RSM Australia wanted to make better use of their Microsoft Dynamics 365 investment by aligning it more closely with their business strategy and increasing overall adoption across the organisation.
The relationship between Data#3 and RSM Australia spans more than 15 years, so when they needed additional expertise and trusted advice, it made sense to turn to their preferred Microsoft provider.
We knew we needed additional support to continue delivering the project to the standards we expected but were nervous about finding the right fit. It’s easy to work with Data#3. They aren’t just our provider, they are an extension of our team, and we know we can count on them when we need it.
Helen Carvosso – Director of Marketing, RSM Australia.
Established in 1922, RSM Australia has grown to become a leading player in Australia’s professional services industry. With more than 1,900 staff in 32 offices, RSM Australia provides financial and advisory accounting services, acting as a trusted partner to a wide range of business, government and individual clients.
Having introduced Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) previously, RSM Australia was finding underlying structural issues and limited technical resources were creating challenges in adopting its full potential.
Unsurprisingly, much has changed during RSM Australia’s century in business. While the values of friendly expertise and exceptional service have remained the same, the business’s remarkable longevity owes much to a willingness to embrace new opportunities. Director of Marketing Helen Carvosso said that staying ahead in a competitive sector requires an ability to look forward.
“We are currently busy working on our growth plans to 2030 and a strategic focus for us is our digital transformation, where using analytics and automation will be very important moving forward. We have invested heavily in learning about AI and leveraging data for our growth strategy.”
A significant investment to date has centered on Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365), a portfolio of intelligent business applications that streamlines operational processes and drives greater efficiency. While the capabilities of D365 were thoroughly researched and matched the business’s needs, the roll-out had been problematic.
“We rolled out the D365 instance in January 2023. It wasn’t quite perfect and we knew that at the time, but we wanted people to start using it. The more people that started to use it, the more requests we were expecting and received for improvements, changes or additional features. We also knew there were some structural issues we would need to address down the line.
“Our CRM team didn’t have the technical capability we needed to begin addressing those structural issues – so we were looking for a partner who could act as an advisor, understand what we were trying to achieve, provide options, and help us find the best way forward.”
For RSM Australia, it was especially important that the chosen partner could identify potential implications of each course of action and minimise any impact on users and the wider IT environment.
“Our previous advisors had added fields as we requested, without providing the strategic advice on the impacts of some of these requests. We needed partners who weren’t just ‘yes’ people but could advise, guide, and challenge us to ensure we used best practices to build a future-proof system that would take us forward. We needed to add that additional technical competence and depth to our team.”
With user requests coming in thick and fast, it was clear that the RSM Australia team needed the right processes in place and guidance from a trusted partner. After considering multiple partner options, it seemed to Carvosso there was a logical choice.
“There were downstream implications to any changes, and we needed to understand these. We had a long relationship with Data#3 in other areas of RSM and ‘Microsoft-Land’. That relationship spanned 15 years. The main driver to work with Data#3 on our Dynamics environment was their position as our Microsoft licence provider – they already provided our D365 subscription.
“What I like about the Data#3 team we work with is their empathy and non-judgemental approach. We’re working with an external provider as we don’t have all the answers – and sometimes we don’t know the right questions to ask. They encourage those questions, which helps them understand where I’m coming from too.”
The Data#3 team worked with a proven methodology, and this gave the structure that Carvosso knew was needed. They set about learning in greater depth about RSM’s business and technology eco-system, and understanding what a great outcome would look like.
“It was really very smooth. We set up regular meetings at the start to understand where we were and to roadmap our immediate priorities. We were easily set up on the ticketing system, which was all totally transparent, so we had visibility of where things were at. Now, we have established a regular cadence of meetings to suit business as usual, but when things pop up, the team is there to answer our calls and emails very quickly.”
In that early phase, more than 100 enhancements and changes were scoped out and implemented, positioning RSM to achieve greater benefits from their D365 environment.
“There are a lot of automation pieces here that help us to get work done. We can create workflows and understand the potential implications.”
By digging deeper, Data#3 was able to help RSM better align D365 with the activities of the business, so that staff time could be saved on repetitive tasks and refocused on the customer service they are known for.
