The Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (ACNC) wanted to overhaul their registration form in order to simplify and accelerate the registration process for charities.
After defining the project, they sought submissions, and Data#3 was chosen for their ability to meet criteria at a competitive cost.
Looking back and then seeing the results in our service standards, we ticked the boxes of what we wanted to achieve in service improvements.
Rob Jackson – Director of Digital Services, ACNC.
Established in 2012, the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (ACNC) is the national regulator of charities. It plays a vital role in ensuring that Australians can trust and have confidence in the not-for-profit sector.
New charity registrations demanded significant administrative overhead and an increase of new form submissions was expected, so ACNC wanted to streamline the process.
From household names to niche organisations, the charities and not-for-profit sector is prominent in a nation that is known for helping others: Australia’s charities generate $190 billion in revenue and employ more than 10% of the workforce. Registering a charity or not-for-profit requires providing a wealth of information to ensure each applicant meets stringent standards. ACNC Director of Digital Services, Rob Jackson, said this important step was challenging.
“As a regulator, we’re responsible for registering charities. An entity applies online through a form, making a submission to us, then our team does what is needed to make sure it complies. They identify any risks to consider and perform a series of checks.
“We needed some help with our turnaround time. We have service standards for the public that we are required to meet. During registration, there was a lot of backward and forward and we saw we could be collecting information more efficiently. It is complex, requiring a lot of governing documents, financial statements and other information.”
This “backward and forward” happened when information submitted in the online form was incomplete, or additional details were needed, so the ACNC registrations team would need to contact the applicant and guide them through each step. It meant that registrations took longer and involved considerable manual processing which had the potential to increase the workload, and impact service standards.
Some help was needed to navigate complex form processing rules, and there was imperative to increase documentation of business process to match it to technical implementation. As is standard in government organisations, ACNC abide by stringent guidelines, so the internal team sought an experienced partner, to bring the back-end Microsoft Dynamics 365 foundations to align with the organisation’s needs, working with their chosen hosted custom forms provider. The two providers would need the capacity to work well in a multi-vendor project.
“Data#3 had the expertise needed for the back-end requirements] and we knew they could deliver. They are a trusted partner who are familiar with our systems. We put our requirements together internally and put a lot of thought into our requirements, then presented them to Data#3. This allowed us to start at a reasonable position,” said Jackson.
The in-house preparations performed the ACNC team were essential groundwork, paving the way for agreed responsibilities and outcomes for the project Ensuring roles were understood up-front served to “de-risk” the process, explained Jackson, and gave a clarity that served in-house and external teams well.
“We knew we needed to be closely involved, with our team internally running it, our registration team as subject experts, our vendor experts needed to get an understanding of our processes, so together we knew where efficiencies could be found.”
Starting with an extensive presales process, Data#3 specialists worked closely with ACNC to assist with form design and assess changes needed to update their system to support the new design. Together, the teams established a project management plan following a hybrid Agile methodology that enabled conclusion in time for the upcoming legislative changes. Jackson said that communication was key.
“It was the responsibility of the project manager on our side to make sure that the communication strategy worked. Data#3 provided a project manager to help. Data#3 knew our systems very well, as a managed services provider, so they could translate our needs into features on the platform.”
“Sometimes, things were really complex. People in the business might ask for something, but it was not actually the best way to solve the problem. A good partner can see where it could be more efficient when done a different way, and we had that with Data#3.”
While working with multiple internal and external teams can sometimes be challenging, Jackson noted that both Data#3 and the vendor that hosted the custom forms platform interacted well, and were professional in the way they worked together, along with the ACNC team, to focus on what was needed to achieve an outcome.
“They made sure to know what charities need from us, and what we were trying to do. It was the first time that Data#3 had worked with our registrations team, and they had a rapid introduction to get their heads around what the clients of the registration team looked like.
“That is a really good skill, to understand us and pick up quickly what is needed. Without that context, they can’t understand the risks for the client.”
Once development was complete, Data#3 used the UAT environment to test and validate the user experience and data accuracy before embarking on a custom deployment plan devised together by ACNC and both vendors before going live.
“The cutover was complex, we had to switch off and on, migrate to the new form, and we had to get the complex data migration completed to be successful. It was a team effort.”
When you’re going live, if you find any issues, what’s important is being able to solve them effectively.
Rob Jackson – Director of Digital Services, ACNC.
While technology underpins the outcome, the true measure of success lies in the experience of ACNC clients and staff using the new registration forms, and the quality of data gathered and analysed.
“It was a change for charities, they were using something unfamiliar, so our work on change management was important, and we had Data#3’s help with that where needed. We have an audience so large – 60,000 charities, plus advisors, lawyers, consultants and experts – some inevitably took longer but most users found it more intuitive. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.”
