Compare our emPOWER services
Summary
We bring managed services, security, cloud, connectivity, collaboration, procurement, Microsoft and advisory expertise together in our emPOWER portfolio. Use this comparison to find the capabilities that fit your business. We confirm service scope, support hours and availability commitments in your Service Order and applicable service schedules.
Key facts
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Pillars on the site | Managed Services, Security, Cloud, Connectivity, Collaboration, Procurement, Microsoft Practice, Consulting and Advisory |
| Service detail | Selected service comparisons below; use the Services hub for the current portfolio |
| Contractual service categories | The v3.6 terms describe 11 Schedules; confirm the documents and version incorporated into your agreement |
| Cloud brochure uptime | 99.999 per cent cloud services, 100 per cent storage (emPOWER Cloud) |
| Conditional published uptime | Minimum 99.99 per cent site uptime under dual-firewall, dual-carriage, multi-carrier design (emPOWER Connectivity) |
| Managed Services published support | Unlimited 24/7 support (emPOWER Managed Services) |
| Connectivity published service desk | 7am to 7pm on business days (emPOWER Connectivity), with 24x7 monitoring |
| Default term | 36 months except Professional Services, unless the Service Description or Service Order states otherwise |
The eight pillars
| Pillar | What it is for | Delivery model | Published support and service level | Services in the pillar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managed Services | Proactive, automated and accountable IT operations: service desk, monitoring, patching, security-first operations, governance | Fully outsourced or co-managed; fixed-price IT-as-a-Service; account team of Account Executive, Service Delivery Manager, Engineers, Technical Account Manager | Unlimited 24/7 support; Australian service desk in business hours, global follow-the-sun after hours; help desk not outsourced. Confirm the agreed priority matrix and response/resolution targets | Managed Service Bundles, Advanced Infrastructure Managed Services, Field Services and Staff Augmentation |
| Security | Detection and response, exposure visibility, governance and compliance, human risk, in one security operating model | Managed security services with monthly reporting; security also embedded in every other pillar | MDR: 24/7 alert notification, triage and remediation. Confirm detection, response and containment expectations | emPOWER Security, Exposure Management, Governance Risk and Compliance, Human Risk Management, Managed Detection and Response |
| Cloud | Private, public and hybrid cloud, backup, storage and disaster recovery | Our own private cloud on HPE, consumption-based pay-as-you-grow; Azure planning, migration and management; managed backup services | emPOWER Cloud: 99.999 per cent cloud services, 100 per cent storage, 24x7 support. Backup and DR figures set per Schedule | emPOWER Cloud, Public Cloud Microsoft Azure, Azure Local, Disaster Recovery as a Service, Offsite Backup as a Service, Private and Public SaaS Backup, Storage as a Service (Private S3) |
| Connectivity | Resilient business networks, secure access, cloud and data centre interconnect | Managed WAN over our own MPLS core; Cisco carrier-grade routing; tier 1 carrier-agnostic | Service desk 7am to 7pm business days; 24x7 priority monitoring and NOC; minimum 99.99 per cent site uptime under redundant design | emPOWER SASE, emPOWER Core Network and Data Centre Interconnect |
| Consulting and Advisory | Technology strategy, architecture, project management, business analysis, specialist resourcing | Professional Services under Schedule 1; time and materials or fixed scope | Not applicable; Professional Services are excluded from the 36 month default term | Assessments, roadmaps, architecture, project management and specialist resourcing |
| Collaboration | Calling, meetings and teamwork | Microsoft Teams, Zoom and RingCentral solutions scoped for the environment | Confirm support responsibilities, carrier dependencies and platform-specific commitments | Microsoft Teams, Zoom, RingCentral |
| Procurement | Hardware, software and licensing sourcing | Product selection and commercial terms agreed in the proposal and order | Warranty, support and managed-service inclusions are separate decisions | Hardware, software, licensing and lifecycle planning |
| Microsoft Practice | Microsoft cloud, workplace, security, identity, data and AI expertise | Advisory, integration and operational work scoped to the engagement | Confirm which ongoing management and support services are included | Azure, Azure Local, Microsoft 365, Teams and related security capabilities |
Selected service comparisons
| Service | Pillar | What it is for | Delivery model | Published support window | Published service level | Related services |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| emPOWER Cloud | Cloud | Private and hybrid IaaS for business workloads | HPE architecture and self-service capabilities described in published material; confirm current hardware, licensing, Minimum Spend and billing model | 24x7 support | 99.999 per cent cloud services; 100 per cent storage (subject to your applicable service conditions) | DRaaS, STaaS, Core Network, Azure |
| emPOWER SASE | Connectivity | Secure access for distributed users and applications, combining networking and security controls | Published as part of emPOWER Connectivity; confirm your selected SASE design and inclusions | Service desk 7am to 7pm business days; 24x7 monitoring and UTP support | 99.99 per cent site uptime only under redundant design | Core Network, MDR, Microsoft Practice |