“We applied some automation based on principal clients. It used to be extra work for a partner to go in and check a box to say a client now needs tax updates. Now, when a contact changes to client status, that checked box can happen automatically. We have been able to add functionality to apply different rules for clients and contacts with changes triggered automatically, saving manual effort.”
The challenges that RSM faced in the initial D365 rollout had hampered enthusiasm for the product – but this is something Carvosso said had been turned around, with positive results encouraging greater engagement.
“Rolling out new technology and getting people to adopt it can be scary, if not outright off-putting. Now we have support to make it fit for purpose, so it helps people with what they are trying to do in their day-to-day jobs.
“Before we didn’t have the technical expertise to be able to make it work for them. We can now go to the stakeholders and understand their business priorities and make the system work for them, not the other way around,” explained Carvosso.
That expertise doesn’t only come from the Data#3 team. Carvosso’s group was keen to gain skills and confidence in working with D365, so they could handle the more straightforward requests while still calling on Data#3 for more complex changes.
“We learned a lot very quickly from the team. They shared best practices and how they prefer to be briefed – it was a different realm to what we were used to. We learned a lot about best practices for change requests from them,” Carvosso said.
“That has been great as it does help us too, to get a better brief, we know the right questions to ask. The Data#3 team has been helping us upskill, so we can use them for their technical expertise rather than day-to-day actions. It has been an opportunity for us to learn and develop as we continue the relationship.”
With early difficulties unravelled and a faster time from request to completion, the RSM team has observed a change in the way they are perceived by the users they support.
“We have been given the confidence and credibility to go back to our team when they have questions or development requests, and we have a hundred percent certainty that we have a process in place. We pitch it to our change advisory group and come back with solutions. The refined process means we have a hundred percent confidence when we report back to the business.
“Like any new relationship it took time to get to know one another – but when we started to report small wins back to the business, we could see the confidence building among end-users, in the platform and in us,” said Carvosso.
It is not only users who are able to work more effectively now. Carvosso’s team has also had a weight lifted from their shoulders.
“We are spending time better, not stressed about the time we are spending and worrying about having to fix problems. If we are notified of an issue, we put it on the list and know it is being taken care of. We’re able instead to spend our time educating and upskilling people on how to use D365 better rather than having to apologise for what it can’t do. “We have learned from Data#3 how to prioritise requests from inside the business and have a better idea of how much time and effort it will take. We have the confidence to think outside the box now, and before we go to Data#3 we consider if we can fix something internally.”
We have learned from Data#3 how to prioritise requests from inside the business and have a better idea of how much time and effort it will take. We have the confidence to think outside the box now, and before we go to Data#3 we consider if we can fix something internally.
Helen Carvosso – Director of Marketing, RSM Australia.
Part of RSM’s longevity is down to the business focusing on its strengths and understanding where it pays to seek expert help. Working with a partner that complemented RSM’s strengths and shared the same long-term view has been a game-changer for Carvosso.
“Data#3 showed that they very much see it as a long-term partnership, so when they scope something out, they are not creating a rod for their own back by making changes without question. They take time to make sure the outcome will really be what the business needs, even if it is not what we originally asked for – they push back if it is not the right thing.”
For someone that does not come from a technology background, Carvosso found the process unexpectedly enjoyable.
“Their biggest strengths were their patience and expertise. They will invest the time to understand where we are coming from and the challenges we face, they have empathy around that and offered solutions based on their technical expertise. “They had an understanding of us as a professional services firm, an understanding of our language and the nuances. They built a rapport, had a real sense of humour, and made it fun, not scary. It’s easy, they are like an extension of our team, and we know we can count on them.”
International Safety Systems wanted to modernise their IT infrastructure and migrate to the cloud.
As International Safety Systems infrastructure neared end of life, the business sought recommendations from a trusted consultant, and determined that a shift to Microsoft Azure was the right path forward. That advisor joined Data#3 and they recognised that the expertise and culture of their partnership would make a good match.