The project was completed on time, with the skills of the project managers involved put to the test in a short timescale for so complex a project.
“It makes projects more complex when working with multiple suppliers, and the outcome is down to the skill of the project managers.”
For customers, the registration process is completed more efficiently, and the more intuitive forms help them to understand more readily what information is needed. This makes the experience less stressful. For the registrations team, meanwhile, there is less need to repeatedly contact clients with additional questions, giving them more time for those needing extra guidance, and allowing them to reduce wait times.
“We have seen significant benefits to our service standards as the process is more streamlined. Completing the form is more like a conversation, using smart questioning to help get the right data up-front, without that back-and-forth.”
“Different sized charities have different regulatory requirements, for example, and so each will be asked the right questions, and we can make decisions more effectively.”
With any significant change such as this, Jackson said it is to be expected that there will be some fine-tuning as users begin to engage with the new system.
“When you’re going live, if you find any issues, what’s important is being able to solve them effectively. This is common after system changes, and how you respond matters. Data#3 was very helpful. Users can make user requests, and where needed we can do some finetuning.”
“It really helps to document reasons for requirements, so that when someone makes a request, we can understand the reasoning behind earlier decisions.”
The improved accuracy and reporting of data has been helpful in an organisation that, like most government organisations, must be transparent in its operations.
“We publish data on the sector, and it is an enormous part of our activities. We are seeing the service standard dividends in that data, we are seeing the benefits now, four to five months later.”
When planning a complex project, Jackson said that choosing the right partners is vital, and that it isn’t enough to simply take instructions.
“Key to being a good partner is that they can challenge us. I wouldn’t want to create a solution based on just what I say, I want you to help me find the best way forward.”
“It was comforting that Data#3 knew what they were doing, we had an in-built trust. We already knew their capabilities and strengths and we were able to get into a good working cadence. They had a deep product knowledge, an understanding of our environment from working on bespoke elements.”
Ultimately, ACNC is now in a position where clients can register more efficiently, thanks to the combined efforts of in-house and multi-vendor teams. Even an increase in registrations has not caused a backlog for registration staff. “It is more intuitive, feedback is that it flows better, is easier to navigate, and requires less rework. Looking back and then seeing the results in our service standards, we ticked the boxes of what we wanted to achieve in service improvements,” concluded Jackson.
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Objective
In busy hospital Emergency Departments and clinical areas, personal computers (PCs) are shared by many clinicians who need rapid access to patient information via multiple clinical ICT systems. A more efficient solution was sought to reduce the precious time otherwise spent logging in and out of PCs and clinical ICT systems, along with improving the hygiene of shared ICT PC equipment.
Approach
Senior medical staff at the FSH had learned of the Imprivata single sign-on solution being utilised at another major healthcare facility, and initiated an investigation of the tool. A successful proof of concept was undertaken before the solution was rolled out to clinical staff across FSH.
Outcomes
Whereas before it was untenable to move towards apps that didn’t have a generic interface in the clinical environment, now it is not. When doing upgrades, and choosing new platforms, we now have better technology options available to utilise.
Dr Ian Dey – Emergency Physician, Fiona Stanley Hospital
The Background
With 783 beds and one of Western Australia’s busiest Emergency Departments, Fiona Stanley Hospital (“FSH”) offers comprehensive health care services including a mental health facility and rehabilitation centre, to adults, youths and children in Perth’s south metropolitan area. The hospital is supported by facilities management provider, Serco, which delivers 21 non clinical service lines, including a world class ICT service. At FSH, 4,000 clinical staff and 4,000 administrative and facility management staff strive to provide the best care in a worldclass digital hospital, housed in five buildings across 37 acres. Facility management services, including ICT, are provided by Serco and subcontractors including British Telecommunications (BT), Siemens and Honeywell. In 2019, FSH embarked on a Customer Digital Experience (CDX) program to improve clinical workflow and support staff to provide the best possible patient care.
The Challenge
Clinical staff cover a lot of ground. In fact, an international study found that nurses typically walk more than four miles (7.6 km) per shift1. Most staff login to a number of devices each shift, and to maintain clinical best practice, the equipment must be sanitised between users. Staff must also sanitise their hands after each use. These necessary hygiene practices take time, and can make logins frustrating and repetitive for clinical staff.
“A major FSH initiative is the Customer Digital Experience (CDX) Project, which commenced in 2019 with the vision to transform the digital end user environment, to facilitate an enhanced user experience and improve clinical workflow for the overall benefit of patient care,” said Mike Smart, Serco Senior Program Manager.
