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The Fulton Hogan logo can be seen adorning equipment on construction sites all over Australasia where the company, has had a hand in building and maintaining everything from roads, bridges, ports and airports, to essential energy, water and communication infrastructure.
But with over 10,000 staff across Australia and New Zealand, and working on dozens of complex projects simultaneously, Fulton Hogan has also embraced digital platforms in a big way to remain innovative in its approach to infrastructure delivery.
Key to that is a partnership with Datacom that stretches back to 2012 and sees Fulton Hogan locate mission-critical equipment in Datacom data centres on both sides of the Tasman. It gives Fulton Hogan instant access to its data and applications with full redundancy, backed up by Datacom’s 100% uptime service level agreement (SLA) covering power provision, cooling, and security.
“We operate infrastructure as a service (IaaS) on our equipment in Datacom data centres, which runs everything from payroll, and asset management software, to data warehousing and our financial applications,” says Shirley McDonald, Group IT Operations Manager at Fulton Hogan.
“So we need 24/7 uninterrupted access to our data and services for staff and our customers, with carefully managed downtime for upgrades or configuration changes.”
Datacom’s network of data centres – strategically located in and around major cities across Australia and New Zealand – deliver the desired uptime, with robust power resilience systems, such as diesel generators and battery systems, to ensure continuous operation even during power outages.
The reliability of Datacom’s infrastructure and the relative affordability of running its own IaaS appealed to Fulton Hogan, as did Datacom’s commitment to customer service, says McDonald.
“We're obviously not a bank, and we don't need necessarily platinum service, but we kind of wanted that anyway. We want to feel like we are getting it, and we certainly do get it from Datacom.”
“Datacom’s data centre team are all extremely helpful no matter where we go. It just makes business easy when you're doing it with people that you can trust.”
Making business easier for a large business in a rapidly changing industry, is Datacom’s approach to change management.
“Datacom has centralised change management,” says McDonald.
“We send our infrastructure or application changes to one place and they’ll be rolled out across the data centres which is a hugely efficient way to do it. We have a change manager at Datacom to oversee the process, and Datacom will do all the scoping to make sure there's enough power resources for the infrastructure that we need.”
Security and data sovereignty are paramount concerns for Fulton Hogan, given its involvement in sensitive and critical infrastructure sectors. Datacom's data centres are equipped with comprehensive security measures, including strict access controls and ISO certifications, which are crucial for meeting the stringent requirements of Fulton Hogan's projects.
For major utilities contracts, ISO270001 certification is a requirement, and Datacom’s data centre ISO certifications assisted with Fulton Hogan’s own certification process.
“Even if someone from Datacom itself wants to access our equipment racks in the data centre, they’ll ask us for authorisation first. That’s the discipline Datacom brings around security and that makes us sleep well at night,” says McDonald.
With a companywide move to shift servers residing at sites around the region into Datacom data centres, Fulton Hogan will increasingly benefit from that security posture and the proximity to data backups.
For McDonald, a ten-year veteran of Fulton Hogan, the Datacom relationship has evolved through the years, but one constant remains: Datacom’s commitment to delivering high-quality service, problem-solving, and assisting Fulton Hogan in implementing change.
“Things most commonly go wrong when you change something, and tracking down the problem can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. The Datacom team has always been there to support us during and in the wake of incidents, even when it has nothing to do with Datacom infrastructure.”
“At Fulton Hogan, we talk about being ‘one team, invested in the outcome’. We consider Datacom to be part of the Fulton Hogan team because we are both invested in the same outcome.”
Datacom’s Customer Success Lead, Mike Lord, has worked alongside the Fulton Hogan team for six years.
“Even though I work for Datacom, I feel like I’m part of the Fulton Hogan team. When they talk about ‘one team’, that’s exactly how it is on the ground. It’s very fulfilling to know that we are contributing to Fulton Hogan projects that are critical to the infrastructure of Australia and New Zealand.”
Datacom’s Data Centres Director Andrew Green says being able to give customers confidence and security is critical.
“We know 100% uptime and a trusted partner are essential elements of our customers’ ability to be confident of operating 24/7, so we put our money where our mouth is with 100% uptime SLAs, but more importantly 100% customer focus in the way that we do what we do.”
Through reliable infrastructure, stringent security measures, and exceptional customer service, Datacom has enabled Fulton Hogan to enhance its infrastructure projects across Australasia.
As both companies continue to invest in and innovate within their respective fields, the partnership stands as a model of mutual benefit and cooperation in the infrastructure and data services industries.
