and reduced costs as part of their modernisation roadmap but also managed to prepare themselves to guarantee business continuity during a global crisis.
Although they didn’t know it at the time, the new and highly scalable remote access capability was already in place, when barely a year later, COVID-19 saw 1,200 of Hydro Tasmania’s office workers shift to work from home overnight.
No one could foresee the impact of the pandemic on a business, but with the right solutions in place, our transition was so seamless that our teams could continue working remotely from home without any issues, downtime and zero disruption to customers the very next day.
Fletcher Davidson – IT Operations Manager, Hydro Tasmania
Davidson recalls further, “Everything during COVID-19 was pretty chaotic; one day, every employee was at work, and the following day everyone was at home. From an IT operations perspective, we didn’t really suffer any major issue, and everyone was able to access what they needed to continue working without us having to spend an extra dollar to facilitate this.”
Having a stable platform that was ready to scale and handle this transition also brought the team plenty of positive recognition from the wider business when many other companies in Australia reported disruptions to their business.
“We took cloud-delivered access and security to the employees, and everything just works seamlessly. There’s now a high level of trust in our systems, and our people can work flexibly in this new normal of 2021 and beyond,” concludes Davidson.
Enhanced security posture with enterprise security platform
Although connectivity for employees was of the highest priority, maintaining a strong security posture during such a big shift was also critical. With security services already built into Prisma Access and integrated visibility through Panorama, Pemberton comments, “We didn’t have to adapt any of our security operations in regards to monitoring or telemetry even with an increased remote workforce. As an integrated platform with everything already pre-configured, there was no real change to our visibility regardless of where and how users were accessing our business applications.”
Hydro Tasmania moved from having multiple vendors and challenges with operational efficiency and user experiences for their employees to a modern, scalable network with best-of-breed security built-in.
Despite the impact of the pandemic, Hydro Tasmania’s user-centric strategy, modern architecture and agile infrastructure that was already in place were ready to make the transition—to work from home or a remote power station—seamlessly.
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ElectraNet wanted to ensure that they held the appropriate licenses required for all Microsoft products in use across the organisation, while also avoiding overspend on essential business software.
The ElectraNet in-house IT team was determined to meet all software compliance requirements. Data#3 had discussed its unique Technology Intelligence Solution and demonstrated its suitability to improve visibility of software usage. This allowed ElectraNet to better manage licensing needs and get the best value for their technology investment.
The cost and resource demands of the audit process have reduced drastically since implementing the Technology Intelligence Solution from Data#3.
The solution helps us get on top of license renewals and saves costs because it points us to the applications that are not being used, so it takes away the potential for paying for something we don’t need.
Steve Calabro – IT Infrastructure Manager, ElectraNet
ElectraNet is the owner and operator of South Australia’s high-voltage electricity transmission network, playing a vital role in providing safe, affordable and reliable solutions to power homes, businesses and the economy.
The grid is continually evolving, using new technologies to deliver cleaner, more environmentally friendly services to the community it serves.
Throughout the organisation, managing costs is a constant focus, as efficient operation allows ElectraNet to offer the best value to its customers. Microsoft software plays an important role across the organisation and is one of the business’s most significant ongoing technology expenses. However, limited visibility made it difficult to accurately gauge usage.
Providing the right energy service to suit the needs of the community is a complex task and requires everyone in the ElectraNet team to perform at their best. Technology plays a key role. From field engineers to corporate users, the ability to connect and collaborate is key. IT Infrastructure Manager, Steve Calabro, said that Microsoft is at the heart of the company’s daily activities.
“We run Microsoft on all of our devices, we have Microsoft on 90% of our servers, we are predominantly a Microsoft shop. We use the Microsoft 365 platform, as well as Exchange, Dynamics, SharePoint, and Teams. Our use of Microsoft Teams, in particular, accelerated when staff had to work from home due to COVID-19 restrictions.”