• Scalable environment
• Exceptional availability
• Built-in backup and disaster recovery functionality
• Improved security
• Fast and cost-effective, making it easier to innovate
• Customer’s data is cloud-hosted, residing in their chosen location
• Streamlined onboarding process
• Access to additional expertise
• Avoidance of capital expenditure (CapEx)
The most outstanding part of the project is the improved reliability. We have had no unscheduled downtime thanks to the way our Data#3 consultant designed the platform.
David Rickward – Commercial Director, International Safety Systems
International Safety Systems (ISS) provides customised safety, quality and risk management solutions to customers around the world, helping them to meet compliance requirements while improving their business resilience.
ISS had been hosting its specialised apps in-house, using a thin client approach to distribute software. As available cloud options matured, ISS recognised the potential to work more efficiently and offer an enhanced service to customers.
The AIRS app from ISS is used to capture and manage safety and quality data for customers in stringently controlled industries, such as defence and aerospace. The small, very busy ISS team helps its customers meet all compliance obligations, reducing risk and operating more safely. Until recently, Commercial Director David Rickward said that managing infrastructure was a way of life.
“We had a traditional model, before Software as a Service was widely available. We hosted our software on our own hardware in a Sydney data centre. In addition to the hosting cost we had all the associated maintenance costs and then every five years, we would have to throw it away and start again, which meant incurring substantial capital costs and add-on services. Whilst it allowed us to distribute AIRS online it was a costly and labour-intensive model.”
That service model required effort from customers, and the cost was amplified by the need for extremely high availability to meet the service levels required by clients.
“We had backup redundancy and disaster recovery servers running. Overall, we were happy with the uptime – however, there were occasional unscheduled outages which required on-premises support, adding more cost,” explained Rickward.
As the time for renewal approached, with cloud options now offering greater maturity, ISS sought advice from a trusted cloud specialist, who learned about the ISS business model and made initial suggestions.
“He was experienced with Microsoft Azure. After we started discussions with him, he moved to Data#3. He provided a lot of really good ideas around platform design to make our operations more efficient. We had been working with him for several years and we wanted to continue that relationship.”
After careful evaluation, ISS followed Data#3’s recommendation for a Microsoft Azure environment, first instating one instance of the ISS software, then provisioning more until the solution hosted all customers. Microsoft Azure backup and DR, as well as several Microsoft Azure security and management features were put to work to help the ISS team work efficiently.
“It was a reasonably quick transition by technology standards, taking six months from our first proof of concept discussions, through commitment and implementation. We canvassed our biggest clients to see if there were any issues for them to move to the new environment, especially in terms of security. Their primary concern was where their data would reside.
“We sandbox tested with a couple of our biggest clients, migrated some smaller clients, then lastly the bigger organisations over a period of eight months.”
The solution included expertise from a Data#3 cloud specialist, so that ISS would always be positioned to work proactively and able to get the most form the Microsoft Azure platform, while managing costs effectively.
“We’re leveraging our Data#3 cloud specialist as our platform manager. We monitor the day-to-day ourselves, and he does general housekeeping a couple of times a month to ensure updates are installed. He also talks us through new security features we might be interested in. This input is invaluable to us – we’re a small company and can handle tasks ourselves but can’t do everything in-house. This arrangement gives us access to the wider resources of Data#3 when we need it.”
Rickward has stated that the flexibility of the Microsoft Azure platform has already impressed ISS clients, given the speed and cost-effectiveness of rolling out the custom app that the company is known for. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
“One client in the aviation industry initially wanted to run the app in-house. They went to their IT department, who quoted six figures for the new servers, and managing and monitoring those assets. We can spin up a dedicated host for them and provide continuous access to data. It was one fifth of the cost that their internal IT would have needed.
“They would have had to go through getting budget approval, which would have taken 12 months, but being a pay-as-you-go model, it was signed off within a week.”
Microsoft invests around $1 billion (USD) each year on Microsoft Azure security, with developers designing solutions for the modern threat landscape where organisations face an increasingly sophisticated barrage of attacks. Rickward said that this timely boost to security is “absolutely a plus”, with the shift to the secure online platform reducing risk for ISS and its clients.
