Chris Marshall (blueAPACHE)
Managed services provider (MSP) blueAPACHE has scored a three-year managed services contract extension for not-for-profit (NFP) social justice organisation the Brotherhood of St. Laurence (BSL).
BSL was founded in 1930 and provides critical services for vulnerable Australians, such as aged care, disability and health services, as well as job recruitment, consultation and training and help for refugees and migrants, among other offerings.
The agreement with blueAPACHE extends an existing five-year partnership between the two parties, with the MSP claiming it will enable BSL to expand its outreach and support services.
“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,” said BSL senior manager for ICT Jason Atkinson.
“This new agreement means we can continue to work with a trusted organisation that truly understands our operations.”
The new agreement is set to cover a bevvy of projects, including a migration to the cloud, with Atkinson anticipation the move to be complete 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.”
The agreement is also set to cover the commission of a national WAN solution and management of BSL’s existing infrastructure and VoIP telephony system, infrastructure management and the expansion of Microsoft Teams throughout the organisation.
In addition, the MSP is also to continue developing BSL’s security operations, provide ongoing management of its fleet of mobile devices, refine its data management capabilities and will facilitate a hardware repurposing program in partnership with HPE.
Rodney Weston, BSL’s acting director of finance, strategy and operations, added the MSP agreement extension will enable the organisation to improve on its services.
“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.”
blueAPACHE expanding BSL’s use of Microsoft Teams is understandable, as the MSP’s founder and managing director Chris Marshall said to ARN in March that Microsoft has been a strategic partner for it since its inception.
“The Microsoft technology stack is both an integral component to the solutions that we bring to market and in cases are the core of the solutions,” he said at the time.
“Enabling our teams to design, deliver and support market leading solutions requires a continued investment in the partnership.”