The transformation strategy was informed by careful consideration of the way clinical staff conduct their work. Central to the integrated CDX solution was the rollout of Microsoft Windows 10 and Office 365 to all employees, Single Sign-On (SSO) for clinical staff, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and Mobile Device Management (MDM).
Any SSO solution needed to integrate well into the virtual desktop environment, drive efficiency for busy clinicians, and ensure that patient data is protected. Even in an emergency situation, staff needed the ability to logout instantly in one area, and login to other devices elsewhere.
”People underestimate the importance of single sign-on across the whole system. Hospital workers typically used generically logged-on devices, mainly because it is too slow to log on and off, and users have far too many apps and passwords to efficiently manage. However, this is unsustainable when we think about the importance of data integrity and security,” said Fiona Stanley Hospital Emergency Physician, Dr Ian Dey.
Among the important clinical apps used in the hospital, the Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) performs a critical function as it tracks patients through the emergency department (ED). Currently, this system still uses a generic login. Access to that application would be extremely useful for other departments, but without a SSO solution, there are concerns about how the integrity of the data could be preserved and consequently access is limited.
“If the application is available outside the ED, we need to know exactly who’s accessing and changing data. Administrative staff in beds and patient flow roles could find that information really useful for planning,” explained Dr Dey.
After senior clinicians saw the solution utilised elsewhere, Imprivata was identified as a key platform to enhance the user experience. Designed with the clinical setting in mind, the Imprivata SSO solution delivers simple, instant authentication and access management using a ‘tap and go’ style method. Importantly, the zero-touch login reduces the time spent sanitising devices and gives clinical staff one less repetitive task.
IT Outcome
With a clear idea of what they wanted to achieve, FSH issued a tender seeking an Imprivata SSO solution, as well as management of the existing VMware VDI.
Already a trusted FSH technology partner, Data#3 demonstrated strong capabilities and experience in implementing the chosen technology within a similarly demanding hospital environment.
“Under Phase One of the project, an initial 1,000 licenses and 300 card readers were procured for key areas of the hospital including the emergency department, cardiology, four wards and administration,” explained Mr Smart.
Using Data#3 procurement services and professional services project and engineering specialists, Serco was able to quickly enact the proof of concept and guide FSH staff through the new login process.
Soon after the initial rollout of the Imprivata SSO solution, Western Australia experienced its first cases of COVID-19. The emerging pandemic impacted the hospital’s activity levels, and after initial positive results, the solution quickly demonstrated its importance. FSH’s keen focus on using technology to enhance its service delivery and best practice hygiene methods positioned it strongly to withstand this new emerging public health threat.
“There was a strong business case to fast-track the implementation of SSO to other clinical areas, as time savings were being realised for clinical staff. A further 3,000 licenses and 500 card readers were approved for deployment to the majority of patient facing services at FSH,” said Mr Smart.
The additional areas included further clinical wards, outpatient clinics, rehabilitation, allied health, and facility management services. In consultation with the hospital’s medical directors, Serco adopted an agile deployment approach, working closely with the Imprivata and Data#3 technical teams to fast track implementation.
Simplifying login processes aids the hospital’s high compliance levels, which ultimately ensures patient information is protected. For the IT support team, there was another positive effect: users experienced fewer password-related issues, prompting fewer requests for resets. The Imprivata management console gave the Serco ICT team detailed insights into user behaviour patterns, something that will help them further plan and provision in the future.
“In the first 90 days, we measured more than 251,000 application logins, with the busiest user logging in more than 1,400 times. The busiest workstation was used by 50 users,” said Mr Smart.
Business Outcomes
For busy clinical staff, the ability to ‘tap on, tap off’ to virtual sessions was immediate. As they move throughout the FSH campus, their virtual session follows them: when they tap on to a different device, their applications accompany them, without requiring a re-entry of username and password. This gives them faster access to critical systems and equipment. While in many occupations, repeated logins are the cause of frustration, in a clinical setting, it takes on greater significance.
“The Imprivata SSO solution has improved clinical workflow by reducing login times and eliminating the need for multiple password entries,” commented Mr Smart.
“COVID-19 provided the urgency and momentum to optimise clinical workflow, as the project team anticipated the likelihood of a reduced workforce coupled with an increasing clinical workload.”
The implementation of the Imprivata SSO solution has been about more than convenience and efficiency. It is, said Dr Dey, a key foundational element in the Customer Digital Experience (CDX) project.
“Whereas before it was untenable to move towards apps that didn’t have a generic interface in the clinical environment, now it is not. When doing upgrades, and choosing new platforms, we now have better technology options available to utilise.”
