We’ve now been able to divert the IT team's time to better value-add projects, rather than dealing with people's handsets.
- Information Services and Technology Manager
Caring for both the community and their unique environment, New Zealand's Regional Councils are always exploring ways to better their efficiency.
The Information Services and Technology Manager of a North Island based Regional Council, spoke to us about their forward-thinking approach to adopting technology. Here's how Spark's Mobility as a Service (MaaS) helped manage their mobiles with no fuss.
The organisation’s grown by around 20% in the last two years – now over 250 employees strong. So having a relatively small IT team of 12 tasked with taking care of the technological needs of the entire organisation, means broad expertise is required across the board, rather than having specialised roles. And as the organisation grew, the IT team weren’t able to continue providing the same level of service.
Between managing budgets, fluctuating numbers and making sure everyone was set up with the tech they needed when they needed it – the IT department had bigger things to worry about than managing individual mobile plans and devices. But getting that support externally meant handing over control, which takes trust. That’s where Spark came in.
“My role is around where we’re going strategically. What are the right technologies to be working on? What security posture should we have? How can we support our team to do what they need to do? And how can we spend our budget better, so we’re not just doing the same stuff we’ve always done?”
Flexibility and agility are must-haves for any organisation's digital transformation. Before the Regional Council took up Mobility as a Service, it was up to the IT team to manage all the organisation’s hardware, which wasn’t efficient. But now, whenever deciding which technology solutions are right for them, three key criteria are always considered:
Add value without adding complexity
Adopt the technology, rather than adapt it
Make the right thing the easiest thing to do
Along with deciding to move to cloud-based applications, and shifting their server to a local data centre, the team were intrigued to see how an 'as a service' mobility model could work for them.
With several devices reaching end-of-life, the Regional Council could either replace them all – which could be costly, or find another solution. Given the benefits of renting tech as and when they needed it, plus having an around-the-clock support window, Mobility as a Service was a great fit.
Learn how your business can also benefit from MaaS.
Contact usThis Regional Council managed a number of civil defence responses throughout 2020, including COVID-19 testing, lockdown and a drought. So they needed the ability to bring a number of additional workers on quickly, for short term contracts. So the flexibility to add new devices, then scale back as necessary, was essential.
With their organisation working remotely throughout the nationwide lockdown, MaaS allowed them to easily get the right devices into the right hands, at the right time.
"We needed to order a mobile to be delivered to one of our team members who was residing out of the region. They unboxed it, turned it on and away they went."
- Information Services and Technology Manager
After getting onboard Mobility as a Service in 2019, the Information Services and Technology Manager says the key benefit their organisation experienced, has been the ability to save time and take away the noise. "We've now been able to divert the IT team's time to better value-add projects. Rather than dealing with people's handsets."
If you're looking for an all in one solution to take care of your organisation's everchanging mobile needs, get in touch.
*Six-month minimum rental term on devices. Currently only selected Samsung devices available. Minimum 100 connections.