| Managed Service Bundles | Managed Services | Defined combinations of operational capabilities | Select the appropriate bundle and agreed responsibilities | Confirm the applicable bundle | Confirm targets and exclusions | Infrastructure, field services, security |
| Advanced Infrastructure Managed Services | Managed Services | Operation of business infrastructure | Scoped infrastructure management | Confirm in the agreement | Confirm per managed component | Cloud, backup, network |
| Field Services and Staff Augmentation | Managed Services | Onsite assistance and specialist resourcing | Scheduled or agreed support and resourcing | Confirm location, hours and response arrangements | Confirm the engagement | Managed Services, advisory |
| emPOWER Security | Security | Coordinated security operations and controls | Integrated security services selected to suit risk | Confirm selected services | Confirm each service's targets | MDR, exposure management, GRC, HRM |
| Managed Detection and Response | Security | Detection, investigation and response | Managed detection and response within agreed coverage | Published 24/7 alert notification, triage and remediation | Agree response and containment expectations | Security, GRC, HRM |
| Exposure Management | Security | Visibility and prioritisation of exposures | Assessment and management within agreed scope | Confirm coverage and escalation | Agree assessment, remediation and reporting responsibilities | MDR, GRC |
| Governance, Risk and Compliance | Security | Governance, risk treatment and compliance evidence | Advisory and managed activities by agreement | Confirm in the engagement | Confirm deliverables and review cadence | Security, advisory |
| Human Risk Management | Security | Awareness, behaviour and human-related security risks | Programmes scoped to users and risks | Confirm service and platform support | Agree measures and reporting | MDR, identity and email security |
| Public Cloud — Microsoft Azure | Cloud | Public-cloud planning, migration and operation | Azure services plus agreed blueAPACHE responsibilities | Confirm platform and provider responsibilities | Azure and managed-service commitments are distinct | Microsoft Practice, connectivity, backup |
| Azure Local | Cloud | Azure-connected infrastructure at agreed locations | Hardware, Azure services and management scoped together | Confirm component responsibilities | Confirm workload availability and recovery design | Microsoft Practice, backup, connectivity |
| Disaster Recovery as a Service | Cloud | Recovery of contracted workloads | emPOWER IT Continuity Services under the applicable Schedule | Confirm recovery support and invocation process | Agree RTO and RPO; Schedule 4 availability measures have separate conditions | Cloud, offsite backup |
| Offsite Backup as a Service | Cloud | Independent copies away from primary infrastructure | Backup scope, retention and restoration assistance agreed | Confirm support and restore arrangements | Agree backup intervals, retention and recovery expectations | Cloud, DRaaS |
| Private and Public SaaS Backup | Cloud | Protection of supported cloud-application data | Backup scope varies by application and agreement | Confirm restoration assistance and escalation | Agree covered data, retention and restore expectations | Microsoft Practice, identity backup |
| Storage as a Service — Private S3 | Cloud | Object storage and retention requirements | Agreed storage configuration and commercial model | Confirm in the agreement | Confirm durability, availability, retention and recovery requirements | Cloud, backup, connectivity |
| Core Network and Data Centre Interconnect | Connectivity | Connections between sites, cloud and data centres | Managed connectivity over the emPOWER Network | Published proactive 24/7 network monitoring | Confirm path-specific availability, latency and redundancy | SASE, Cloud |
| Microsoft Teams | Collaboration | Calling, meetings and teamwork | Microsoft licensing, telephony and integration as scoped | Confirm carrier, platform and managed support | Confirm the applicable services and dependencies | Microsoft Practice, connectivity |
| Zoom | Collaboration | Communications, meetings and contact-centre use cases | Products and integration selected for the engagement | Confirm platform and blueAPACHE support responsibilities | Confirm selected product and agreement | Connectivity, managed services |
| RingCentral | Collaboration | Cloud calling and communications | Advisory, design and delivery responsibilities agreed | Confirm geographic and product coverage | Confirm platform, carrier and managed-service commitments | Connectivity, collaboration |
Reading the support and service level columns
The Cloud brochure states 99.999 per cent uptime for cloud services and 100 per cent for storage. Connectivity material states a minimum 99.99 per cent site uptime tied to a redundant design with multiple carriers, media, CPE devices and high-availability firewalls, including dual firewalls and dual carriage at each site. Do not apply that figure automatically to a single-carrier design. Confirm each commitment, measurement window, exclusions and credit regime in the applicable Service Description and Schedule. emPOWER Managed Services advertises "Unlimited 24/7 support", while emPOWER Connectivity's service desk is "from 7am until 7pm on all business days" with 24x7 monitoring. These are service-specific windows; customers holding both should agree which support and escalation arrangements apply to each incident.