Although Western Australia did not experience the COVID-19 case numbers of some states, the fast access to equipment enabled rapid response in critical situations, as well as decreasing administration time and allowing caregivers to focus more time on patients.
An important part of the process was the involvement of stakeholders from a range of service providers at FSH. The project team comprised a Medical Director and Emergency Physician (SMHS); ICT Director (Serco); Assistant ICT Director (SMHS); Senior Program Manager, ICT Business Relationship Manager and Change Manager (Serco), Project Manager (Data#3) and IT Services Operations Manager (BT).
“It is an excellent example of cross-team and multidisciplinary collaboration to improve clinical outcomes,” described Mr Smart.
“Strong engagement with clinicians and Nurse Unit Managers has been central to the successful rollout of SSO during the COVID pandemic.”
Conclusion
Changing technologies in a clinical environment takes a vital balance of skill and planning, along with the co-operation of clinical staff. Disruption simply isn’t an option.
“The team did a very good job rolling Imprivata out in an active clinical environment. This takes a fair bit of courage, because there is always the fear of disrupting things – it is like trying to perform maintenance on a plane while it is flying,” commented Dr Dey.
The FSH and Serco organisations employ a rigorous review process, in particular when making changes that affect clinical workers.
After the initial testing stage of the Imprivata SSO solution from Data#3, a staff satisfaction survey was conducted among staff members who had used the application.
“We found that 90 percent of respondents rated the Imprivata enrolment process as excellent or good, with 70 percent reporting that the tool enabled efficiencies in workflow tasking,” recounted Mr Smart.
Comments from clinical staff surveyed described the solution as “a step in the right direction”, “a great initiative”, and something they would “certainly recommend”.
Following implementation, FSH also conducted a Time in Motion study over a two-month period, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of the SSO solution.
This identified a time saving of more than three minutes per user from the initial login and clinical application launch. Plus clinical staff no longer had the frustrating experience of having to retype their username and password every time an application timed out. For staff working between multiple patients, equipment and even locations, every second counts. In the clinical setting, enabling more time with patients, and faster response in urgent situations, contributes to the excellent care that FSH delivers to its growing community. Any tool that supports the skilled, dedicated FSH staff in delivering their best is well received. As one staff member concluded in the Time in Motion study, “Everyone I have spoken with has been very happy. [We] Should have had it years ago.”
1. Research Gate (2006) How far do nurses walk [Online] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6795797_How_far_do_nurses_walk
For many organisations, 2021 presented both challenges and opportunities. Technology has been a consistent driving factor in enabling organisations to embrace digital transformation and empower their workforce to be successful, no matter what obstacles they may face.
As we return back to the office after a well-deserved break, let’s take a moment to look back at the top IT resources from 2021 our readers relied on to help them leverage technology solutions and services to achieve their business outcomes.
Dive into the world of HPE Greenlake to explore the drivers leading businesses to move their infrastructure to a consumption-based purchase – and whether you have to go all-in or can opt for a mix of consumption-based and traditional.
Discover how collaboration solutions can collaborate between themselves, through a simple web-based approach. With this reliable interop solution, you can use your existing Cisco Webex collaboration devices to seamlessly join a Microsoft Teams meeting.
Managing approvals across a hybrid workforce is a challenge, as is security and version control. Microsoft and Adobe have joined forces to address those challenges by integrating their world leading software solutions to help their users work more efficiently. Learn how these simple workflows can make your work life so much easier.
The Shine Lawyers workforce is highly mobile, especially in the face of a global pandemic, but no matter where they are working, effective communication is key. Learn how Shine Lawyers leveraged Microsoft Teams to implement a modern voice and collaboration solution that would eliminate concerns and improve user experience.
This eBook explores the six greatest challenges that organisations face when transitioning to public cloud, and offers expert advice on how to overcome them. It explains how to avoid common pitfalls, outlines what other organisations have learned from their experiences, and clarifies why cloud success is about more than simply moving workloads from one location to another. You can read about expert strategies to modernise your critical applications and use cloud native services to power greater business value with the Microsoft Azure platform.
As the preferred software partner for thousands of Australian schools, Data#3 invited educational specialists from Microsoft and Adobe to provide an update on how they are working together to share content across their applications to further enhance the learning experience.
While what lies ahead remains unclear, one thing is certain: regardless of industry, location or vertical, the integrated application of technology is the vehicle that will drive organisations into the future. This report contains commentary from Data#3 leaders on tomorrow’s challenges, with insight on how businesses can best position themselves for what lies ahead.
