Strategic transformation doesn’t have to be disruptive.
Strategic transformation can be incredibly disruptive for a company’s digital infrastructure and the IT teams who support it. However, if it’s managed well, it doesn’t have to be.
For asset solutions provider BSA Limited, a period of transformation and refocusing on its core business in the Australian telecommunications, utilities and major fire construction sectors has also been the driver for a transformation of its legacy digital infrastructure – and specifically, a move from an on-premise to multi-cloud environment.
While BSA’s existing provider was a well-known global brand name, the decision was made to migrate to a partner with a strong reputation within Australia – Macquarie Cloud Services.
"As we continue to transform, we were also looking for a partner who could work with us on projects with short runways and ramp up times. Agility and speed are increasingly important for us, and we need someone who can match our pace."
Tuan Tran,
Head of Technology and Cyber Security at BSA.
Seeking change to support change.
WIth a new decision-maker driving the project, BSA was highly motivated to seek a change from their incumbent provider. Specifically, they sought a partner with a proven track record of exceptional customer service. They also wanted a solution that would support BSA’s overall transformation agenda, providing a flexible multi-cloud model, rather than a rigid “lift and shift” of existing kit.
Another driving factor was the requirement to drive efficiency and manage costs in the business, with the requirement to get more “bang for buck” than the existing vendor was able to provide.
According to Tuan Tran, Head of Technology and Cyber security at BSA, the alignment between the two companies has been a considerable factor in ensuring a seamless and minimally disruptive migration process, as well as positioning BSA for future success.
“As a business with a national footprint, it made sense to work with a partner whose footprint was matched to our own, with customised local expertise,” said Tuan.
“As we continue to transform, we were also looking for a partner who could work with us on projects with short runways and ramp up times. Agility and speed are increasingly important for us, and we need someone who can match our pace.”
Cultural alignment matters.
Cultural alignment may not be a phrase you expect to hear when you’re talking about technology partnerships, however for BSA IT has been a feature of the relationship with Macquarie Cloud Services.
Prior to the partner selection process, a senior member of the BSA IT team had previous experience with the broader Macquarie Technology Group is a comparable market vertical. They were confident to make a recommendation not only on the basis of
performance, but also on the strength of the Macquarie culture and the potential for alignment with BSA’s strategic goals.
“Macquarie Cloud Services came with a strong reputation for a culture of collaboration and customer focus, right across the organisation,” said Tuan.
“We were looking for the right partner who could align with us in terms of exploring challenges and opportunities, because that’s what our culture is about.”
Managing the skills shortage and workforce development.
With the related issues of the IT skills shortage and ongoing development of the in-house IT workforce at the top of the agenda for many leaders, cultural uplift and exchange has emerged as an unexpected benefit of the relationship between BSA and Macquarie Cloud Services.
“Working with the right partner has been about more than delivering a technical solution – it’s also a strategic decision about resourcing and how we utilise our workforce,” said Tuan.
“It has given us an opportunity to decide what we’re good at – in other words, what’s core business for us – and where we can be more efficient by moving things to a partner with the right expertise.”
Members of both teams have also benefited from regular cultural exchange activities, where the Macquarie Cloud Services technical specialists spend time with BSA staff to build relationships and share knowledge.
The Technical Solution.
FastTrack for Azure review of landing zone for best practice deployment review.
Development of multi-cloud solution encompassing Macquarie Launch, Azure (IaaS and PaaS) and security services via Sentinel.
Phased migration to Azure, facilitating workload modernisation via stabilisation of underlying infrastructure and de-risking of legacy environment.
Managed hybrid network for multi-cloud, including integration into third-party SD-WAN for office locations / data centers including high-bandwidth inter-data centre migration links.
Wholesale migration of technical assets from legacy data centre provider.
Results.
While data centre migration projects can be notorious consumers of time and money, BSA’s initial journey to a Macquarie data centre was completed on time and on budget.
What’s more, BSA has also been impressed by Macquarie Cloud Services’ flexibility as they continue to migrate additional
workloads from the private cloud environment to Azure, which has been ongoing through the contract term without financial penalty.
Finally, the symbiotic process of knowledge transfer and culture exchange has been a strong benefit for BSA’s team. By leaning on the skills of the Macquarie Cloud Services engineers, for example, the BSA team managed to free up time to focus on application transformation initiatives as an immediate priority – as well as plan for the future.
“The relationship is helping us think about where we would like to build capability and how we’re going to do that,” said Tuan. “Cyber security is a great example of where we’re looking to build our own capability down the track, and having an expert partner like Macquarie Cloud Services is helping us on that journey.”
"Knowing we have a trusted advisor to help us makes the transformation a little bit easier. Macquarie Cloud Services understands our environment and can be flexible alongside us, which matches our own vision for the future."
Tuan Tran,
Head of Technology and Cyber Security at BSA.
Looking to the future.
The business of transformation is ongoing for BSA, and the team is confident that having the right partners in place will help manage the process and ensure a seamless transition.
“Knowing we have a trusted advisor to help us makes the transformation a little bit easier,” said Tuan. “Macquarie Cloud Services understands our environment and can be flexible alongside us, which matches our own vision for the future.”
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Services we supplied for BSA IT.
How Macquarie Cloud Services helped BSA IT.
Learn how the long-term partnership with Macquarie Cloud Services provided a solid foundation for BSA IT to focus on what they do best.
