Client : Keolis Downer
Industry : Transport
IT Support : Migration to Azure

Keolis Downer is Australia’s largest private provider of multi-modal public transport. They are the largest light rail operator in Australia and one of the nation’s most significant bus operators. Their operations combine world-leading expertise and in-depth local knowledge, drawing on the experience of Keolis, international operator and integrator of all mobility modes, and Downer, one of Australia and New Zealand’s leading providers of services to customers in markets including Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Industrial Engineering, Utilities Communications and Facilities.

Keolis Downer is the largest light rail operator in Australia, operating and maintaining Yarra Trams in Melbourne, G: link on the Gold Coast and the new Newcastle Light Rail. Keolis Downer is also the largest private multi-modal transport operator in the Southern Hemisphere with significant bus operations in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland, and is the operator of the new integrated public transport system in Newcastle. They also develop new forms of shared and customised mobility to answer local needs, such as demand-responsive transport services and autonomous vehicles.

» The Problem «

IT architecture problems and inadequate Disaster Recovery (DR)

Keolis Downer Bus division has been working with ITeam Consulting for over six years now. The close partnership allows for ITeam Consulting to provide alternate solutions for the companies’ future strategy. The two companies were keen to come up with a solution for the challenge of modernising a server fleet which was across three data centres in Australia and due for a hardware refresh. There was a need for enhancing the Disaster Recovery (DR) solution to reduce the risk and impact to the business of lengthy downtime within the dated solution that was in place. The design required an architecture refresh that provided flexibility to grow and deliver a robust Disaster Recovery solution without upfront over-investment risk while also maintaining an economical operating cost.

» The Solution «

Upgrade to Microsoft Azure = Huge cost savings

While legacy options to replace the hardware were considered, Microsoft’s solutions and features available in Azure met the demands of the expanding business and their requirements;

• Use remote desktops to remove the latency previously experienced by users.
• Provide Storage flexibility to grow.
• Enhanced Disaster Recovery.
• End the hardware replacement cycle.
• Greater visibility and control of systems

A tenancy in Azure was set up with a secure network connection into the existing network mesh. Azure Site Recovery (ASR) was used to migrate 20 existing Windows and Linux (to suit Line of Business) servers to Azure. Once systems were cut over, ASR was again used for DR in another Azure region.

The ITeam solution reduced the transition cost and eliminated the risk of replacing the existing hardware in the old Data Center while providing flexibility to grow without capacity limits. Reserved instances were used to reduce costs.

» The Outcomes «

Ongoing computer monitoring and improved Server Disaster Recovery

With ITeam’s monitoring systems we are able to identify and monitor costs at a granular level, leveraging PowerBI as a critical piece of the costing analysis. These tools also allow accurate budgeting for new server or service requirements in Azure. Moving from Capex to Opex allowed the business to manage its cost based on their current requirements. This flexibility is a double edge sword as the per hour cost on many Azure resources may lead to higher costs, but these are monitored and contained.

Server Disaster Recovery times now meet the business requirements reducing the previously 12 – 48 hours experience to 4 hours and in special cases down to 15 mins.

Azure’s Enterprise security systems are now available to Keolis Downer at significantly lower complexity and cost compared to what would have been required in their previous data centre environment. There is no longer the need to budget for hardware refresh of data centre equipment. Incremental project initiatives can be easily costed, without requiring scoping for new hardware/infrastructure and eliminating the ceiling on the server performance for additional projects.

Client Testimonial

The migration project was a big one for us and having ITeam manage this process so seamlessly and on time was a real comfort to us on the ground.  Any hurdles we came across, were worked through as a team, and the support ITeam provided was excellent.

– Maria Kneller, IT & Support Services Manager

Is your server disaster recovery adequate? Have you considered MS Azure?

ITeam Consulting offers IT solutions designed to give business owners and managers peace of mind, you can ‘sleep easy’ knowing that your IT department is working around the clock, keeping the business infrastructure running. No surprises.

Our corporate IT services include :

IT Project Management
At ITeam, we have delivered many successful projects to our clients for over 19 years. A key difference with us is that the Solutions Architect, that envisions and designs your solution is also involved with the Project Manager to ensure we deliver what was agreed. This ensures total transparency and delivery throughout the process, as opposed to other IT providers who simply make a sale then hand-off to the team that implements it.

Managed IT Services
Managed services, outsourced IT, whatever you want to call it, we package solutions to meet your needs and exceed your expectations. Our Managed IT Services either complement your internal specialists or can deliver your total IT Services at a lower cost than if you had your own dedicated IT staff. You will have access to a team of specialists with a broad range of skills and experience, who keep up to date with the latest features and techniques to ensure your systems are providing increased benefit to your staff.

IT Procurement Services
ITeam can manage the full life cycle of your IT assets. Your IT assets are not just the physical devices you can touch, they also include maintenance or service agreements, warranties, domain names, web hosting and many more categories. Don’t ever miss renewing something critical to your business. We track all types of items in our system, get automated reminders for expiry and can report on the status or pending renewals at any time.

IT System and Computer Security
ITeam Consulting implements security solutions to protect your business from threats that are not just from hackers. Breaches to your environment are more likely to occur through users being tricked via email or unknowingly accessing compromised infected websites.

Computer and IT Consultancy
As the size and nature of your business changes, so will the needs of your IT systems. Our Consulting Services will architect solutions whether your systems are on-premise, in a data-centre or in the cloud.

Computer and IT Support
We will deal with your day to day IT support, while also providing long-term strategic input into your IT requirements. We monitor systems remotely to ensure that everything is working correctly and when issues are detected, we make sure they are fixed before they turn into problems.

More information

If you already have comfort with your current IT Services partner, then congratulations! Otherwise, contact us to arrange for a no-obligation review of your environment. We offer 24/7 computer support and after hours emergency assistance.

Telephone : 1300 180 000
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