Keeping track of licensing coverage and usage in a complex, multi-site environment was a challenging task for the busy in-house IT team. In fact, Data#3 research found that 54% of organisations are overspending on hardware and licensing1, wasting precious IT budget. The remaining 46% are under-licensed and pose a compliance risk1 to the organisation. ElectraNet had invested in a software asset management (SAM) tool in the past, but it was unwieldy, and the team lacked time to make sure the tool delivered the right data. This led to a situation where visibility of the current environment was very limited, making it hard to prepare for software audits.
“We needed assistance keeping track of our software licences, because we don’t have full-time employees who can focus on the licensing that is in use in our environment,” explained Calabro.
“It can be a very complex area, and without that specialist focus, it is hard to fully understand. The licences available are ever-changing, so it is hard to keep up with. To track the Microsoft licensing situation year-to-year, you really need a dedicated person.”
Risk management is an integral part of ElectraNet to ensure good corporate governance, improve decision making and enhance outcomes and accountability. This extends not only to the grid it manages, but also to its corporate and IT environment. Effective management of software licensing reduces risk of overspend, and of penalties applied for compliance failures. To the business, getting it right is part of being a good corporate citizen.
“The risks include not being correctly licensed for products we have out there, and facing fines when we get audited, plus we risk missing out on getting more advantageous deals from our software providers,” explained Calabro.
Business Outcome
Given the proportion of annual IT expenditure that is used to pay for software licences, and the potential for fines if compliance requirements are not met, the ElectraNet team was very clear that managing the situation would be a valuable exercise. With this in mind, Calabro turned to Data#3, whose Technology Intelligence Solution was designed to give accurate oversight and expert recommendations on software licensing obligations and benefits.
“We needed assistance, and were speaking to Data#3, who came back to us with a managed solution that utilises Snow Software to give us a monthly report, and we decided to take that path,” recounted Calabro.
We are now four years down the track, and still going with it. It helps us keep track accurately.
Steve Calabro – IT Infrastructure Manager, ElectraNet
Data#3’s licensing experts explained ways in which ElectraNet could use a managed Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, paired with Software Asset Management (SAM) expertise, so that they no longer had to manage the application. Instead, Technology Intelligence specialists took on the day-to-day monitoring and management, reporting back to ElectraNet in regularly scheduled meetings that outline risks from a security, compliance, and governance perspective.
“As a part of the solution we have a monthly meeting with Data#3. Their monthly report outlines how we are travelling with licenses, whether we are over or under, and reports on applications that are not utilised or wanted. When we have these monthly catch ups, we get some actions to work on for the coming month, regroup, and go from there,” explained Calabro.
“Data#3 is responsive, and their communication is exceptional.”
Audits, such as the Microsoft True-Up process, are a different experience since the Technology Intelligence Solution was put in place. Previously a member of the IT team would need to devote a significant block of time to preparing for any upcoming audit, and variance was still problematic. ElectraNet can now have confidence in its information.
“The solution helps us get on top of license renewals and saves costs because it points us to the applications that are not being used, so it takes away the potential for paying for something we don’t need,” said Calabro”
By lifting the burden of ongoing license monitoring from the in-house team, ElectraNet can spare resources for other projects, while also taking a more proactive approach to its software assets.
“When we catch up with Data#3, they give us some actions, ranging from uninstalling unused applications, or prompting decisions about end-of-life applications. We go through and uninstall or upgrade, we clean things up, and it gives us a good insight,” described Calabro.
In contrast to the previous audit, a time-consuming process that diverted IT time and uncovered inaccuracies that led to a lump-sum payment, Calabro said the experience is now far less stressful.
“Previously, it was hard when it came round to being audited every so often. We got audited at the beginning this year, for the first time since Data#3 installed Snow Software. We can now readily demonstrate compliance. Following the previous audit, Data#3 was able to negotiate with Microsoft to get the shortfall to a reasonable number, and the feedback from the business was that it was a job well done.”
With the Technology Intelligence Solution giving clarity around software usage, and matching that to the right licensing options, Calabro is clear that the right knowledge pays off in this specialised discipline.
“Data#3 has provided us with the expertise, support and solution we needed to manage our Microsoft licences, which has been a good outcome for our business.”
