To navigate these challenges, organisations are turning to managed services partners to deliver core services, allowing IT teams to focus on innovation.
Created to meet our customers’ ever-evolving needs, Data#3’s Managed Services bring choice, convenience and control to your IT. Our Australian-based team combines industry best practice processes and systems with top-tier partner accreditations from world-leading technology vendors.
The eBook below provides a comprehensive overview of Data#3’s Managed Services portfolio. Discover how you can enjoy a secure, efficient and hassle-free technology environment.
To learn more about Data#3’s Managed Services Solutions click here.
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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.
This week at Cisco’s annual partner conference, which took place digitally, Data#3 was honoured as ANZ Partner of the Year, APJC Security Partner of the Year, and Global Software Partner of the Year.
Presented to channel partners who rise to the challenge, the Cisco Partner Summit Global awards are designed to recognise superior business practices and reward best-in-class methodologies. Areas of consideration include processes innovation, architecture-led success, outcome-focussed programs, seizing emerging opportunities, and pioneering approaches to sales.
“It gives me great pleasure to recognise Cisco partners who continue to demonstrate superior performance and drive value for our customers. They are leading and innovating with us to help enterprises solve complex problems,” said Oliver Tuszik, Senior Vice President, Global Partner Organisation, Cisco. “It’s a privilege to present the Global Software Partner of the Year award to Data#3 in recognition of its outstanding achievement in helping customers respond to their business challenges.”
Data#3 Group Practice Manager, Graham Robinson, who accepted the awards on behalf of the company, commented, “It’s an extraordinary achievement to take home three Cisco partner awards and to be recognised on the global stage for the fourth year in a row. The lifecycle approach we’ve developed with Cisco has become a cornerstone of our strategy. The commitment shown by both the Data#3 and Cisco teams has enabled us to become a leader in our industry, so we can help our customers be a leader in theirs.”
Data#3 Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Laurence Baynham, commented, “Our 25-year partnership with Cisco underpins our unparalleled success. Together, our commitment to lifecycle engagement ensures customers derive true business value from their technology investments. To be chosen as one of a select number of global award winners from Cisco’s 60,000 partners worldwide is a significant achievement. Congratulations to the Cisco and Data#3 teams.”
Cisco Partner Summit Global awards reflect the top-performing partners within specific technology markets across all geographical regions. All award recipients are selected by a group of Cisco Global Partner organisation and regional executives.
With its Gold Partner Status, Cisco Master Specialisations, and deep expertise across the Cisco portfolio, Data#3 is uniquely equipped to help businesses to overcome their evolving business challenges with Cisco’s market-leading technology.
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.”
The award was presented at the A/NZ Dell Technologies Forum 2021 virtual event by Shant Soghomonian, senior director and general manager of channel sales, A/NZ, and Paulo da Silva, director of global alliances for Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China.
The company received the accolade for delivering business outcomes to customers through the use of innovative Dell Technologies solutions.
Data#3 National Practice Manager for Dell Technologies, Bruce Colstick, commented, “What a fantastic achievement to take home this award. As a Titanium Solutions Provider Partner with the largest number of technical certifications in Australia, Data#3 is uniquely positioned to provide end-to-end infrastructure design and services that enable our customers to optimise budgets and outcomes. We look forward to working with Dell Technologies to help our customers achieve their goals through the use of technology.”
Data#3 and Dell Technologies have helped customers build better businesses since 2012. Across the network, modern data centre, edge, workplace and cloud, they help customers maximise their IT by combining skilled resources with robust and secure technologies from across the Dell Technologies group.
Data#3 was the first and only partner in ANZ to attain the Dell Technologies Cloud Platform certification, and earlier in the year, it was awarded the Dell Technologies 2021 APJ Channel Excellence in Cloud Sales Award.
This consumption-based or ‘as a Service (aaS) purchase method has progressively transitioned organisations away from Capital Expenditure (CapEx) to one where the Operating Expenditure (OpEx) pays for many of the ‘tools’ that power a business. It’s now an option for everything from software and hardware, to services.
The latest generation of ‘aaS solutions is resulting in organisations no longer owning and maintaining some, or all of, their physical data centre and networking infrastructure; they simply access and utilise it, paying only for what they use.