Qenos sought a unified communications solution that would enable digital transformation of its ageing systems and create efficiencies to drive better user experience across the business. In this case study, learn how Qenos leveraged Data#3’s partnership with Cisco to deploy an all-encompassing program of works, including a PABX replacement with Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) and a Collaboration Flex Plan to consolidate their cloud and on-premises collaboration into a single package.
Our Knowledge Centre is full of great resources to help you on your technology journey in 2022.
Project Objective
Qenos sought a unified communications solution that would enable digital transformation of its ageing systems and create efficiencies to drive better user experience across the business.
Approach
Having enlisted Data#3’s help to address previous technology challenges, the Qenos Information Systems team was confident the right skill and experience was available to deliver a successful outcome for this project. Given Data#3’s knowledge of the organisation’s existing systems, along with its Cisco Gold Partner status, Qenos agreed to work solely with Data#3 on the project.
Technology Outcome
Business Outcome
Project Highlight
The reliability of technology was important, and the biggest benefit to Qenos is that staff have confidence that the technology they are using will be reliable both in the office and when they work from home.
“Reliability was very important to us, so the biggest benefit has been that we now have reliable technology that we have faith in. We are licensed appropriately, and have the right technology for the end users we support.”
Jonathan Guy, Infrastructure Team Leader, Qenos
The Background
As the only Australian manufacturer of high quality polyethylene, Qenos is a key partner for resin manufacturers. They provide the building blocks for products that play a large part in our daily lives, from the containers used to pour our milk, to the bins we wheel to the kerb.
In the manufacturing sector, keeping costs low is key, so all expenditure is carefully assessed. When it was demonstrated that the cost of inefficient technology and the risk of failure was unsustainable, Qenos sought maximum business value from updating its communications infrastructure.
The Challenge
In a highly cost-driven industry, a reliance on old technology was causing frustration and limiting users as they went about their daily tasks. Ageing hardware meant the Qenos team was more reactive than Qenos Infrastructure Team Leader, Jonathan Guy, would like.
“We were relying on failing technology, old switches, and old PABX systems. The business was using old infrastructure, which was inefficient, prone to issues, and presented possible security concerns to the business,” explained Guy.
“We had talked about a solution with Data#3 for a long time, and this reached critical mass when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and we needed to rely more than ever on technology. Problems can be exposed if there is a crisis: in our case, the primary challenge during COVID-19 was enabling our people to work from home.”
The ageing infrastructure, much of it more than a decade old, was reaching end of vendor warranty support. Any outage could impact the business and cause a loss of revenue.
“We track the rate of failure, and had noticed that over the last 12-18 months, our edge switches were failing at an increasing rate. We ensure we have spares to swap out, because in our business environment, we don’t have the option to be exposed.”
For the Infrastructure team, the efforts of supporting dated equipment meant they had less time to proactively improve efficiency for staff. The equipment was inflexible, and difficult to maintain. Embarking on a digital transformation from such a starting point was a massive undertaking, but essential to supporting users as they go about their tasks.
Of all the ageing equipment, it was perhaps the phone system that impacted many users the most directly according to Qenos Procurement Category Manager, Justin James, who worked closely with Guy on aligning the project to the needs of the business. As users are more accustomed to the convenience and efficiency of being contactable on-the-go outside work, fixed PABX phones, with few capabilities beyond voice calls, were a barrier to mobility.
“We were heavily dependent on our old copper network and aged PABX system. We were the second-last organisation in Australia to maintain one which meant our people were more tied to their desks,” said James.
The Outcome
During previous projects, Data#3 had demonstrated a commitment to the success of Qenos, and invested time to learn about the business and technology environment. This familiarity and insight was important.
“Data#3 had a good awareness of how we operate, and our requirements, and the presales work that went into the project helped to make it deliverable,” said Guy.
An initial project proposal was devised, but when industry pressures, amplified by COVID-19, put the squeeze on costs still further, it was necessary to rethink some elements. While many activities were put on hold, the essential nature of the technology update meant that the business approved progress with strict requirements that needed to be met.
“From a commercial perspective, we are a cyclical business, so our income depends on what the market is dictating on polyethylene. We review all expenditures, and where we allocate dollars, the most important actions must take priority,” explained James.
“This wasn’t something we could walk into with our eyes closed, as cost pressures were significant. We investigated the necessary requirements to progress, and had several meetings with Data#3, where we used this information to reconfigure the project to something more digestible for our senior management team. Together, we identified specific requirements and targets to be achieved.”
The resulting proposal was an all-encompassing program of works, including a PABX replacement, and moving most analogue handsets to Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager). Cisco’s Collaboration Flex Plan brings together cloud and on-premises collaboration in a single package. A complete core and edge network upgrade was rolled out across the two Qenos sites, leading to greatly improved network performance and easier management.