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Traditional asset management systems are restricted to specific areas of your technology stack, either managing your hardware or ensure licensing compliance. However, without a clear and complete view of all on-premises and cloud resources, technology cannot be optimised to meet organisational goals, compliance cannot be enforced and your systems and data may not be as protected as you think. Technology Intelligence Solutions can help you reduce risk, prevent overspend, and quickly grasp business opportunities.
Data#3’s Technology Intelligence Solutions help customers understand and manage their technology investments and consumption across the desktop to mobile, data centre and the cloud.
Objective
After struggling to find a managed service provider that offered the right fit, an energy industry organisation sought a partner to address infrastructure instability and create a foundation for digital transformation.
Approach
Successful engagement with a managed service provider hinges on finding the right fit, both from a technical standpoint and in terms of organisational culture. When this customer found its needs were not met by their incumbent, a request for proposal (“RFP”) was issued. Respondents were assessed against detailed criteria to find the best match.
IT Outcomes
Business Outcomes
“For many businesses, 24/7/365 availability of of key systems is of the utmost importance. Our Data#3 team works hard to ensure our customers have a high level of flexibility they can rely on and that the solution delivered meets their expectations.”
Paul Crouch, General Manager for NSW and ACT, Data#3 Limited
The Background
This Data#3 customer organisation is responsible for ensuring the availability of essential energy services to Australians across the country. Providing a consistent service is of utmost importance, but frustrations with the incumbent managed service provider had created a raft of challenges for this customer. In particular, an unwillingness to rectify issues with a piece of key infrastructure had led to instability. Additionally, poor overall visibility was affecting service provision.
The Challenge
Organisations in the energy industry play a vital role in ensuring that the security, reliability and cost of energy are managed to benefit Australian families and businesses. In turn, there is a strong dependency on their IT departments to enable users to perform daily tasks. While a managed service provider should support and enhance the capabilities of the in-house IT team, for this customer, this was not always the case.
“Understanding our customers’ business needs is a high priority for Data#3. Knowing where they are right now, and where they are looking to go, helps ensure the technology they are investing in will take them there,” said Data#3’s General Manager for NSW and ACT, Paul Crouch.
The customer had an existing service provider, however they experienced inconsistent levels of support, and the service provider’s responsibilities were not dependably executed. The detrimental situation was exacerbated by the service provider’s high staff turnover. The end result highlighted an issue with the existing provider’s understanding of the customer’s systems, and a lack of capability with key infrastructure.
“We make it a priority to gain an understanding of the key infrastructure our customers use to ensure we can help take it to the level needed. If we didn’t, staff would be under immense pressure to manage the situation, while simultaneously trying conduct do day to day tasks,” said Crouch.
With the customer’s internal team stretched from regularly stepping in and managing situations themselves, maintaining consistent processes was problematic. Confidence in certain essential processes was lacking. Among the greatest concerns was the need for an updated backup system, and processes that could be trusted to protect valuable data.
“We knew the customer needed a new technology solution that was resilient, scalable, and above all, fully supported by the right partner. If this didn’t happen it was inevitable that they would experience constant stability challenges with their backups.”
By 2023, 50% of enterprises will utilise a cloud managed service provider to run some portion of their hyperscale cloud deployments, up from less than 20% in 2018.1
IT Outcome
Following Data#3’s successful bid, an Enterprise Managed Service agreement was put in place that included access to skilled support through Data#3’s Service Desk, along with specialist network, server and storage engineering. Backup and service delivery management were also included, in a tailor-made managed service. This provided the organisation with the 24/7/365 availability they required.
The first test was transitioning services from the incumbent provider to the Data#3 Managed Service team.
“It was important that the customer was able to maintain a certain level of business continuity. Our teams worked hard to ensure the transition went smoothly, with minimal disruption to business.”
“There can be a lot of misconception around all IT systems now being in the cloud. But almost all organisations, even those making multi-billions per year will have some kind of legacy system that is not decommissioned yet because of the vital role it plays across the business,” commented Crouch.
