Guardian Strata Microsoft ModernBiz Makeover

BackgroundGuardian Strata, based in Sydney, NSW, is a small company focusing on strata management. It has a group of dedicated and hardworking employees but the workforce have been held back by outdated technology at the front-end and back-end of its operations.

With business booming, Guardian Strata reached a point where it desperately needed to replace its technology in order to continue its growth trajectory.

Guardian Strata Management ModernBiz – Lenovo Hardware | 1CASE STUDY

The Challenge

Like most businesses, Guardian Strata simply did not have the time, capital or expertise to upgrade its existing hardware and software infrastructure technol-ogy. The company needed to bring its outdated hardware into the 21st century as staff struggled to keep up with the workload because the existing hardware technology in the office let them down time and time again.

For one, Guardian Strata was using IT equipment that was over 12 years old and plagued with issues such as failing hard drives and broken fans. Desktops, still on Windows XP, were so loud that when they were in use it sounded like a Boeing 747 was landing.

Servers were also running on Windows Server 2003, which is over a decade old.

Being a strata management company, it was also important that staff were able to access work systems remotely while in the field and they were unable to do so on their archaic IT infrastructure. Many employees were figuratively chained to their desk as a result, which severely impacted productivity.

The combination of technical problems led to poor performance and staff were constantly frustrated.

Lenovo Steps up to Overhaul Existing Hardware & offer an End-to-End Solution to Transform Business

Lenovo has a wide range of solutions to give small businesses enter-prise-grade performance at a fraction of the cost. This is particularly important for SMBs that have limited budgets but need to futureproof their business, exactly what Guardian Strata needed for its growing organisation.

As part of Microsoft’s ModernBiz technology makeover program, Lenovo be-came the hardware provider for Guardian Strata.

Across the office, Lenovo and business partner XCentral rolled out the follow-ing hardware and software to transform Guardian Strata’s IT infrastructure.

Hardware

“Speed and mobility has been facilitated by the laptops provided to staff and has allowed them to improve their relationships with clients as they can use their laptops in meetings to conveniently address issues on the spot.”

— Ossie Pisanu, Managing Director, Guardian Strata

DESKTOPS (8 in total)

8 x Lenovo ThinkPad Tiny M900 Tiny 8 x Levovo Wireless Keyboard & Mouse 8 x Lenovo Warranty 8 x Lenovo TinyPC Vesa bracket 1 x Lenovo USB DVD External Drive

LAPTOPS (7 in total)

7 x Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon i5 7 x Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2 x ThinkPad Helix

DOCKING (7 in total, for the X1 Carbons)

7 x ThinkPad OneLink Dock - Midnight Black – for X1 Carbons

SCREENS (15 in total for desk-tops and laptops)

14 x Lenovo Monitor 24” 1 x Lenovo Monitor 28”

Guardian Strata Management ModernBiz – Lenovo Hardware | 2CASE STUDY

The ageing desktops were replaced by eight Lenovo ThinkCentre Tiny PCs with 15 monitors. The ThinkCentre Tiny features support up to three monitors at once through its multiple monitor display, perfect for the finance department who were tracking small details across multiple spreadsheets. The Super-Speed USB 3.0 also enabled Guardian Strata to transfer files up to 10 times faster than they were previously able to, significantly cutting waiting and admin time across the office.

To complement the ThinkCentre Tiny, Lenovo provided seven ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptops to ensure Guardian Strata was able to retain its mobility. Made from satellite-grade carbon fibre, the device is exceptionally thin and light, weighing in at just 1.28kg yet strong enough to withhold testing to military specification, making it the ultimate portable laptop. The business class securi-ty with options for biometric logins and nine hour-plus battery life lends itself to both office and offsite work for Guardian Strata employees.

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon was integrated into the office through the HDMI-en-abled ThinkPad OneLink Dock. Four USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports support rapid file transfers to hard drives while a Gigabit Ethernet port connects the device to high speed internet. To make sure those working in Insurance Claims can also transfer and view high-res video from their laptop on their monitor, the OneLink technology delivers data, driver-free video through a single connector.

For the repairs and maintenance, mobility and agility were critical factors in choosing hardware to ensure they could maintain ease-of-access to Guardian Strata’s file servers when they were offsite, and also present information to clients. The 2-in-1 Lenovo ThinkPad Helix 2 provided the convenience and portability of a tablet but with the power of a full PC. With 12 hours of battery life and 4G connectivity, the ThinkPad Helix 2 is enables Guardian Strata to maintain complete access and visibility no matter where they are.

For the backend, Lenovo provided Guardian Strata with its System x 3500. With a small footprint and high energy efficiency, it was the perfect choice for the small business as it is cheaper to run and is physically compact.

The standout feature of the Lenovo System x 3500 server is the flexibility of being able to easily add and reconfigure storage as needed, which means Guardian Strata can accommodate for future growth. It also provides out-standing performance for the company’s business critical applications.

The rigorous demands of its servers from Guardian Strata are mirrored across Lenovo’s wider customer base. Recent research from independent industry body Technology Business Research in Q1 highlighted that Lenovo System x servers are highly regarded by customers in meeting demand for hardware quality; reliability; performance; virtualization, efficiency, scalability and pur-chase price.

“Our technology problems were a major inhibitor in growing our business. An updated IT system allows us to focus on our expansion as well reducing our overall spend on maintenance and short-term patches for failing hardware.”

— Ossie Pisanu, Managing Director, Guardian Strata

ThinkPad X1 Carbon

X3500

Guardian Strata Management ModernBiz – Lenovo Hardware | 3CASE STUDY

Results

Since the implementation of Lenovo hardware Guardian Strata has reduced its server downtime by over 20 percent. It has also saved significant levels of time usually spent on upkeep and maintenance on its aged fleet enabling the business to take on 10 new strata management contracts.

Watch Gaurdian Strata’s small business makover: http://www.modernbiz.com.au/

To learn more about how Lenovo can help your business visit: www.thinkfwd.com.au www.thinkfwd.co.nz

“Ingrained IT problems become the elephant in the room for business – they know it’s there but it’s often perceived as too difficult and expensive to fix. By evaluating our old hardware situation it ultimately enabled us to look at the long-term benefits it would have on our business and bottom line.”

— Ossie Pisanu, Managing Director, Guardian Strata

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Guardian Strata Management ModernBiz – Lenovo Hardware | 4CASE STUDY