“Meraki is also easier to manage than the enterprise products we were used to,” commented Guy.
Security was also in line for a comprehensive overhaul to better protect the business. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) estimates an average of 164 cybercrime reports are made by Australians every day, this equates to about one report every ten minutes1. With a transition to remote working due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the attention to security was timely. A range of Cisco security software was installed, including a next-generation firewall, Cisco Umbrella, and Cisco Secure (formerly Email Security), all integrating to give greater visibility and simplified management. This cohesive approach makes it easier for the Qenos team to track its licensing needs and ensure the right coverage. Much of the infrastructure was pre-staged on Data#3’s premises, making the roll-out simpler and less disruptive to Qenos staff.
“The management portal is web-based, so we can work from anywhere. Reliability was very important to us, so the biggest benefit has been that we now have reliable technology that we have faith in. We are licensed appropriately, and have the right technology for the end users we support. This is chalk and cheese compared to where we were,” outlined Guy.
Business Outcome
Among Data#3’s strengths, according to Guy, was a strong relationship with Cisco, and an awareness of the many financing options available. This capability put the comprehensive technology update within reach.
“The established relationships that Data#3 has with Cisco played a significant part from a commercial perspective. They are able to get the best deals with Cisco, so those strong networks had a major influence,” said James.
The relationship was also very important when we identified a couple of opportunities after the procurement process deal was done, and we wanted to migrate to Cisco Umbrella, and migrate our Email Security. Data#3 was able to go in afterwards and get the right pricing for us, they were very flexible.”
While the IT team and business leaders are reassured to have dependable technology in place, resulting in a substantial risk reduction, for most users, the benefit is in increased mobility, access to modern collaboration applications, and the ability to work from home.
“It was very old technology that we were relying on. Now 95% of users have VoIP instead of relying on a PABX, they use headsets now, and can move around while remaining connected. Although we still have 5% of our old copper network in-place for specific operational needs,” said Guy.
When lockdowns prompted a sudden shift to working from home, rapid adjustments had to be made by the Qenos team as the business supported Australian organisations through monumental changes. Here, too, Data#3 was able to work with Qenos and Cisco to enable the workforce to collaborate.
“Working from home meant we now had a reliance on Cisco Webex, where we previously had a limited on-premises license for only a few people. Data#3 enabled us to leverage a Cisco Webex Cloud Services trial. This was beneficial to the business as it meant during a transition period we didn’t lose the services we had grown reliant on,” recounted James.
“The feedback was definitely positive around Cisco Webex and Cisco Call Manager, especially among our knowledge worker base. It was very quickly adopted, people are not tied to desks.”
“The established relationships that Data#3 has with Cisco played a significant part from a commercial perspective. They are able to get the best deals with Cisco, so those strong networks had a major influence.”
Justin James, Procurement Category Manager, Qenos
Conclusion
For Guy and James, it was important that Qenos had a strong alignment of business and technology, and this meant understanding the organisation’s characteristics well. Reliability and durability were more important than rushing to bleeding edge technologies, although the solution paves the way to introduce new applications and services in the future.
“We are happy with the knowledge that we are moving forward, upgrading to more capable systems. In the blink of an eye, everyone was working from home, which required that solid foundational infrastructure,” explained Guy.
With the luxury of more time, James said that more staff training on the new collaboration tools would have been an advantage.
“Most adapted quickly, but change is always tough for some.”
The choice to work with a single provider paid off for Qenos, especially when embarking on a major technology overhaul punctuated by a global pandemic.
“Data#3 made it their business to know what we are, what we do, what our systems are, and how they have been built over a number of years. Both of our organisations worked hand in hand. This played a significant part in their quickly understanding our complexities and our issues with existing infrastructure. The professionalism consistently displayed by Data#3 was key in getting the project delivered in consultation with us,” said Guy.
For James, too, that sense of partnership was indicative of the way the Qenos and Data#3 teams worked together, along with Cisco, towards a common goal.
“Data#3’s greatest strengths were their partnerships with Cisco, and the technical resources they could apply – they are very technically gifted, and their current knowledge means they know the answers. It was good to see their level of focus on us. Their management took an ongoing interest and attended regular meetings, and our account manager was always available to handle concerns. The team was flexible and focused,” concluded James.
“Engaging Data#3 as a sole provider in this project illustrates our trust in them.”
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.”
To gain the visibility needed to identify advanced security threats faster, and gain security incident and attack intelligence to reduce future risk.
Following a proof of concept, Data#3 proposed a Cisco Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) solution that met the University’s needs. During the design phase, the scope of the project was extended to replace existing firewalls.
