Software integration company Simpl Group has outsourced its IT infrastructure to CodeBlue, implementing a leading edge Cloud-based outsourcing strategy that sees CodeBlue taking over all levels of support for Simpl Group's 91 servers, as well as in-house support including provision of a full Help Desk service.

Simpl Group's CEO, Bennett Medary, says the CodeBlue contract replaces a third level support agreement with Integral Axon. Internal IT support staff have been either redeployed or hired by CodeBlue as part of the outsourcing contract.

"From a strategic viewpoint it's about focus," Medary says. "Technology companies such as ours often fail to follow their own advice and outsource activities which are not central nor strategic to the value we offer our customers."

"We thought that it could be liberating to take our IT infrastructure and outsource it to someone who specialises in service and support; freeing us to focus on the things we do which add real value for customers."

Medary says that other New Zealand IT companies could benefit from a reality check with regard to how they go about servicing and supporting their own IT infrastructures.

"I think that because our customers tend to be large corporates and large Government departments, we tend to take on the mindset of those customers and think in big and complex terms. But we - and our colleagues in the IT business - are actually mid-sized businesses. We don't have thousands of staff, we have hundreds. We don't have hundreds of millions in revenue, we have tens of millions.

"With around 200 IT 'seats' we're right in the sweet spot for CodeBlue's IT infrastructure services. It makes sense to us to outsource to CodeBlue just as it would for any other organisation of a similar size. "We've kept in-house only what we need to support our customers' business."

Medary says IT companies find it embarrassing to hire another IT company to look after their support.

"But it makes sense. We get known and agreed service levels, fixed costs, and more consistent and better depth of cover from a company which specialises in providing those things. Instead of having an internal IT department comprising five people including an IT support manager, we've now got CodeBlue."

Medary says moving to CodeBlue is an operational decision which is just one outcome of a strategic repositioning of Simpl Group. Instead of being a broad IT services company, Simpl Group is now highly specialised around software development and integration. Simpl's business is about facilitating information flow between applications and between organisations. This requires a very sophisticated software development capability, but it also requires in-depth domain expertise. One example of this focussed expertise is Health. Simpl is the lead solution partner for Microsoft's international Health Framework and a key part of Microsoft's global solution set in this market. Another major recent success in the Health market is an electronic pharmacy system developed for the Australian health system which enables any doctor to create an online script which can be filled in any pharmacy, with all the associated tracking and safety features that this level of integration enables.

"Our future, our intellectual property, is all about complex integration within organisations and between organisations, helping make difficult and complex interactions simple for individual users to build communities of interest and cooperation. Our future is not about the soup and nuts of servicing and maintaining our own IT infrastructure," Medary says.

CodeBlue's General Manager Ian Funnell says Simpl Group represents more than just a major new strategic customer for CodeBlue.

"We're obviously delighted to have such a great vote of confidence in our ability to fully outsource such a highly sophisticated virtualised IT infrastructure, supporting a customer for which the IT infrastructure is absolutely mission-critical to their business.

"Simpl, with 91 virtual servers in the Cloud, is New Zealand's largest Microsoft Hyper V site. The servers support Simpl's internal systems as well as their customer development environments. Being in the Cloud means we can quickly and easily build new servers to fill spikes in demand, and also decrease server capacity so they pay for only what they need. CodeBlue's proactive monitoring service runs a standard toolset across all of Simpl's servers and workstations with a customised set of alerts and actions geared to Simpl's requirements.

"The work we're doing for Simpl, and the confidence that Simpl is placing in that work, is a great reference for the sophistication and quality of our services and our people. Simpl provides a great showcase for CodeBlue's ability to handle all of a medium-sized company's IT infrastructure needs - no matter how complex their business and the technology that supports their business," Ian Funnell said.