“It is a valuable part of the solution without a shadow of a doubt. Before, every thin client had its own port, so there were multiple ports facing the world. By changing, customers now have web access through a firewall, with only one single point of entry. When you look at it from a security risk point of view, it is considerably better than before, and our customers stay safer.”
The transition for customers went smoothly, causing no disruption and earning praise for the improved ISS offering after the shift to Microsoft Azure.
“Their lives got easier without having to run the thin client. The cutover was seamless, and the users had their familiar app, they weren’t seeing any difference except that they just had to use a hyperlink instead of clicking an icon on their desktop.”
As a technology business itself, ISS places considerable importance on finding solutions that keep its lead position in its competitive market.
“We can stay at the forefront of technology, always using the latest and greatest, as opposed to buying hardware that becomes obsolete in a month, which then becomes a patch job. Moving to the Microsoft Azure platform means we can stay at the front of the curve, in turn giving our customers the best outcomes,” described Rickward.
This progress is aided by sharing knowledge, with the Data#3 Azure expert helping the small ISS team to gain confidence in the new platform. Rickward is happy that the business has benefitted from someone with enormous depth of Azure experience.
“He has done quite a bit of work with our internal team on things like day-to-day monitoring and firewalls. He’s helped our team to completely understand what to look for, and how to achieve compliance.
“It has been a game-changer for us, and we look at it as a partnership arrangement. Given what the Data#3 Azure expert has delivered us, it is a lot more capability than we would otherwise have, and we’ve gained a lot more capability in-house with him there.”
That capability extends to helping ISS respond to requests for tenders. Rickward said that the ability to access expertise helps to show prospective corporate and government clients that ISS has the capability needed when providing such a critical service.
“The advantage of dealing with a technology company like Data#3 is that if we don’t have specific expertise in-house, we know we have it through them. When we’re bidding on some contracts, it gives us more credibility to have that support, especially in the government space. We do a lot of work for government and from a security point of view, if we’re working with an organisation that is already approved, it makes for a more seamless transition, and we don’t have to delay delivery getting approvals.”
For customers, the Microsoft Azure platform raises the bar for custom solutions. ISS can now offer shared platforms, where customers’ individual environments are logically separated, and where customers prefer, dedicated platforms can be quickly provided. The ability to store data in their own or an approved jurisdiction has proven to be essential.
“Microsoft Azure provides more flexibility, allowing us to do more for our clients with specific requirements. For example, for legal or regulatory reasons, clients may need to ensure their data is stored in a particular jurisdiction. With Microsoft Azure we know we can provide that assurance and have them covered.”
It has been a game-changer for us, and we look at it as a partnership arrangement. Given what the Data#3 Azure expert has delivered us, it is a lot more capability than we would otherwise have.
David Rickward – Commercial Director, International Safety Systems
Although Rickward said that any major change in delivery method had the “potential to be traumatic”, he was clear that with the right team in place, it didn’t have to be.
“My advice is simple: find someone who totally understands what you do. Data#3 was very good in terms of what we were trying to achieve and that understanding meant we were able to map it out together – it was truly a collaborative experience. In terms of understanding the platform and how to manage disaster recovery, that was important.
“The transition itself should be made straightforward – taking the environment off the existing platform and moving it into the cloud. However, there are so many tricks to managing Microsoft Azure well with the right security around it, it’s essential to engage with an experienced consulting firm.
You might be tempted to do it yourself, but you will end up saving money and getting a better result with the right partner. When I filled out the customer satisfaction survey, I gave it a 10 out of 10. One hundred percent!”
Ultimately, the solution was measured by ISS against the benefits and service levels they were able to provide to their valued customers around the world. The switch to the Microsoft Azure platform has been deemed a success.
“The most outstanding part of the project is the improved reliability; we have had no unscheduled downtime because of the way the platform is set up. When we did have minor issues, we were able to failover to backup systems without service interruption. The service delivery has been outstanding,” concluded Rickward.
Download Customer Story Explore how Microsoft Azure can benefit your business
Azure VMware Solution (AVS) is a comprehensive, hosted VMware server virtualisation service on dedicated Azure infrastructure. Jointly engineered by VMware and Microsoft, AVS is built and managed by Microsoft.