• A single point of visibility of the security environment.
• Faster incident response times through real-time alerts.
• Easy identification of compromised machines.
• The IT team is equipped to address security risks resulting from compromised devices.
• Detailed Internet usage information is available to help identify trends and Shadow IT activity.
• Improved reporting accuracy on security incidents to better address threats.
“The experience of the Data#3 team, and the local skillset, meant that we could be confident in the best outcome for the university community and our students are safer as a result.”
Aaron Finnis, Chief Information Security Officer, Flinders University
The Background
Established in 1966 with a main campus in Adelaide, Flinders University (“The University”) offers courses throughout regional South Australia, as well as several interstate and overseas locations.
Known for innovative research and quality teaching, The University views technology as a vital tool in developing career-ready graduates who will make a positive contribution to society.
The Challenge
Modern universities present an enticing target to hackers, so protecting Flinders University’s 38,000 users, including 7,000 staff, is a key priority for the service-driven IT team. With ground-breaking research in science, medicine, and even autonomous submarines-mapping the ocean, safeguarding intellectual property is also a pressing concern. It takes constant effort to stay ahead of cybercriminals.
Dealing with a highly complex environment is part of daily life for the IT team, and The University must face off against increasingly sophisticated online threats. Chief Information Security Officer, Aaron Finnis, said that the trend is for hackers to target individual users as a method of access.
“We have many types of on-campus users, from staff and students to affiliated organisations and casual tutors, connecting via 2,000 wireless access points,” said Finnis.
”With this many concurrent users, we lacked the visibility to see threats quickly enough.”
The University had a strong security program already in place, with an identity-driven security architecture making access conditional, but it was determined that more could be done to address threats faster. Increasing visibility and using next-generation security intelligence would alert IT staff to potential risks immediately and allow an automated response that halts suspicious access. It was essential to make any solution frictionless and transparent to users.
Technology Outcome
The University IT team replaced their existing technology with Cisco Firepower NGFW Internet firewalls to unleash the full advantages of FirePOWER Threat Defence.
”We went through a proof of concept, and shortlisted two possible partner solutions to pilot“, said Finnis.
”In the end, Data#3 had more experience, and access to skilled engineers close to campus, so they were the obvious choice.”
The Data#3 solution architect utilised a proven methodology, ensuring the complex project could be delivered to the desired specifications.
”Having a highly experienced Cisco specialist from Data#3, who understood the product roadmap and what it is capable of doing, made all the difference,“ said Finnis.
Integration of the Cisco solution with The University’s existing network, as well as Active Directory, supports existing secure network segmentation, while links to their Security Information Event Management solution gives easier management and greater visibility and context.
The implementation went to plan, and the switchover on a Sunday afternoon was smooth and uneventful. The IT team then quickly set to work and identified potential threats on the network.
”We see ourselves as a customer service wing, when we detect that a student device is potentially compromised, we know we can help them to improve their security“, said Finnis.
”We also use Splunk to aggregate data, from multiple points, including the FirePOWER Threat Defence, analysing it for certain events. The intelligence now available means we get real-time alerts if the student’s account is being used in an unusual way, or if there is something out of character.”
The University’s IT team contacts the student immediately and assists addressing potential risks on their device. This may mean guidance on better anti-virus programs, password protection, and software updates. The team is also working on an automated enforcement system that may limit network access of potentially compromised machines and direct them to a website with remediation information.
Business Outcome
Threats are now identified much faster. With greater visibility, the team can actively reach out to users with potentially compromised machines. Safeguarding individuals benefits the broader university community, and the team will promote cybersecurity awareness to users during orientation week and in ongoing campaigns.
”The solution from Data#3 allows the university to look back at what occurred before an incident, which makes it possible to prevent a repeat“, said Finnis.
”We can do forensic investigation, and look for patterns in what happened in the lead-up to an attack.”
Detailed Internet usage information also helps The University to identify user trends, so it can better plan service provisioning. If, for example, many users access a certain application, the team will make a case for using its greater buying power to acquire a licence, making considerable savings over the Shadow IT alternative.
”The solution gives us a very good balance between price and functions that benefit both our staff and student users.”
Conclusion
While the environment was already secure, the additional security provided by the new solution positions The University to protect against evolving and future threats. From the top down, The University sees the online safety of students and staff as a key priority and strives to continually increase protection.
”The solution from Data#3 helps us manage the security of our network,” said Finnis.
”Attacks happen fast, but we now have real-time visibility.”
Having a clearly defined objective, and The University’s up-front engagement in a proof of concept, helped ensure a successful project with minimal user impact.
”The experience of the Data#3 team, and the local skillset, meant that we could be confident in the best outcome for the university community“, said Finnis.
