Situation
The St Marys Rugby League Club is a top 20 club in New South Wales: an entertainment and community venue with a rich history, 40,000 members and a staff of 150. From dining to major events, the club offers its members a range of entertainment options, with its facilities open almost around the clock.
After a Brennan review and upgrade of its IT platforms (including the introduction of Microsoft Exchange, new server hardware and a new network switching infrastructure) St Marys found they were able to streamline their operations and reduce their internal support team to just one in-house technician. However with the club’s need for 24/7 IT support, St Marys made the decision to outsource their IT support needs to Brennan and at the same time enjoy further efficiencies.
St Marys’ Finance Manager, Belinda Kay, says the decision to outsource was an easy one as it met St Marys requirement for around the clock support.
Solution
St Marys signed on to Brennan’s Ultimate Care solution – a flexible, proactive and on-call support package delivered for a fixed monthly fee.
Through Ultimate Care, Brennan provides a 24/7 service the club can use as needed to support its systems’ operations, from its desktop, email and IT services, to its gaming and retail facilities. Under the package, Brennan provides proactive monitoring of the club’s systems – keeping watch on the club’s services and ensuring that service levels guaranteed under the agreement are met.
“Using Ultimate Care we get the support we need when we need it,” says Belinda. “Brennan’s technical service is highly skilled and very responsive. Both their familiarity with our systems and their approach to problem resolution is excellent.
Benefits
For the St Marys Rugby League Club, the greatest benefit of Brennan’s Ultimate Care service is 24/7 support. “As an organisation with facilities that are open up to twenty hours a day, having Brennan on-hand to support our critical systems allows us to operate with confidence,” says Belinda.
Beyond support, St Marys also uses Brennan as a technical adviser and advocate. “We’ve taken advantage of Brennan’s expertise by using them as an informed ‘middle man’ between ourselves and other technology vendors, including those behind our gaming and retail systems,” says Belinda.
Brennan’s wide technical knowledge also means that St Marys is able to consult before investing in new IT products and services – ensuring that new solutions are a good fit for St Marys’ needs. Most recently, this has included exploring the option of an internet monitoring platform to ensure its network is completely protected.
Above all, Belinda says that Brennan’s service has been responsive with a strong focus on St Marys business needs. As an example, she cites the recent failure of St Marys internet connection. “Our ISP was not only down but also failing to answer our calls. Rather than have us continue with an ISP we couldn’t rely on, Brennan were quickly able to provide a new, managed internet connection within 24 hours to get us back online.”
In conclusion, Belinda declares that the decision to outsource has delivered St Marys the continuous support it needs. “Under Ultimate Care, the service Brennan has provided has been responsive, business focused and good value for money – all at a fixed monthly cost,” she says. “We’d recommend them to anyone looking to outsource their technology needs.”
