1. business and industrial

Business growth
sparks IT rethink for
R Redpath Limited
A top to bottom re-engineering of R Redpath Limited’s (Redpaths)
IT systems by CodeBlue Christchurch has transformed the
South Island electrical wholesaler’s business. The company’s
operating costs have reduced, network speed and functionality
have improved and the whole system is now much more
secure, with high levels of disaster resiliency and data security.
Redpaths has a solid, reliable IT set up and an ongoing, flexible
planning process to ensure the IT network will evolve to meet the
company’s changing business needs over time.
“We particularly acknowledge
and applaud CodeBlue’s
patience and their
understanding of our business
and our needs during the
planning and implementation
phases. The transition to our
new system was an extremely
smooth process. Ongoing
support has been consistent
and professional. We look
forward to a long and mutually
beneficial partnership with the
whole Codeblue team.”
Brent Cameron
Operations Director,
R Redpath Limited
CodeBlue helps Redpaths make a good business better
Established in Christchurch in 1945 as a family business,
R Redpath Limited (Redpaths) is a leading South Island
independent electrical supplier, with branches from Nelson
to Invercargill. Strong growth in business demand was
putting increasing pressure on the company’s 200 seat
IT system and network.
“Redpaths expanded rapidly in the early 2000s and our systems
were just band-aided to keep the business going,” says Redpaths’
Operations Director Brent Cameron. “Our focus was on immediate
customer service rather than internal systems. No thought was
given to the potential future problems we would face.”
including a Windows 2000 Server machine, were upgraded
to a fully hosted Windows Server 2012 environment. A Microsoft
Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) gives Redpaths
a single fee for Microsoft apps with automatic upgrades.
A managed WAN with fibre on all sites from Kiwi-owned ISP Snap
was installed. This included a fully integrated Mitel VOIP system
replacing the existing phone systems. Trade customers and partners
were switched to a 2degrees mobile solution, integrated with Snap
and offering high speed with lower operating costs. Customers
and partners were rapidly transferred with a simple SIM card
changeover and no disruption to normal business.
Redpaths’ printing needs were reviewed, resulting
A decade later, those ‘potential
“We were very careful in our selection of a new IT in a new solution from the company’s incumbent
future problems’ were
services partner. We wanted a partner capable
provider delivering a mix of large new MFD printers
surfacing: Redpaths’ network
of advising us at a strategic level, but also with
and personal printers at head office and branches,
was slow, particularly in the
a proven track record of high quality day-to-day with higher quality and output for a much lower
bandwidth delivered to mobile
support. CodeBlue has delivered.”
monthly operating fee.
trade customers, which use
Brent
Cameron,
Operations
Director,
R
Redpath
Limited
the company’s mobile platform
CodeBlue’s data resiliency and layered security
under an umbrella scheme for
solutions were implemented, delivering disk
mobile communications. Windows 2000 Server was well overdue
and tape backup and full failover in the cloud. The layered security
for an upgrade, as were the desktops and servers throughout the
solution incorporates SMX for inbound and outbound email security,
organisation. Data resiliency in terms of management of backups
Fortinet’s FortiGate for firewall management, and a full local
and disaster recovery provisions was inadequate. Data security,
workstation and cloud server antivirus and malware solution.
in terms of protecting the data from both internal and external
Data resiliency and layered security are monitored and managed
threats, was not well managed. Phone systems were ageing
as part of the CodeBlue managed services contract.
and not well integrated with the network. Printing – a significant
CodeBlue’s national service desk provides single point proactive
cost – was not being handled efficiently.
and reactive monitoring and fault resolution for all of Redpaths’
“Overall, although our system worked, we could see that
hardware and software, including first call logging of all third
there were things we needed to fix urgently, such as delivering
party contracted services. CodeBlue’s Stella knowledge base
faster system performance to our trade customers. But we
provides CodeBlue’s service desk staff with a continually updated
were unsure about the cost benefits and the risks involved,”
management environment to enable calls to be resolved quickly,
Brent Cameron recalls.
including third party escalation when necessary.
Partnering with CodeBlue put those concerns to rest and gave
Redpaths’ managed services contract provides for high levels
Redpaths an organised approach to building a strategic IT plan
of day-to-day support and encompasses continuous review
which managed risks while rolling out changes designed to deliver
and improvement through the CodeBlue Technology Roadmap
maximum benefits to the business.
IT strategic planning process.
“CodeBlue’s CIO-driven IT Strategic Planning process was
“The results speak for themselves,” says Brent Cameron.
employed to review Redpaths’ IT systems and overall business
“Our overall operating costs have reduced. The speed and
situation before making recommendations for a solution
functionality of our network have dramatically improved,
exactly tailored to the company’s needs,” says CodeBlue
with support calls now down from over 60 per month to just nine
Christchurch Virtual CIO and Redpaths Account Manager
per month. We also have a much more secure system with high
Mike Tarjomi. “We audited the existing system and developed
levels of disaster resiliency and data security. And we have
a roadmap with set goals for Redpaths to achieve within a one,
an ongoing planning process in place so that we can continue
two and five‑year timeframe,” he says.
to evolve our IT network as the business changes.
Based on that roadmap CodeBlue, helmed by Mike Tarjomi and
Trusted Advisor Graham Millar, commenced with a top to bottom
re‑engineering of the company’s IT infrastructure. Servers were
moved to the cloud and consolidated from 12 to eight. Desktop
systems were standardised and replace. Various servers,
“The transition to our new system has been an extremely smooth
process. CodeBlue’s professionalism, consistent support and
problem solving has been invaluable. We look forward to a long
and mutually beneficial partnership with the whole Codeblue team,”
Brent Cameron says.
About CodeBlue
CodeBlue is a locally-owned IT services company with around 150 staff working from offices in Auckland,
Hamilton, Tauranga, Hawkes Bay, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Invercargill. CodeBlue’s
value proposition is to help customers extract maximum value from their IT investment by delivering
the most cost-effective IT infrastructure: one which is tightly managed through each phase of the IT
infrastructure lifecycle. CodeBlue offers IT managed services for a fixed monthly price, optimised for
mid-sized companies and organisations, with highly flexible customised service level agreements.
Every CodeBlue customer is supported by a Trusted Advisor who coordinates both IT strategy through
a Technology Roadmap process, and day-to-day support. Backing up CodeBlue’s technical consultants
out in the field is a highly sophisticated support infrastructure, including service desk and remote
monitoring and diagnosis software tools. www.codeblue.co.nz
For sales enquiries, call 0508 IT service (0508 48 73 78)
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