Microsoft partner CNI helped Save the Children Australia save $150k with Azure move

Microsoft certified gold partner CNI has moved not-for-profit Save the Children Australia's virtual machines to Microsoft Azure in 30 days.

Save the Children was established in Australia in 1919, with its first program aimed at early education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Save the Children had a total of 48 virtual machines running in a hosted data centre close to its Melbourne head office. The organisation was using a range of disparate business IT systems, including communications, service desk, payroll and CRM.

CNI has removed legacy environments, implemented Microsoft solutions, built some dedicated systems in Azure and was able to turn some unused applications off.

The organisation needed to find a way to make its IT processes more efficient and cost-effective. So far, the move to Azure has cut Save the Children's costs by 50 percent, which translates to $150,000 in annual savings in data centre and infrastructure costs that will be put towards helping the 17 percent of Australian children living under the poverty line.

Save the Children chief information officer Adrian Stagg said: "CNI has been extremely proactive and has stepped up to the plate on multiple occasions. They’ve been getting on with it, working with our partners and Microsoft to overcome hurdles and roadblocks, as well as working well with our team."

CNI suggested a three-step program to solve Save the Children’s data centre issues: establish an Azure presence and rapidly migrate all virtual machines from the existing data centre, optimise its services and the way they work together and provide continuous improvement and opportunities for scalability to accommodate both the current and future needs of the customer organisation.

CNI had to work closely with the previous provider, which proved challenging at times. CNI also used its expertise to migrate out-of-date software to Azure without requiring lengthy upgrade projects.

Save the Children's IT team is now able to focus on helpdesk and CRM as well as enhancing the organisation's use of these tools instead of trying to manage systems that do not serve a productive purpose.

CNI continues to work with Save the Children in order to enable some services to other offices, including overseas operations.

Save the Children has offices in Queensland, Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

CNI was established in 1999 as a Microsoft desktop deployment specialist.