Tigerair tells channel, commitment is key

Tell us about a recent project that required an external IT provider

Replacing our existing managed service provider with Harbour IT was a key one. The move to Harbour IT’s cloud-based environment is a big step forward and will transition Tigerair Australia’s existing IT infrastructure into a highly available tier one operation.

Another one was our Microsoft Dynamic AX migration project where we brought all of the systems and processes back in-house from Singapore. It was a very involved and engaging process.

How can an IT supplier win your business?

They must deliver on and articulate our requirements. Some vendors can become salesmen. Those who interact with you on the ground can make all the difference – when they understand your business model and take an interest. That is a key differentiator. Others are just pushing box products.

Isn’t it all about price?

Price is a key factor at Tigerair, especially being low cost. We need to be innovative.

When was the last time an IT provider impressed you?

Harbour IT have been terrific, a really easy vendor to work with. It is not without its challenges, but it is a partnership. There will always be challenges along the way. People have misconceptions that vendor relationships will always be perfect but you need to work at it to make it good. Both parties must commit. You might have issues where someone has dropped the ball – it is how you recover and engage from there. When you are looking at an outsourced model, you need to see them as an extension of your IT department.

What common mistakes do IT providers make?

They misinterpret requirements by not listening to the client actively and intently. They are just trying to sell something and miss the mark entirely. I find that overcooking the budget for project delivery will speak to a lack of understanding of the project.

How is the cloud affecting investments?

If anything, it is helping. Everything is being expensed month to month, so whether scaling up, down, inward or outward, you have full line of sight of all costs. Typically, where you have on-premise, you are depreciating over a three- to five-year period. Imagine you are only using 20 percent capacity; when you consider total cost of ownership, you are not getting the value out of your investment. Cloud lets you get what you need and only pay for what you use and it has matured considerably over the years, addressing key pricing and data sovereignty concerns.

Is your use of external IT companies increasing or decreasing?

We are consolidating and decreasing. We want to ensure that we maintain strategic vendor relationships where vendor selection is aligned to a specific need, but where we can find synergies.