NZ Blood Service's vital work underpinned by hybrid cloud
A combination of public and private cloud services implemented by Datacom has given NZ Blood Service the perfect mix of scalability, security, cost control and fast deployment.
Our commitment to community starts with our own people — we want everyone to feel empowered to bring their whole self to work and to know they will be valued for their unique, diverse perspectives.
For Datacom, being committed to our communities is also about helping to create and connect people with new opportunities. We also believe we have a responsibility to the communities where we live and work to find ways to support greater equity in the tech sector — both through greater access to technology and education, and by creating more pathways into a career in tech.
We have developed a range of career development initiatives such as our early careers programme, TalentX, Connect Academy, free courses available via a virtual work experience platform, and we are a partner for many other training and mentoring programmes including providing mentoring and internships for First Foundation, Tuputoa, Take2, Mission Ready, the Kokiri accelerator, AWS re/Start, #10kWahine, North & South Metro TAFE, RMIT, UNSW, Indigenous Development Employment Programme and MEGT.
We are committed to supporting our communities and responding where we see a need and the Datacom Foundation is an example of this commitment.
Another way we support our communities is to lend our support to not-for-profits and to get in behind fundraising campaigns and initiatives each year including Lifewise, Homeless Connect, the PJ Project, ThinkUKnow and STEPtember.
Datacom has joined forces with First Foundation as a partner and has welcomed its five sponsored 2022 scholars – Ryley Gray (Tainui, Tākawira Dargaville), Brady Wilson (Ngai Tahu, Ōtautahi Christchurch), Emily Roxburgh (Papatoetoe), Deago Tataurangi (Rangitane, Papatoetoe), and Arno Stil (Pōneke Wellington) – as they embark on their work experience placements across the business.
It has also recently welcomed its two 2023 scholars, Grace Fa’ave (Māngere) and Taranaki Te Hauora (Porirua), at the annual First Foundation awards ceremony for scholarship recipients.
For Datacom, joining forces with First Foundation made perfect sense, says Technology Services Managing Director Justin Gray.
“We were really impressed by First Foundation’s proven track record, and we want to be part of creating really meaningful opportunities that will have a lasting impact on these young people and their communities,” says Justin. “Offering four years of holistic support, the First Foundation model is not just a one-off – this is a programme creating real, lasting change in people’s lives.”
Online safety programme ThinkUKnow helps protect children from exploitation while online, and is reaching thousands of students, families and educators every year.
Datacom has been a critical ThinkUKnow partner for a decade, providing both volunteers to facilitate the programme and technical support and capability.
Datacom promotes opportunities to deliver ThinkUKnow presentations among its staff, and sets annual targets for volunteer numbers and presentation-training attendance to ensure a consistent number of volunteers. Since the inception of ThinkUKnow, the programme has doubled its number of registered volunteers enabling it to grow its reach.
Greg Furlong, Datacom’s General Manager, PSG Innovation and Growth Practices, is among those who have put up their hand to deliver ThinkUKnow presentations.
“That first-hand experience has made me really passionate about getting involved, and preventing this from happening to other people. I believe encouraging conversations between parents and their children, or teachers and students, that prevent children from experiencing nasty cyber behaviours like grooming is really worthwhile work.”
More than ten interns from the first cohort of Amazon Web Services (AWS) re/Start cloud computing course have now finished their internships with Datacom with many receiving full-time job offers.
AWS re/Start is a free, skills development and job training programme that prepares learners for cloud computing careers, and globally connects more than 90% of graduates with job opportunities. The programme is part of Amazon’s commitment to bring free cloud computing skills training to communities around the world.
For Datacom, AWS re/Start is providing a pathway to connect more Pacific and Māori people to the exciting world of technology and to showcase the rich career opportunities on offer.
STEPtember 2022 saw the formation of a 760-strong transtasman Datacom team who clocked up more than 140 million steps in their efforts to raise money to support people living with cerebral palsy.
Pre and post-work team walks and “mobile meetings” became a regular occurrence, and taking a selfie while walking was definitely on trend.
Datacom Connect MD Stacey Tomasoni led “Pace with Stace” sessions throughout September, which drew together team members from different countries and as many as 20 different cities and towns.
“Raising money for life-changing research and support services for cerebral palsy was a great source of motivation for the team and people went above and beyond to squeeze thousands of extra steps into their week.”
The team’s final fundraising total for STEPtember was more than $70,000, including a $20,000 contribution from Datacom. The plan for 2023 is to beat these numbers!
The first graduates from a unique programme teaching a small group of prisoners how to code will soon be ready to apply their skills in the real world — and Datacom is one of the companies offering internships.
During the 12-month pilot programme, the participants have been learning intermediate web and app development through a handful of programming languages.
Managing Director Justin Gray says two students from the original cohort will intern with Datacom, and the focus will be on providing a supportive and nurturing environment where they can apply and grow their skills.
Take2 founder and CEO Cameron Smith says it is about ensuring people are not going back to the outside world without any skills or any opportunity.
“What we’re doing is providing them hope. It’s about allowing them to improve their quality of life.”
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A special foundation established in the wake of the devastating Christchurch mosque attacks is helping connect the children and families of victims with education and new opportunities.
Working with local community leaders, we have established the Datacom Foundation – Iqra Salam Te Aroha, meaning read/learn, and peace in Arabic, and love in Māori.
These children will receive financial support to attend tertiary education and other support needed to fulfil their potential, over and above government agency support.
The charitable foundation will also provide counselling, rehabilitation and other support services for the children who lost parents or had parents injured in the attack.
The Foundation, which is designed to run for decades to come, is governed by a Board of Trustees and chaired by Husain Al-Badry, Datacom’s Head of Foundry.
We know how important education is to the families who have been impacted as a result of that terrible day. As part of New Zealand’s business community, we felt it was best to find ways to support the future of the children who were affected in the wake of the attack.
Download an application form if you’re planning to study at any tertiary institution in New Zealand. This includes any accredited university, polytechnic, and vocational training establishment, and for courses of any length of time.
Once you've completed your form, send your completed application forms back to us.