Staff had an accurate understanding of what was needed, but Data#3’s review of the environment provided welcome confirmation. To ensure a seamless continuation of service to their stakeholders, availability of key data was vital; addressing backup technology and processes was a logical step.
“Our team executed a replacement backup solution and replaced the dated system with a new client-based, on-premises solution that interfaced to a cloud backup solution. This new technology improved their capability significantly with off-site storage,” said Crouch.
While the technology was an ideal fit and smoothly implemented, the process was not without some ‘bumps in the road’. This was where the right partnership paid tremendous dividends.
“We made sure that any challenges or concerns that would arise were very promptly addressed. It was imperative to Data#3 that the experience the customer had with their previous provider was not repeated,” explained Crouch.
Business Outcome
After going to market twice in five years for a managed service provider, it was important to raise the customer organisation’s confidence, and increase consistency in IT support services. Although business hours were officially between 8.30-5.30, the customer’s operations extend after this. It was essential that a high level of support was available as needed outside of normal business hours.
“If your internal stakeholders are not able to deliver the services customers expect, it can significantly impact on the business in many ways,” commented Crouch.
While the organisation already had existing desktop support investments , these resources are now able to share Data#3’s service management toolset, ServiceNow. Data#3 is able to work closely with the desktop support service to deliver a consistently superior customer support across the support hours required.
“This had been a challenge for our customers’ IT team; opening hours are one thing, but the they needed to be able to successfully meet the expectations of their internal clients. Their work must sometimes happen on evenings and weekends. It is essential that systems and support are highly available,” explained Crouch.
“For many businesses, 24/7/365 availability of key systems is of the utmost importance. Our Data#3 team works hard to ensure our customers have a high level of flexibility they can rely on and that the solution delivered meets their expectations.”
For the IT team, finding the right mix has freed them to focus on the projects that support business direction. They are happy to have the day-to-day support needs to be managed, with clear communication that helps prepare them for the future.
Conclusion
As with any organisation, well-managed technology foundations are the bedrock of successful, effective functions. The role of the managed service provider is to provide trusted advice and support, as well as daily support and management of the underlying IT environment. From the challenges with the previous service provider to the improved situation now achieved, Crouch emphasises the importance of clarity.
“As important as it is to have a partner who understands your needs, it is also extremely important to be clear about your expectations of the service provider. Pay close attention to the culture of the service provider to ensure you get the closest match possible to take you where you need to go,” explained Crouch.
As a result of the evolved service environment, the customer has raised service levels for staff to more consistently deliver service to stakeholders and Australians.
“Although the project started from a poor experience with a previous service provider, our teams are passionate about a positive service delivery experience for our customers that is only strengthened by a balance of honest communication and the right technical skills,” said Crouch.
“We are thrilled with the success our customer has been able to achieve by leveraging Data#3’s Managed Services, and we look forward to seeing what that means for them in the future.”
1. Gartner (2018), Public Cloud Infrastructure Operations and Management Is a Shared Responsibility Model [Online] https://blogs.gartner.com/rene-buest/2018/12/14/publiccloud-infrastructure-operations-and-management-is-a-shared-responsibility-model/
After learning about an impending audit of software licensing, the company enlisted Data#3’s help to gain a clear view of their position.
The company wanted to draw on the expertise of Data#3’s Software Asset Management (SAM) specialists to ensure compliance with stringent vendor requirements.
“Data#3 knows that it can be difficult to manage everything, and we want to help our customers by providing the governance and education they may need to get the best outcome they can possibly get for now, and into the future,”
Peter Taylor, National Practice Manager, Data#3
The Background
The company provides energy services to support families, communities and businesses across Australia. Technology plays a key role in the company’s business objective to continue providing energy services as a safe, sustainable energy provider. Data#3’s on-site SAM consultants seamlessly act as a part of their team.
The audit was unexpected. Without prior experience of the audit process, the prospect was daunting for the IT team, but knowing their Data#3 colleagues were familiar with the process was reassuring.