AVS offers a seamless way to migrate or extend VMware environments to the cloud, preserving existing skills and tools while opening doors to Azure-native modernisation. AVS provides organisations with a fully managed, flexible infrastructure, supporting both immediate migration needs and long-term modernisation goals.
Facing rising VMware costs and aging on-premises hardware, a government department worked with Data#3 to evaluate their migration options. After comparing AVS with the cost of repurchasing and maintaining on-premises data centre infrastructure, they found AVS offered substantial savings and flexibility.
With Azure’s 3-year locked pricing model and extended support for legacy systems (Windows/SQL 2012), the department realised cost savings from reduced infrastructure spend. They also secured significant Microsoft funding for Data#3 deployment and migration services, which further supported the transition. Now established in Azure, they’re set to drive operational improvements and prepare for gradual application modernisation.
Easily lift and shift vSphere workloads to Azure, preserving existing environments with no hypervisor changes. AVS enables non-disruptive, scalable transitions with automation and high availability.
Adjust capacity on demand with AVS, optimising costs for peak periods or short-term needs without long-term infrastructure investments.
Establish a secure, on-demand DR site with VMware on Azure, ensuring business continuity without added physical DR infrastructure.
Migrate quickly to AVS, then modernise applications over time by tapping into Azure-native services to enhance capabilities and reduce technical debt.
AVS offers a compelling combination of cost savings, reduced management overhead, and seamless migration, making it an ideal choice for VMware customers looking to modernise at their own pace.
Learn how Data#3’s ‘AVS Solution Workshop’ delivers a clear, cost-effective roadmap to cloud migration, offering an in-depth assessment and migration plan tailored to your organisation.
Data#3 brings extensive experience in delivering datacentre solutions, from procurement and deployment to seamless migration. As a leading Microsoft cloud provider and Azure Expert Managed Service Provider (MSP), Data#3 leverages its deep partnership with both Broadcom and Microsoft to offer clients robust, integrated solutions that simplify and optimise their IT infrastructure.
You may have heard that AI is the best thing since the invention of computers, or that it is costly and confusing. Both of those things can be true, and it all depends on your approach. The potential rewards of Microsoft’s flagship AI offering, Copilot, are phenomenal, but reaping them doesn’t happen by chance.
If you want the reported productivity gains and profitability boosts, there is definitely an easy way and a hard way. The planning and implementation of Copilot are critical stages, and so too is the ongoing assessment and management, which is where the recently launched Copilot Analytics comes in. Copilot Analytics is a powerful new tool designed to help organisations measure the adoption and business impact of AI-powered assistants like Copilot. This exciting development will help to safeguard AI investment and to tap into greater potential.
Copilot Analytics is part of the new Copilot Control System, which gives IT and business leaders the tools they need to confidently adopt Copilot and agents. Available through the Microsoft 365 admin centre, the Copilot Dashboard, and Viva Insights, the newcomer lets you tailor Copilot reports with your business data or create custom reports with organisational attributes and longer usage data sets.
Copilot Analytics gives more granular controls, so that you can drill down into data by department, user type, or job function, for example. This allows organisations to identify where they are getting best value from their Copilot licenses, where users need extra help, and which licenses can be reallocated. The license includes access to Viva Insights Premium at no additional charge for those who purchase Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses.
Our Copilot experts have been working hard on a solution that helps Data#3 customers to make the most of these new capabilities. We’ve developed custom reports and dashboards that are ready to go, so you can quickly analyse and track your organisation’s adoption of, and benefits achieved, using Copilot, without having to start from scratch. You can:
We were very fortunate to participate in Microsoft’s Early Access Program (EAP) for Copilot, giving us the chance to get a head start – and this extra experience has given us first-hand understanding of common challenges such as limited toolset capabilities, aggregate data reporting, lack of granularity, and time constraints. We wanted our solution to come with the expert support needed to make Copilot really deliver on its promise.
To do this, we developed custom reports and dashboards, so you can track the deployment of Copilot across your organisation, understand how usage metrics translate into potential time and cost savings, and identify areas for further deployment.
