Archers

Key facts

Customer

The public Archers announcement describes a Queensland-based strata firm with six offices and three remote sites. Its requirement was a robust, high-performing and secure technology platform to manage sensitive property data and clients' personal information, with continuous access to core business applications. Its line-of-business ERP application is the anchor of the environment and dictated the architecture that we had to work within.

Sector

Strata and property services. The professional services industry page uses Archers as its primary evidence because the operating pattern (confidential client data, a legacy practice application, multiple small offices, hybrid staff) matches that sector.

Challenge

1. Legacy anchor. The ERP application required an outdated Citrix XenApp/RDS architecture, so Archers could not fully modernise its endpoints or cloud presence.
2. Performance and stability. The previous cloud and Citrix environment was aged, giving poor application staging performance and instability across the network.
3. Reactive management. The focus was on keeping the lights on, with no proactive governance or forward planning across cloud, security and communications.
4. Unpredictable costs. Archers experienced unexpected fluctuations and "bill shock" in storage and operating costs and could not budget technology consumption accurately.

A shared firewall is also identified as a security vulnerability that the solution had to remove.

Solution

We consolidated infrastructure, networking and support into one fixed-price emPOWER IT-as-a-Service framework with three parts.

Cloud and application infrastructure. The entire virtual environment was migrated into emPOWER Cloud IaaS, allowing legacy server assets, including Windows Server 2012 systems, to be decommissioned while retaining the ERP and its Citrix dependency. The source uses ISO 27001 certification language for the cloud; the supplied certificate concerns blueAPACHE's ISMS and does not certify individual products or services.

Managed WAN and security. A private MPLS wide area network replaced the previous connectivity, with site links upgraded (for example from 20/20Mbps to 400/400Mbps fibre) to improve internet and application speed and latency. New FortiGate customer premises appliances were deployed at each Queensland office and connected to a hosted FortiGate high-availability firewall hub with unified threat protection in emPOWER Cloud, providing web filtering and intrusion prevention on a dedicated rather than shared firewall. FortiClient EMS VPN was deployed for secure remote access.

Proactive governance and support. Microsoft Teams calling replaced an aged and unreliable VoIP/PBX system. Microsoft Intune delivered zero-touch provisioning for new devices and a standard desktop. A formal account structure of Account Executive, Service Delivery Manager and Portfolio Engineer runs monthly operational reviews and quarterly business reviews focused on Continual Service Improvement; through that cycle Archers started work towards ISO 27001 alignment and completed a security assessment for future AI capabilities including Microsoft Copilot.

Services used

• emPOWER Managed Services: the fixed-price IT-as-a-Service framework, help desk and account governance.
• emPOWER Cloud: the IaaS platform the virtual environment was migrated to.
• emPOWER Connectivity and Core Network and Data Centre Interconnect: the private MPLS WAN and upgraded site links.
• emPOWER Security and emPOWER SASE: hosted high-availability firewall hub with unified threat protection, FortiGate edge appliances and FortiClient EMS VPN.
• Microsoft Teams and emPOWER Collaboration: Teams calling replacing the legacy PBX.
• Microsoft Practice: Intune zero-touch provisioning and the Copilot security assessment.
• Consulting and Advisory: the ISO 27001 alignment work started through the governance cycle.

Outcomes

Outcomes below are stated in the case study; nothing is added.

An Archers representative is quoted on cost: "blueAPACHE was able to stabilize our spend and make it much more predictable via an opex service model. Most notably, the move to Microsoft Teams provided significant savings in licensing." A second representative is quoted on expertise: access to our team "across application virtualisation, MDR, and Microsoft platforms" for advice, remediation, forward planning and security resilience.

Applying the example to another environment

The comparison is the combination of legacy-application dependencies, infrastructure change and operational ownership. Identify applications constraining a new migration and what must remain available. Map cloud and managed-service scope separately, then agree acceptance evidence for the legacy workload. Archers supports the described engagement, not a standard saving, price or migration plan. Read service descriptions alongside the case rather than treating it as an offer.

Related

• Professional services
• emPOWER Managed Services
• emPOWER Cloud
• emPOWER SASE
• Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Practice
• Honan Insurance case study
• Brotherhood of St. Laurence case study
• Blog: Archers The Strata Professionals partners with blueAPACHE for its next phase of growth
• Blog: 13 benefits of moving to Microsoft Teams
• All case studies
• Contact

Who is Archers and what does it do?

The public announcement describes Archers The Strata Professionals as a Queensland-based strata management company with six offices and three remote sites; it does not specify those sites' countries. It manages sensitive property data and clients' personal information and depends on a line-of-business ERP application for day-to-day operations.

What did Archers buy from you?

A fixed-price emPOWER IT-as-a-Service solution combining emPOWER Managed Services, emPOWER Cloud IaaS, a managed private MPLS WAN, a Fortinet network security suite, Microsoft Teams calling, Microsoft Intune and formal account governance, consolidated into a single accountable framework billed as operating expenditure.

How did you handle the legacy ERP that required Citrix?

Rather than replacing the application, we migrated the whole virtual environment, including the Citrix XenApp/RDS layer the ERP depends on, into emPOWER Cloud IaaS. That let the aged hosting be retired and the end-of-life Windows Server 2012 servers decommissioned while the application kept running.

How much did Archers save?

The case study does not quantify savings. It states that spend was stabilised on an opex model with reduced likelihood of bill shock, and an Archers representative says the move to Microsoft Teams provided significant licensing savings, but no figures are given and none should be attached.

What does the account governance model involve?

An Account Executive, a Service Delivery Manager and a Portfolio Engineer run monthly operational reviews and quarterly business reviews focused on Continual Service Improvement. Items delivered through that cycle include starting ISO 27001 alignment and a security assessment for future AI capabilities including Microsoft Copilot.

Is Archers ISO 27001 certified?

The case study describes the start of a journey towards ISO 27001 alignment; it does not establish Archers' current certification status. Separately, the supplied blueAPACHE ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate 202507-118 states dates from 1 August 2025 to 1 August 2028 and concerns the ISMS, not certification of individual cloud services.

How current is this case study?

We shared this client story in 2026.