”Our students are safer as a result.”
To better manage IT costs, while providing a sustainable, updated environment that delivers reliability and opportunities.
Perform a technology audit to identify and categorise risks based on urgency to develop a solution to achieve their objectives.
The Background
Eastside Lutheran Colleges’ (“the college”) ICT environment was the cause of much frustration among staff and students, with logins frequently taking up to 30 minutes of teaching time.
School management lacked visibility of the under-performing IT environment, and sought guidance on building an environment to support teaching and learning excellence.
The Challenge
When Frances Williams began her role as Operations Manager at the college, she quickly found that slow internet, login difficulties and poor communication were impacting staff, students, and relationships with the on-site church.
“Teachers couldn’t approach the IT department about problems, and I wanted to make technology accessible, something that we could use to enhance the student experience,” said Williams.
Initial investigations showed there was a lack of clarity in the ICT function.
“I asked trusted contacts for a referral, and I was told that if I want someone really good for the job, I should talk to Data#3,” said Williams.
An audit of the entire ICT environment was performed in a process Williams described as ‘so unobtrusive that nobody noticed’ and ‘it told us exactly what was going on.’
During the audit, it emerged that;
“It was clear from the audit that we needed to do something quickly – our systems were letting us and our students down,” said Williams.
“Our IT environment was not satisfactory on any level, with 27 major issues identified, but the Data#3 team gave us a clear plan to fix it.”
IT Outcome
The decision was made to build an almost entirely new ICT environment. The Data#3 team put in place a hybrid environment with on-premises HPE servers and storage complemented by Cisco Meraki cloud-managed security and wireless networking.
“Our new technology means we can offer Wi-Fi to visitors and our teachers, as well as faster connection and mobility to access the system outside the college,” said Williams.
Both short and long-term backups are now automated using Veeam technology. Multiple redundancies are in place, giving the environment the dependability that the college sought.
“I wanted to have confidence that backups would be done, that everything would work as it should,” said Williams.
“I wanted IT that we really could trust.”
Making decisions about a complex project could have been daunting for an operations manager whose background was not in IT but in finance.
“Even though the technology is complicated, the team at Data#3 used clear language, and explained everything in layman’s terms,” said Williams.
“This stopped IT from being a mystery, and allowed us to take control.”
The Data#3 team used best-practice principles to deploy the fixed-price solution during school holidays, so timing was tight. Existing systems were migrated in parallel, with both environments operating side-by-side. After testing, users were moved to the new environment in time for the new term, and the old equipment was decommissioned in stages. A purpose-built server room was created, with Data#3 working closely with the college’s electricians to ensure cabling was put in place on time.
A key priority for the college was security. With Cisco Meraki providing network security, and Trend Micro layered to provide email and internet security, users have easy, secure access.
“Technology enables our students and teachers to explore the world, but we have a duty to protect them online, and now we have achieved the right balance,” said Williams.
Business Outcome
Since the deployment of the new solution, the colleges ICT environment has been transformed. After a complete rebuild, Eastside Lutheran college has an IT environment that is resilient enough to face the demands of a modern school.
In addition, the college hired a new ICT specialist, and Data#3’s help with resourcing proved invaluable during the interview process.
“The Data#3 team knew what questions to ask about technical experience, and I was able to assess which candidate would fit our organisation and culture. We made a good team,’ said Williams.
As the college grows, the new ICT environment will scale with it. Costs are predictable, and over the solution’s lifetime, the annual cost will be significantly less than maintaining the old infrastructure. Furthermore, much of the infrastructure is now leased, rather than owned, helping to make the overall solution affordable.
Data#3 secured educational discounts that reduce licence costs for the college by more than 50%. Ongoing budgeting has become more predictable, without fear of unsupported or unlicensed software putting the college’s operations or reputation at risk. Some benefits, though, go beyond the financial:
“Students need to be familiar with the latest version of the software we use so that they can be workplace-ready,” said Williams.
“With faster internet and the latest apps, we can give them a much better foundation for their learning.”
Conclusion
Gaining a clear view of the IT situation gave the college the opportunity to bring its ICT environment in line with modern teaching practices. While that meant a radical overhaul, Williams described it as a ‘positive experience’ that equipped the college to deliver the best education to its students.
“We can now run classes properly, and the church can run services using our shared technology,” said Williams.
Where once ICT was seen as a frustrating, secretive and time-consuming part of the organisation, it is now seen as an enabler that provides an important service to the college community.
“This has transformed how we feel about IT in the college – Data#3 has brought us into the 21st Century,”
Frances Williams, Operations Manager, Eastside Lutheran College