Much as AI is an exciting technology, there will inevitably be some users who embrace the opportunity eagerly, while others will be more reticent or lack confidence. Using the custom reports developed by our Copilot team, you can evaluate the effectiveness of training initiatives, identifying low adoption areas, and designating top users as Copilot champions.
According to McKinsey, generative AI could increase corporate profits by a massive US$4.4 trillion per year, thanks to productivity and efficiency gains. Copilot Analytics is an essential tool to help your organisation to unlock those gains, and to establish yourself firmly in the AI wins column. For more information on Copilot Analytics, M365 Copilot or any of Microsoft’s AI solutions, please contact our AI experts today.
Acquisitions inevitably bring change. And Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware – a leading global provider of on-premises virtualisation solutions, has certainly shaken things up.
Since acquiring VMware, Broadcom has restructured its business, spinning off units like Carbon Black (security) and Horizon (desktop virtualisation). It has shifted the remaining products from perpetual to subscription-only models and reduced the total number of licensable products by bundling them.
While this bundling simplifies procurement, it has led to higher costs if the included products aren’t all relevant to your needs. The shift to subscription licensing has resulted in noticeable increases in renewal prices for some – with some businesses experiencing hikes of 100%, 300%, or even 500%.
These price uplifts are presenting an interesting opportunity with many reconsidering their infrastructure strategies and assessing competing technologies. Instead of continuing with VMware on-premises, they’re exploring alternatives, such as switching to different hypervisors (e.g., Azure Stack HCI, Nutanix) or migrating to the cloud.
If, like many, you’re considering other options, you have no doubt already considered one, or all of the below:
Microsoft’s Azure VMware Solution (AVS) offers some elegant answers to these considerations, addressing interoperability, flexibility, ease of integration and, perhaps surprisingly, cost.
AVS offers a comprehensive, hosted VMware service on dedicated Azure infrastructure. Jointly engineered by VMware and Microsoft, AVS is built and managed by Microsoft – recently named a Leader in 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Strategic Cloud Platform Services (SCPS) – with flexible pricing models that make it an attractive alternative to traditional on-premises setups.
Let’s explore AVS in more detail, starting with its portfolio of Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) clusters:
AVS is deployed in clusters with a minimum of three hosts, including both storage and networking. It provides a quick, seamless path to the cloud for businesses running multiple VMware virtual machines. Use cases range from datacentre expansion, reduction, or retirement to disaster recovery, business continuity, and application modernisation. Its flexible disaster recovery options also support seamless integration from on-premises to AVS, between AVS clusters, or directly to Azure services.
AVS is particularly appealing to businesses already considering a cloud journey but not yet ready to modernise their entire application stack. After all, re-factoring or modernising applications during migration can be time-consuming and costly.
By comparison, AVS offers a ‘migrate to modernise’ approach, enabling businesses to migrate first, realise immediate cost savings that can be diverted to fund their application modernisation, and then gradually modernise. Once on Azure, companies can tap into a range of native services to accelerate application development.
AVS can integrate with your on-premises vSphere environment. But perhaps the biggest advantage of AVS is its seamless integration within the Azure ecosystem. Businesses can continue running their virtual machines on VMware while gradually modernising applications on Azure, all within a connected environment. By incorporating Azure services for security, backup, and monitoring, AVS effectively streamlines operations and reduces the need for on-premises servers, storage, and hardware. Given these services often make up a large share of compute resources, this approach can significantly lower capacity requirements. With less IT overhead, teams can focus on higher-value activities, easing the shift from traditional VMware setups by allowing businesses to re-group and migrate workloads at their own pace.
Migration from on-premises VMware to hosted VMware on Azure is seamless, with minimal disruption. AVS uses the same VMware virtualisation platform, allowing workloads to move easily and quickly without the need for refactoring. With HCX vMotion technology, you can extend your on-premises VMware networks to AVS, enabling virtual machines to migrate without reallocating IP addresses.
Another significant benefit of AVS is that it eliminates the need to re-skill employees or introduce new tools. Businesses can continue using the same skills and personnel that manage their on-premises VMware environment. IT administrators access familiar tools for configuration and management, reducing the learning curve and maintaining the level of control they have come to expect with VMware.