With Software as a Service (SaaS) now commonplace, businesses are starting to see the benefits of having ever-maintained solutions. So, surely it must make sense for infrastructure too… or does it? In this article, we look specifically at 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 and traditional.
HPE GreenLake – first unveiled in December 2019 and expanded in March 2021 – delivers infrastructure within an elastic, pay-per-use ‘as a Service model – either on-premises, at the edge, or in a colocation facility – for all workloads.
HPE GreenLake is forecast to compound annual growth rates by 30-40% in 20231. This is because it uniquely shapes to each businesses’ needs by allowing them to tap into exactly the right amount of capacity today, while rapidly scaling up and down as the business, its customers or market forces dictate. This ensures they get the capacity needed in minutes, with no upfront payments, no risk of overprovisioning, and complete control.
Choose what you need and run whilst paying for only what you use, in your own environment.
It’s probably important to note at this point that no two businesses have the exact same approach to HPE GreenLake adoption. This is for reasons that stretch from incumbent and legacy technology, to compliance and security demands, to resources, budget and fiscal models. It’s why cloud transformation is far from complete, with as many as 70% of apps and data remaining on-premises2.
So, what’s driving the increased interest in HPE GreenLake and what does it look like in action? Let’s take a look at how Data#3’s customers have managed to achieve cost predictability, capacity planning and flexibility with HPE GreenLake.
HPE GreenLake uses the consumption-based IT model to align cost to actual usage. For the customer this means they pay only for the capacity – servers, storage, compute, networking – used (above a minimum commitment) which avoids up-front capital outlay and enables capacity to be scaled up or down on-demand. This is in contrast to the traditional CapEx model – where predicting and planning capacity for infrastructure investments is difficult (particularly when IT teams have a preference to be future-proofed and over provisioning is common). For organisations with variable demands caused by either volatile markets, or uncertain growth plans, the benefits of ‘aaS models are economically advantageous. When budgets are tight, a ‘pay as you scale’ and ‘save while you scale down’ system can provide the flexibility needed to ride out uncertainty and unpredictability.
When a tertiary education institution engaged Data#3 to deploy HPE GreenLake in late 2019, they had predicted significant growth in storage demands over the coming years and were attracted to the ability to purchase future capacity at a known upfront cost, whilst only paying when they used it. When the pandemic caused the collapse of the international student market their forecast growth was severely affected. If they had purchased on a traditional cycle, they would have paid for storage they didn’t need. However, because HPE GreenLake flexes with customers, this University avoided the associated costs of over provisioning.
Capacity planning used to mean accepting that you’d have idle hardware for a period of time. It made sense to buy more early on, at a better price, and hope suitable calculations had been right in predicting future needs. What is great about on consumption models, is that provisions can be built into contracts around growth stages and pricing can be locked-in for an agreed number of years. Any margins of error are removed by allowing organisations to start with the capacity they need today while preparing them to proactively scale ahead of demand.
This is exactly why a financial services organisation partnered with Data#3 to deploy HPE GreenLake. Knowing that capacity would need to scale up following planned acquisitions over several years, they were able to lock in pricing for future growth. This allowed them to factor in known costs going forward – as far as 5 years – as they scaled.
The A/NZ technology sector has been called out by recruitment company, Hays, as one of the top industries currently suffering a skills shortage3. With more tech and less available expertise, it’s been a growing challenge for companies to keep pace with technology change, vendor certifications and skillsets to run, manage and support an ever-changing tech landscape. It’s a constant battle to find the time to strategise, plan and deliver the business value-add that is demanded.
Data#3 has been working with a Law firm for many years, supporting aspects of the business for hardware, software and managed services. After feeling the effects of the labour market, they made the decision to move to highly flexible and scalable purchasing models that required little from them operationally on a day-to-day basis. Starting with their backup and recovery, they shifted to HPE GreenLake and have plans to shift further workloads across in the coming months. The allocation of a dedicated GreenLake support contact who is familiar with their environment gave them the confidence they needed to move maintenance away from their in-house team. The ability to combine multiple licensing and third-party vendors into one monthly fee, that can be charged back to the practices or departments that are using the IT, was very attractive to the firm as a way of fairly allocating cost and driving less wastage of IT resources.
Decisions around how you purchase are just as important as what.