The Challenge
With a significant investment in IBM software, the company understood that they held appropriate licensing for their environment. While IBM has a reputation for being tough on software licence compliance, Data#3’s National Practice Manager for Software Asset Management (SAM), Peter Taylor, knew it was important for the company’s staff to gain an understanding of their compliance methods.
For the company, IBM wasn’t a vendor they were familiar with in terms of entitlements and contractual requirements, but after an internal discussion it was clear there was some uncertainty surrounding their situation.
Informing the company’s senior management of the audit was going to be difficult since the initial assessment did not give sufficient clarity over the IBM software in use. It was vital to prepare for a very complex audit procedure and, moreover, to ensure strong governance in this matter.
Initially, they wanted to assess their contractual position prior to the audit to give management peace of mind that the business was doing the right thing. The saving grace was the presence of on-site SAM specialists from Data#3.
With an existing relationship with Data#3, they knew they could turn to their consultants for guidance to understand their current situation including any contractual obligations.
It emerged that a key piece of technology, contractually mandated by IBM, had not been deployed. Overlooking installation of the IBM Licence Metric Tool (ILMT) could have opened the Company up to a significant compliance risk if they were found to be at fault. It was time for some detective work to establish the facts.
“At this point, Data#3 recommended leveraging the expertise of our IBM consulting partner, Navigate Clear, to help us with the implementation of ILMT aswell as support the customer through the audit,” explained Taylor.
Technology and Business Outcomes
It became apparent that when IBM technicians had installed the hardware in question, ILMT software had not been installed to manage sub-capacity for Processor Value Unit (PVU) licensing requirements.
“There were many different types of software in the environment, with a lot of them based on hardware and CPUs. They each had different requirements for reporting,” said Taylor.
This omission had not been picked up by the company’s staff, who believed everything the IBM technicians had installed was in order. Once alerted, the Data#3 team were quick to install the software, giving the company a clearer picture of their compliance situation.
The audit process was lengthy and demanded a considerable amount of time and focus from the company’s team over a period of seven months. In itself, this could have carried a significant financial burden, but smart collaboration with Data#3 and Navigate Clear showed the value of strong IT partnerships.
During those months, auditors would send questions to the Company, and then, based on responses, would send follow-up questions as they worked methodically to determine compliance. Finding the answers was often far from easy.
“The company’s staff spent days trawling through the mailboxes of ex-employees to find emails from IBM engineers relating to the hardware, as they initially set it up. The environment hadn’t changed from the set-up that was established, and they were able to frame that contractually to show they had acted correctly,” Taylor recounted.
Having an experienced team to handle the situation made it possible to work through the process and answer queries about a complex situation. It was essential to take a calm and reasoned approach, with advice from experts in software licensing.
“By collaborating with Navigate Clear, we were able to provide the company with guidance on how to respond to IBM and provide advice at each stage to get the best outcome,” said Taylor.
“The company’s statements were substantiated by the emails they retrieved from the IBM engineers who performed the installation, and once the auditors saw this, they were satisfied that the appropriate actions had been taken.”
While the company is careful to meet its contractual obligations and act as a ‘good corporate citizen’, the experience of the audit highlighted some opportunities to improve processes. Where previously compliance was handled by different areas of the business, measures have been put in place to oversee software licensing. Additional training has also been provided to the business.
The audit gave the company a real immersion into IBM’s compliance regulation, enabling them to put in place safeguards and the team is now very aware of compliance needs.
Additionally, the company’s staff now receive regular reports thanks to the ILMT software now installed. This monitoring is a necessity in a complex, ever-changing environment.
Conclusion
Embarking on an audit is daunting, but it can be made less stressful by having a very clear view of compliance obligations and working with an experienced Software Asset Manager. Receiving confirmation that the company had cleared their audit was the reassurance they needed to restore confidence in their environment.
It was also clear that what began as a rather complex experience, has better positioned the company for any future audits while equipping staff with a much deeper understanding of their environment and software in use than they had before.
“Data#3 knows that it can be difficult to manage everything, and we want to help our customers by providing the governance and education they may need to get the best outcome they can possibly get for now, and into the future,” concluded Taylor.