When you migrate your VMware with AVS, Microsoft serves as your single point of contact for all issues. Furthermore, if VMware’s involvement is needed, Microsoft manages that on your behalf. Microsoft also handles the underlying platform and infrastructure, freeing up your operational staff to focus on higher-value activities and reducing overall support demands.
Microsoft’s scale and negotiating power means they can offer VMware licensing at very favourable prices compared to on-premises VMware. AVS offers flexible pricing options, allowing customers to choose pay-per-hour usage or reserve capacity for one, three, or five years. Instead of investing in and managing their own servers, businesses can lease VMware environments from Microsoft, benefiting from predictable and affordable pricing. Customers can also lock in discounted rates for longer terms, with reserved instances that can convert to Azure IaaS.
AVS offers a compelling combination of cost savings, reduced management overhead, and seamless migration, making it an ideal choice for VMware customers looking to modernise at their own pace.
As always, a thorough evaluation and total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis are essential to determine the best-fit solution – whether that’s AVS or an alternative approach. Some potential limitations of migrating to AVS include:
Data#3 can help determine if AVS is the right fit for your business through a comprehensive solution assessment involving:
Your organisation may be eligible to access Microsoft funding to undertake this assessment, providing a risk-free way for you to explore the benefits of migrating to AVS. Contact our team using the form below to find out if you qualify.
Click here to read how a Government department cut costs and future-proofed their operations with a Azure VMware Solution from Data#3.
Data#3 brings extensive experience in delivering datacentre solutions, from procurement and deployment to seamless migration. As a leading Microsoft cloud provider and Azure Expert Managed Service Provider (MSP), Data#3 leverages its deep partnership with both Broadcom and Microsoft to offer clients robust, integrated solutions that simplify and optimise their IT infrastructure.
At Kingsway Christian College, empowering students with the skills to excel in a digital world is a top priority. Enter Adobe Creative Suite, a set of industry-leading tools that help students create captivating images, graphics, presentations, videos, and digital experiences. Through Adobe Creative Suite, students can unleash their creativity, build essential technical skills, and prepare for success in an increasingly digital landscape.
“What’s really great is that you have multiple ways of getting to the same place. The way I do it is different from the students. When the students are excited about what they are doing, you’re going to get the best out of them,” said Lauren Clark, Teacher, Kingsway Christian College.
In this video, discover how Kingsway Christian College is empowering students to harness the power of Adobe Creative Suite to unlock their potential in modern media.
As a Platinum Adobe Partner, Data#3 has extensive experience helping customers select and implement Adobe’s leading digital solutions. Let’s talk about how to:
In this four-part video series, Chris Day, Data#3 Principal Consultant, joins Heath Russell, ThousandEyes Channel Technical Solutions Architect at Cisco, to explore the limitations of built-in application monitoring tools and discuss how Cisco Thousandeyes provides visibility beyond the cloud.
1. What are the challenges of Software as a Service (SaaS) monitoring and why is it important | 2. Discussing the limitations of built-in monitoring tools |
3. Learn how ThousandEyes gathers performance data | 4. Demo: Using Vertex AI to create an action plan from ThousandEyes data |
As a Cisco Gold Partner and Cisco Master Networking Specialised Partner, Data#3 can help you take your network into the future.
Experience firsthand how Cisco ThousandEyes can provide clear, actionable insights into your network’s health. Contact our team of specialists today to request a demo or free trial.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) (Queensland Section) depended on disparate data sources and wanted to integrate aircraft, patient, and crew data to provide a clear picture of availability. This integration was particularly essential for day-to-day operations to ensure they could provide the ‘finest care to the furthest corner.’
“The work we’re doing ensures that pilots, nurses, and doctors have the right information. Rather than a 000-dispatcher calling multiple places to find the right aircraft, we can tell them straight away. For example, we had a critically ill patient who needed to travel to Brisbane, and we could see that the closest crew was not the best match for the patient’s needs and could immediately locate the best option,” said Nick Warwick, Data Integration and Analytics Manager, Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section).
In this video, discover how RFDS utilised the power of Microsoft Power BI, Azure Functions, Power Apps, and Flow workflows to deliver digital transformation that helps save lives.
