blueAPACHE | Brotherhood of St. Laurence Signs 3 Year Support Deal

Melbourne, May 26, 2022: We today announced that we have signed a new strategic, three-year IT managed services agreement with the Brotherhood of St. Laurence (BSL). The agreement extends an existing five-year technology partnership between the organisations and will allow BSL to further strengthen its outreach and support services to Australians experiencing disadvantage. Founded in 1930, BSL is a social justice organisation that provides critical services to vulnerable Australians. For more than 90 years, the organisation has been working to prevent and alleviate poverty across Australia. With the head office in Melbourne, BSL employs over 1,400 staff to deliver a complex range of social services. Critical to the success of these activities is the organisation’s supporting IT and telecommunications infrastructure, and their technology partnership with us. BSL Senior Manager – ICT, Jason Atkinson, said we had become a true business partner for the organisation and some exciting projects were now in the planning pipeline. These projects come at an important time for BSL as the organisation realigns its strategic goals after having been awarded new contracts.

‘blueAPACHE has helped us to build a resilient and scalable IT infrastructure that will support our activities in the years ahead and reduce operational risk,’ he said. ‘This new agreement means we can continue to work with a trusted organisation that truly understands our operations.’

A new strategic plan

The agreement compliments a new ICT strategic plan that was validated by the BSL Board in late 2021. This plan is designed to guide investment and technology selection during the three-year period and beyond. Atkinson said the IT support provided by us under the agreement will be vital to ensure BSL can perform from a technology perspective and continue to provide the best possible levels of service to support those facing disadvantage. The scope of works that will be completed under the new agreement with us includes:

• Network management:
  We, in collaboration with BSL, will continue to commission a robust national wide-area network (WAN) solution as required and manage BSL’s existing infrastructure to ensure performance and reliability. This will also cover the organisation’s VoIP telephony system.
• Infrastructure management:
  Thorough analysis of resources will be performed on an ongoing basis to deliver efficient migration of applications to the appropriate cloud-solution, including our trusted emPOWER IaaS platform.
• Extension of end user communications:
  Projects will be designed to uplift and extend the use of Microsoft Teams to allow it to eventually become a complete unified communications (UC) platform across the organisation. This will enable BSL staff to interact more efficiently regardless of their location and provide superior levels of service to clients and mobility to staff.
• **Maturity of IT security:
  **We will assist BSL to continue to develop its security operations platform by incorporating the very latest tools and information management procedures. This, in turn, will ensure that the organisation’s entire IT infrastructure is fully resistant and critical data continues to remain protected at all times.
• Ongoing staff mobilisation:
  We will assist BSL with the ongoing management of its growing fleet of mobile devices. This will ensure staff are supported regardless of their workplace location and are able to be agile and responsive to client needs. This applies to all staff, whether they are working in central offices, in warehouses, or out in the field.
• Information management support:
  During the next 12 months, we will also work to refine BSL’s data capabilities in line with the organisation’s ongoing commitment to data management. Mechanisms will also be put in place to ensure all data continues to be highly available and secure.
• Asset lifecycle management:

In partnership with HPE, we will facilate a hardware repurposing program to ensure sustainable asset practices are achieved and e-waste is minimised.

Ongoing cloud adoption

The new agreement will also facilitate BSL’s ongoing migration to the cloud. Atkinson said he expects the organisation to be fully migrated by the end of 2022.

‘We are shifting from being focused on hardware and software to an IT services model,’ he said. ‘This helps us to reduce our costs while also ensuring we have access to the very best tools and applications that are available.’

blueAPACHE Founder and Managing Director, Chris Marshall, said the company welcomed the opportunity to continue the working relationship with BSL for a further three years.

‘It is fantastic to have the chance to support an organisation that is delivering so much for Australians in need,’ he said. ‘We look forward to achieving even more and further strengthening our business relationship.

Rodney Weston, BSL’s Acting Director of Finance, Strategy and Operations said he welcomed the knowledge, guidance and support that we would continue to deliver under the new managed service agreement.

‘Over the years, blueAPACHE has developed a deep understanding of our operations and goals as an organisation,’ he said. ‘Together we can continue to deliver our programs and services with even greater impact.’

About blueAPACHE

Since 1998, we have been helping organisations access technology to their business advantage. We achieve this by providing IT management, IT strategy and converged IT services to clients across Australia, UK, Asia and North America. We are renowned for helping organisations grow by removing the IT capital investment required to fund expansion. By delivering IT as a Service, we have revolutionised the way organisations access technology and communications with affordable solutions that provide true scalability, elasticity and agility. Our team of industry specialists work together to provide outstanding solutions to the complex technology problems. In addition to taking ownership of our clients’ IT challenges, we also leverage technology to improve business performance, align strategy, and drive their business objectives. With technical expertise, experience and infrastructure, we are the ideal technology partner for organisations looking for a professional IT services partner, that will enable them to free up capital expenditure and focus on their core business – knowing that their IT is aligned to their needs, tailored for their objectives and underpinned by a team of industry experts. For further information, please visit: www.blueapache.com or contact: 1800 248 749 </contact/>