As organisations continue to seek out new ways to be more agile, adaptable to change, and better able to deal with the types of uncertainty that can cause industries to pivot almost instantaneously, HPE GreenLake – with its innately flexible adoption approach and on-demand consumption model – will continue to play a critical role in business transformation.
It is a carefully weighted decision about control, cost and capacity – and if shifting, ensuring the partner you work with has the same commitment and focus on your success. At Data#3, we’re continuing to see that this is not an either/or proposition – organisations are staying aligned to a hybrid model with some apps and resources remaining on-premises, and others managed in the cloud. Even then, HPE GreenLake does not demand a static, one-time decision. With no lock in, organisations can gradually evolve their solutions over time, rather than instantaneously.
Every HPE GreenLake environment is bespoke. Partner with Data#3, one of HPE’s largest Platinum Partners in Asia Pacific, to unlock the power of HPE GreenLake in your data centre environment. Our highly skilled and trained team are ready to answer your questions about how HPE GreenLake’s on-premises, consumption-based IT service can boost your business. Contact us today to book an assessment workshop or request a quick quote from one of our GreenLake experts today.
Objective
When an ageing network infrastructure approached end of life, an organisation in the engineering industry sought to replace it with a more intuitive and easily managed alternative. Not only did they want to reduce ongoing costs, they also wanted to deliver new capabilities to the business while reducing risk.
Approach
The organisation wanted any IT investment to work hard, so they spent time analysing future business expectations. Once they were satisfied, they had a clear vision of what was needed, they initiated a competitive tender process. Data#3 was chosen because it had the right mix of technology and expertise and understood the way the business worked.
IT Outcome
Business Outcomes
Undertaking a major network project can be daunting to any organisation, but it is important that you find the right partner who understands your business’s attitude towards technology as well as its future plans.
Kingsley McGarrigle – General Manager for Western Australia, Data#3 Limited
Background
As an organisation based in the engineering industry, managing many sites in diverse locations means that communication is key. As previous network infrastructure aged, and technology developments placed new demands on underlying infrastructure, frustrating outages often occurred. The organisation sought a solution that would greatly reduce this risk, while driving productivity and allowing for continued business growth.
The Challenge
With sites spread across various locations, communication within the wider group was paramount. The network performs an important role in keeping staff connected with the business and its customers. Data#3 General Manager, Kingsley McGarrigle knew it was important to the customer’s business, that as critical core infrastructure aged, any challenges that arose would be addressed quickly.
“With existing equipment that was aging, there was a higher risk of failure. The equipment was routing and handling all traffic across their networks, so the impact on business continuity if it failed was significant,” said McGarrigle.
“We knew that even though their tradesmen would continue to work, they would not be able to communicate with customers, between sites, or to the head office until it was solved. This would severely reduce their productivity and efficiency while adding extra pressure to their teams.”
Since the infrastructure had been installed, shifts in workplace methods led to different traffic patterns on the network. A growth in application use, and adoption of cloud technologies, meant the business was outgrowing its old network. In particular, users increasingly needed to work with higher resolution content from Citrix, CCTV, and other graphical applications. Outages affected efficiency and hampered the effectiveness of business continuity processes.
“The overall business is already good at understanding problems. Their users would act quickly when the network was not working, and they would find a way to work around it. However, even with this mindset in place, staff productivity was still impacted. Finding work arounds could also slow them down,” said McGarrigle.
With traditional networking technology, troubleshooting and maintenance can be time-consuming for IT staff. A more manageable outcome, employing a greater level of automation, would free time for skilled staff to work on other projects. The need for change, was not only about reducing problems. The IT team wanted to seize the opportunity to align its network technology to future business needs, so they set about analysing both the current situation and expected business growth to determine what would give the best return. It was anticipated that capacity needs could easily double over the next five years. Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (Cisco ACI) was identified as a strong contender to meet the needs of the growing business.
“It was important that if the customer was going to invest a significant amount in replacing their equipment, we wanted to make sure that what they were getting was going to suit future requirements. The customer needed assurance that any new solution would support the business now and also allow for future business growth,” explained McGarrigle.
“The Data#3 team worked closely with the customer’s in-house teams who highlighted they were increasing their interactions with external parties. This meant the teams were accessing these external systems directly, and whatever we put in place had to cover how they saw the business change from that perspective.”