Contractually, only a commitment written under the heading "Service Level" in a Service Description is a Service Level (clause 1). Service Levels are measured with our tools, whose results are "final and binding on Customer" (clause 3.8), do not apply to the extent a Reasonable Excuse contributes to a failure (clause 3.7), and are switched off during a holdover period (clause 2.9). Any applicable service credit is defined in your service schedules.
Reading the delivery model column
Under the referenced general terms, the default is 36 months except for Professional Services, unless the Service Description or Service Order states otherwise. Fixed fees are generally monthly in advance; where usage-based billing is specified in the Service Order, payment is monthly in arrears subject to Minimum Spend, and usage may be rounded up to whole units. Confirm the actual commercial model for each service. Services delivered on shared infrastructure are subject to clause 5.1, under which we may update software and replace components without consent. Services that embed third party platforms (Teams, Zoom, RingCentral, Azure, Veeam, Mimecast) flow the vendor's terms down to the customer under clause 3.23 and allow third party price changes to be passed through under clause 12.5.
How services combine
The case studies show particular combinations rather than a universal customer stack. Archers took fixed-price emPOWER Managed Services with emPOWER Cloud IaaS, a managed private MPLS WAN with Fortinet security, Microsoft Teams calling and Intune. Honan Insurance took Managed Services, emPOWER Cloud, WAN, IaaS and DRaaS. The pathology provider combined STaaS with emPOWER Cloud and emPOWER Network connectivity. Lovisa's case describes emPOWER Voice advisory and a RingCentral deployment performed by Lovisa's own team. Sealy took international voice and data network design and management. See Industries and services matrix and Case study index.
Related
- Support and service levels
- Glossary
- How to work with us
- Industries and services matrix
- Services hub
- Vendor partners
Does the 99.99 per cent connectivity figure apply to every site?
No. The published Connectivity figure is conditional on the specified redundant site design. Confirm the service commitment for your carriers, media, CPE and firewalls.
Is support 24/7 for all services?
No. emPOWER Managed Services advertises unlimited 24/7 support and emPOWER Cloud states 24x7 support, but the emPOWER Connectivity service desk runs 7am to 7pm on business days with separate 24x7 monitoring. MDR is 24/7 for alerting, triage and remediation. Confirm other services' support windows in the applicable agreement.
Where are response and resolution times?
For Managed Services, a bespoke priority and escalation matrix is agreed with each customer. Request the applicable response and resolution targets and confirm which are contractual Service Levels rather than Compliance Targets.
What is the difference between Offsite Backup, SaaS Backup and DRaaS?
Offsite Backup keeps an independent copy of data away from primary infrastructure. SaaS Backup protects cloud application data beyond the platform's own retention. DRaaS (emPOWER IT Continuity Services) is a contracted restoration of Customer Data and Software to an agreed RTO and RPO. Confirm the RTO, RPO and restore obligations in each agreement; this comparison does not establish that no other service can include recovery-time commitments.
Which services are delivered on your own infrastructure?
emPOWER Cloud, the emPOWER Core Network, STaaS and the private cloud that hosts SaaS and Entra ID backups are described as owned and operated by us. Azure, Teams, Zoom and RingCentral involve vendor platforms; confirm which planning, migration, integration and support responsibilities are included in your blueAPACHE engagement.
Which pillar does SASE belong to?
Connectivity. emPOWER SASE is bundled into emPOWER Connectivity with SD-WAN, next-generation firewalls and the Cisco core, delivered over our own MPLS network. Confirm the support arrangements and any applicability of the conditional Connectivity uptime figure to the actual SASE deployment; the pillar name alone does not establish an inherited commitment.
Are the Microsoft Practice and Consulting pillars services or capabilities?
Both are service pillars. Microsoft Practice brings Microsoft expertise across cloud, collaboration, security, data and AI; confirm relevant current partner designations and engagement scope. Consulting and Advisory may be contracted as Professional Services under Schedule 1, which are excluded from the general 36-month default; the agreed Service Order determines the actual arrangement.
What contract term applies?
36 months from the Service Commencement Date for every service except Professional Services, unless the Service Description or Service Order states otherwise. Renewal periods are also 36 months unless we advise otherwise.
How do I know which Schedule governs a service?
Map the service to the eleven categories: Managed Services (2), Cloud IaaS (3), DRaaS (4), Network (5), Voice Carriage (6), Unified Communications (7), Mobile (8), Co-location (9), Software Licensing and Subscriptions (10), Hardware and Ancillary (11), Professional Services (1).