Since 1958, SYC has been supporting people with housing, education and employment, across Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales. The not-for-profit invests in Australian communities and its team is guided by its vision: wellbeing, opportunity and independence for everyone.
SYC supports an estimated 45,000 individuals each year and employs 550 people. Staying connected is a vital part of the work that SYC does, and the organisation owns hundreds of devices. Until 2025, managing these devices could be challenging, because the IT team didn’t have effective visibility of devices and software. As hardware aged, IT support tickets were coming in thick and fast. As a not-for-profit, SYC always aims to maximise device use, but not at the expense of productivity.
“With our older devices, we used to get tickets saying, ‘My laptop is slow’, or indicating random errors, and we couldn’t really get an understanding of why these problems were happening across the fleet,” explains Frank Rositano, Head of Technology at SYC. “We also had about 30 laptops that were bluescreening at least weekly, and had to be restarted, which was affecting user experience and productivity.”
Datacom has been providing IT services to SYC for over 15 years, and the two organisations meet regularly. At one meeting, Rositano mentioned the IT fleet visibility issue – and the team had a demonstration of the Datacom Insights service available within days and a six-month trial underway just three weeks later.
“By the fourth month of the trial, the telemetry gave us the meaningful data that meant we could join the dots,” says Rositano. “For example, we had an ongoing issue with people whose microphones weren’t working on Teams, and we found a software app with an incorrect driver was disabling the audio. That was affecting about three-quarters of our fleet. We were able to uninstall the app and do an update, and within a few weeks those issues disappeared. That was satisfying – this isn’t just a pretty dashboard saying, ‘Here’s how old your laptops are’; it’s really showing its value.”
Software management has also improved as a result of the Datacom Insights service: one app that was licensed for 97 users was only being used by 70 people, so SYC was able to save nearly $6,000 annually by right-sizing its licensing. And insights on AI use helped Rositano and his team establish an AI policy that reflected the best and most effective tool to use across the organisation. Overall, the improved fleet visibility also allowed SYC to make the case for replacing those bluescreening devices, while knowing where they could squeeze extra life out of devices that were still performing well.
“We have a longstanding partnership with SYC that means we can quickly implement new products to help them get the most out of their fleet,” says Datacom AD Customer Partnerships Chris Mifsud. “Great fleet management means they can plan ahead for replacing devices, which is more important than ever when supply chains are disrupted.”
During the past few months, Datacom has also been supporting SYC to migrate its IT service management platform from an end-of-life service across to ServiceNow. A significant organisational change, it required the two teams to work together closely so that none of SYC’s services would be disrupted.
“The collaboration between Datacom and SYC meant we minimised disruption while maximising the value of the new system,” says Rositano. “Clear timelines, well‑defined milestones and proactive risk management kept the project aligned and on track. Datacom did outstanding work throughout our transition.”
Delivered on time and on budget, the migration has resulted in immediate benefits for both the IT team and the wider organisation. IT services are now managed more efficiently through improved self‑service, clearer communication channels and enhanced cybersecurity.
A structured and practical training program played a key role in the success of the transition. By combining hands‑on sessions, clear documentation and ongoing support, Datacom helped build confidence across SYC’s IT team, ensuring they were well prepared to operate the new platform from day one.
“We know the right support and training during a migration makes the process far less stressful,” says Mifsud. “From requirements gathering and configuration through to testing, go‑live and post‑implementation support, the team worked closely together. SYC’s IT team were organised, engaged and ready to hit the ground running.”
“For most organisations, moving to ServiceNow isn’t simply a platform change – it’s an opportunity to rethink how IT services are designed, governed and experienced across the business," says Datacom Director Melissa Campolongo.
"Successful migrations are less about the technology itself, and more about disciplined delivery, strong change management and building capability so teams can operate confidently from day one. Our focus is on helping customers transition in a way that minimises risk, maintains business continuity, and sets them up to realise sustained value from the platform over time.”
Rositano says that Datacom is like an extension of SYC’s IT team, helping identify the right solutions, and making sure solutions are implemented smoothly and used to their best potential.
“Datacom understands our environment really well, and since we renewed our service contract last year, they’ve got even better at understanding our needs. They’ve proactively put in a roadmap and a social charter, and we have quarterly check-in points.”
Rositano and his team are looking ahead at more potential improvements, including expanded Microsoft Intune capability and data loss protection, with Datacom alongside providing support and expertise.
“The thing we like most about Datacom is that they are open and honest, and they do deliver on what they promise,” says Rositano. “Over 15 years, differences of opinion or issues on deliverables have been few and far between. Overall, we have a really good relationship.”
Smarter IT fleet visibility
Many organisations have data on their devices and software, but not the clarity to act on it. Datacom Insights uses telemetry and analytics to give you a clear view of what is happening across your fleet. That means identifying widespread issues, optimising software use, and planning refresh cycles with confidence - so teams can resolve problems faster and make better use of every device.
