Two related construction and trades businesses had shared one ageing IT environment for years, an arrangement that limited how independently either one could operate, secure itself or grow. A dedicated Microsoft Azure landing zone for each business, built on Brennan's Cloud Adoption Framework-aligned approach, has changed that, giving each one its own governed, benchmarked and independently secured environment.
Several related businesses had long shared one on-premises IT environment, limiting each one's ability to secure its own systems, manage its own devices and make its own platform decisions independently. Ageing hardware and virtualisation licensing were also approaching end of life.
Brennan built a dedicated Azure landing zone for each business, aligned to Microsoft's Cloud Adoption Framework, behind a Fortinet-secured hub-and-spoke network and Microsoft's own security stack.
Each business now runs on its own independently governed Azure environment, benchmarked against the ACSC Essential Eight and Australian Government ISM PROTECTED frameworks from the outset, with the shared datacentre dependency in its final stages of retirement.
This Australian construction and trades group operates across several related businesses, employing several hundred people at multiple sites. Historically, those businesses shared a single, on-premises IT environment, an arrangement that had served them well for years but was starting to limit each business's ability to manage its own security, devices and platform choices independently.
Ageing hardware and virtualisation licensing nearing end of life added a firm deadline to an already overdue conversation about separating the two environments properly.
This national engineering and asset advisory firm's managed hosting arrangement was in its final renewal year, and CAD-heavy engineering teams working from offices across the country were already feeling the effects of ageing, latency-prone infrastructure. A single, coordinated move onto a Microsoft-native Azure environment has changed that.
A managed services contract with the firm's long-standing hosting provider was in its final renewal year, with a hard expiry date. Underneath that deadline sat real technical debt: ageing, latency-prone infrastructure and an endpoint estate that was starting to hold back CAD-heavy engineering teams working from offices across the country.
Brennan designed and delivered a single, sequenced transformation, led by an Azure landing zone built to Microsoft's Cloud Adoption Framework, alongside a modernised endpoint fleet, cloud file storage and a modern voice and network layer, moving the firm fully off its legacy provider and onto a Microsoft-native stack managed by Brennan.
The firm exited its legacy hosting arrangement on schedule and now runs on an Azure landing zone managed by Brennan day-to-day. Brennan has since expanded the relationship, delivering a further Azure environment build-out under an ongoing managed services partnership.
This national engineering and asset advisory firm provides consulting, design and project delivery services to infrastructure and property clients across Australia, employing 300+ staff from offices in every mainland state, with its head office in Adelaide.
CAD, GIS and other bandwidth-intensive engineering tools are everyday tools of the trade for the firm's teams, making network and endpoint performance a genuine productivity factor rather than a nice-to-have.
Facing challenges with an outdated SharePoint intranet that lacked engagement and structure, Skillinvest, a leading not-for-profit employment and training organisation, needed a modern, user-friendly, and cost-effective platform to serve as a central hub for internal communication and document management. Our team delivered a reimagined SharePoint solution with structured training and change management, ensuring smooth adoption. The result: a highly engaged workforce, streamlined information access, and a scalable foundation for future digital transformation initiatives.
Skillinvest’s outdated SharePoint intranet was failing to engage staff, making it difficult to share information, store documents, and communicate internally. With a workforce of varying technical skills, they needed a simple, intuitive solution that wouldn’t require extensive training. As a not-for-profit organisation, budget constraints were also a key consideration, making it essential to find an effective yet cost-efficient way to modernise their intranet without custom development.
To address Skillinvest’s needs, we implemented a reimagined SharePoint intranet with a user-friendly design, structured document storage, and clear permissions for different teams. A tailored training program and change management strategy ensured staff adoption, helping them understand and embrace the new platform. The solution was built with mobile and desktop compatibility, allowing employees to easily access news, policies, and resources from anywhere. By keeping it streamlined and scalable, we delivered a cost-effective platform that met all their requirements.
Skillinvest’s new SharePoint intranet became a central hub for internal communication, improving engagement and streamlining document management. Staff can now easily access announcements, policies, and key resources, significantly reducing inefficiencies. The structured file system and permissions improved collaboration while ensuring compliance. With strong user adoption and a seamless transition, the project was delivered on time and within budget, laying a solid foundation for future enhancements such as real-time reporting and advanced collaboration tools.
Skillinvest provides education, employment and training solutions across multiple industries, including Automotive, Building and Construction, Agriculture, and Business. As a not-for-profit, they are deeply embedded in the communities they serve, supporting students, apprentices, and businesses. Their existing SharePoint intranet, implemented in 2018, was outdated, hard to navigate, and underutilised. Staff struggled to locate critical documents, leading to inefficiencies. Skillinvest sought a modern intranet that was easy to use, cost-effective, and could support their operational needs.
“The transformation of our intranet has been a game-changer for Skillinvest. Our staff now have a central, easy-to-use platform that enhances communication and simplifies access to key information. The training and support provided ensured a smooth transition, and the adoption rate has been fantastic.”
Jason Maybery
Chief Financial Officer, Skillinvest
Elanor Investors Group (Elanor) is an ASX listed Australian real estate funds management business which has been managing over $2.5 billion of assets across Australia and New Zealand since 2009. Their key objective is to identify and originate real estate backed investments that deliver strong returns for both Elanor’s funds management capital partners and security holders. The business was relying on a combination of dated on-premises infrastructure and private cloud, which was being undermanaged by a third-party service provider. As a financial services company, reducing operational risk and maintaining a high level of governance and security is a key focus area. Elanor needed a reliable system, along with an IT partner that would help create and deliver a technology strategy to support the business and align with their strategic objectives. Looking for a reliable foundation to ensure greater security, responsiveness and flexibility – the business made the decision to migrate its infrastructure to Azure and called on the team at Brennan for support.
The IT environment and support structure that was set up previously was no longer meeting the business’ requirements of today, specifically in the areas of business continuity, risk management, proactive engagement and employee productivity.
Transition to Azure cloud and Modern Workplace, designed, built and managed by the team at Brennan.
A transformed environment, enhanced productivity, reliable support and improved security posture with a bolstered business continuity process. The solution has also improved the business’ corporate governance and reduced their risk from technology.