IT Outcome
Data#3 conducted several workshops, using (pdo)2 PredICTor methodology, to increase understanding of the existing network. These workshops also explored how ACI would solve many key issues the organisation was experiencing. ACI uses an intent-based networking framework that captures user and business intent, and uses this intelligence to dynamically provision network, security, and infrastructure services. It performs especially well in multi-site situations, matching well with the business structure. The workshops were designed to help staff gain a deeper awareness of the changes emerging in how the business uses the network.
Using Data#3’s PredICTor methodology, the implementation team of project managers and delivery engineers were able to ensure consistency across all sites. PredICTor employs a structured and transparent approach, so that the IT team was fully aware of progress at every turn.
“It was a key priority for the Data#3 team, that as the new technology was deployed there would be as little disruption to business continuity as possible. We know that things change, and our teams worked closely with the customer to make sure that the project was as agile as needed to support the business,” explained McGarrigle.
This flexibility was especially valuable as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded. Dealing with sites and customers in many locations, each with its own set of rules, made for a highly complex situation. True to their reputation for service excellence, the organisation worked with its customers to help them navigate a disrupted landscape. As some projects were fast-tracked, while others had to slow to suit changing legislation, the window of opportunity for implementing the new network frequently shifted.
“The customer took the time to understand what COVID-19 meant to them as an organisation and how they could move forward. Our team was then able to adjust resourcing to match what was needed,” said McGarrigle.
With various work sites spanning several differing time zones, and its projects often operate around the clock, there is ‘no good time’ for downtime, and reliability is key. The application-centric nature of the Cisco ACI architecture gives it a more common framework, making issue resolution more intuitive for both network operations and systems teams in the organisation. Centralised network management, and visibility of on and off-premises traffic, erode the management burden associated with traditional networking technology. An important element was automation, with approximately 75% of core networking tasks now automated by Cisco ACI. Aiding the IT team still further, real-time network health monitoring means near-zero downtime, so the customers skilled in-house team can spend less time on problem solving.
Business Outcome
One of the core benefits of the organisation’s approach is sustainability, with a focus on effective management of economic, environmental, and social impacts of its business. This matched well with the Cisco emphasis on more efficient infrastructure that reduces power demands and is manufactured with the environmental impact firmly in mind. It was important that Data#3 factored in this prime consideration.
“With any solution we deliver to a customer, we need to understand what their core values are and what drives the organisation. This allows our teams to make sure the investment they are making in technology not only does what it needs to, but also leaves the door open for digital transformation as the business grows,” said McGarrigle.
Addressing productivity challenges caused by the previous network was of utmost importance, since any inefficiency can affect project margins for the leading engineering business. Workers can now reliably connect and communicate and use even the most graphic dense applications without a hitch.
“This new technology positions the organisation to better support their users. As traffic patterns change, they can increase the use of Software as a Service applications, and they know the devices we have put in will cater for that,” commented McGarrigle.
It could have been easy for the challenges of COVID-19 to derail such a critical project, but with customers and colleagues around the world needing support, their IT team was determined to get the job done, even if that meant making some adjustments.
“Despite these adjustments, our team still delivered the new solution to the approved budget requirements. The organisation has over 100 sites that they provide connectivity to across the world, so this was a major achievement for their in-house IT team who now have a network that offers a strong foundation for future technologies,” explained McGarrigle.
Conclusion
Choosing the right partner is a critical success factor when embarking on a project. The organisation’s decision to leverage Data#3’s expertise, as a Cisco Gold partner with Cisco Master specialisation, along with a track record in similar projects, was a key part of the journey.
“Undertaking a major network project can be daunting to any organisation, but it is important that you find the right partner who understands your business’s attitude towards technology as well as its future plans,” explained McGarrigle.
That choice does not necessarily mean a partner that complies with every demand. It is valuable to work with experienced project managers and engineers who know when to challenge established thinking.
“When we first spoke with the customer, they had a traditional approach to replace the equipment, a very structured approach, where new equipment would sit side-by-side with the old. The impact of that would have been longer outages which would be detrimental to business.”
“Our partnership with Cisco meant the customer was able to leverage the experience and knowledge of our highly skilled team to utilise a different approach that minimised downtime by changing the way that equipment was configured. We took into account what was important for the customer so they could get the best outcome in the most efficient way,” concluded McGarrigle.
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.”