With more apps, devices and data than ever to navigate, you need a business partner that can guide and support you throughout your IT modernisation journey. Data#3 holds the highest level of partner accreditations across the Microsoft ecosystem. With expertise that extends from the network and the cloud, to the datacentre and workplace, you can rely on our expert team to guide and advise on the best technologies to meet the demands of the changing workplace.
Contact our team of specialist today to discover how you can transform your organisation with Data#3.
June 27, 2024; Brisbane, Australia: Leading Australian technology services and solutions provider, Data#3, is proud to announce that it has been named as the winner of the 2024 Worldwide Surface Reseller Partner of the Year Award, for the second consecutive year.
Data#3 today announced it has won Surface Reseller 2024 Microsoft Partner of the Year Award. The company was honoured among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.
“Data#3 is thrilled to take home this highly esteemed global Microsoft recognition. This accolade reflects our deep commitment to delivering innovative, transformative customer solutions from Surface to cloud with Microsoft technology,” said Brad Colledge, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Data#3.
“Our close collaboration with Microsoft is evident through our significant investments in Microsoft capability, reflecting our longstanding relationship and aligned strategies. For example, our participation as a select few in the Early Access Program (EAP) for Microsoft 365 (M365) Copilot represents our ongoing commitment to ensuring our customers can utilise cutting-edge technology and insights to help deliver their digital future.”
Data#3 National Practice Manager for Microsoft, Scott Gosling, commented, “We are honoured to receive a global Surface accolade for the second year in a row. This is truly a testament to our collaborative efforts with Microsoft and our shared vision for the modern workplace.”
He added, “Our experience in the EAP positions Data#3 as a model for the modern workplace, enabling us to provide customers with informed advice and robust business cases for integrating Surface with AI. We’re already witnessing how the integration of Surface devices with AI is enhancing operations across various industries, including healthcare, education, and energy. As we celebrate this recognition, we’re excited to continue our collaboration with Microsoft, driving technological innovation and helping our customers achieve exceptional outcomes.”
The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognise Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered outstanding Microsoft Cloud applications, services, devices, and AI innovation during the past year. Awards were classified in various categories, with honourees chosen from more than 4,700 nominations from more than 100 countries. Data#3 was recognised for providing outstanding solutions and services in Australia.
The Worldwide Microsoft Surface Reseller Partner of the Year Award recognised Data#3 for demonstrating outstanding leadership, and for providing superior Microsoft Surface solutions and services to customers.
“Congratulations to the winners and finalists of the 2024 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards!” said Nicole Dezen, Chief Partner Officer and Corporate Vice President at Microsoft. “The momentum generated by numerous AI and Copilot announcements this year fuelled innovation from our partners, enabling groundbreaking services and solutions to customers. I am inspired by the capability and creativity in our partner ecosystem and this year’s winners beautifully demonstrate the best of what’s possible with AI and the Microsoft Cloud.”
The 2024 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards are announced ahead of MCAPS Start for Partners, our digital event on July 10th and 11th. Partners will receive recognition at MCAPS Start for Partners ahead of in person celebrations during the week of Microsoft Ignite in November. Additional details on the 2024 awards are available on the Microsoft Partner blog: https://aka.ms/POTYA2024_announcement. The complete list of categories, winners and finalists can be found at https://aka.ms/2024POTYAWinnersFinalists.
With many years of experience providing devices to government and business customers, Data#3 has developed quality assured processes, ensures the best device turnaround so customers have the devices they need, when they need them. Its large team of supply chain and logistics specialists, working across three states, are dedicated to making sure customer devices arrive on-time and ready to just switch on and go.
In this 7-part video series, Doug Browne, Cisco APAC Director of Cloud Security, joins Richard Dornhart, Data#3 National Security Practice Manager, to answer common cloud security questions.
As a Cisco Master Security Specialised Partner and Gold Partner, Data#3 has one of Australia’s most mature and highly accredited security teams. You can trust our expert team to help you navigate the challenges faced today around how to connect and protect your network.
To discuss any aspect of security in your environment, please contact us today.