NobleOak, one of Australia’s leading life insurance companies, is managing its growing technology needs with Tecala to ensure key systems, applications and network links are fully operational at all times.
Established more than 140 years ago, NobleOak has grown to become one of Australia’s leading life insurance companies. Headquartered in New South Wales, the company provides a portfolio of life insurance products to clients in all states.
Rapid business growth
During recent years, NobleOak has enjoyed strong and consistent growth in both client numbers and financial turnover. In 2019, staff numbers doubled to more than 140 people.
“We experienced a sudden growth spurt early in 2019 when we created a new business entity, called Genus Life Services, to administer legacy books of life insurance policies issued by NobleOak and another life insurer,” said Head of Claims and Operations, Matt Minney. “This means we now have two brands in the market which will spur further growth in the future.”
Minney says NobleOak has also been working closely with a range of associations as a way to increase awareness of the firm’s offerings among prospective clients. “We have a goal of growing the business by at least 20% per annum and we are well on track to achieve this.”
Long-term partnership
Like all growing businesses, NobleOak has become increasingly dependent on its IT infrastructure to support its activities and maintain first-class client service. To ensure key systems, applications and network links are fully operational at all times, the company engaged the services of Tecala.
“We have actually had a solid working relationship with Tecala for more than 10 years,” said Minney. “During that time, I can honestly say that our relationship continues to grow consistently stronger as our key technology partner.”
Minney says the company uses a multi-cloud solution. with the bulk of infrastructure in Tecala’s private cloud. This is also linked to a range of Software-As-a-Service providers that deliver additional capabilities.
“The support provided by Tecala is invaluable. At times when we have needed to turn things around very quickly, they have been able to do that each and every time.”
Comprehensive IT support and guidance
As would be expected during a 10-year working relationship, NobleOak and Tecala have undertaken a diverse range of successful IT projects. Each has focused on improving the productivity and efficiency of staff and maintaining service levels for clients.
Some of the more recent projects have included:
- Microsoft 365 deployment:
This project involved the integration private cloud servers with the cloud-based Office 365 platform. This provides all staff with a reliable and efficient communications environment that can be securely accessed from any location. - Secure SD-WAN:
Because NobleOak’s IT infrastructure is hosted in the Tecala private cloud, reliable and secure access is vital. This has been achieved through the deployment of SD-WAN links that provide staff with access to both the firm’s core applications as well as SaaS-based resources such as Office 365. - Digital Workspace upgrades:
NobleOak has had Citrix-based remote access capabilities in place for some time, however Tecala undertook a full upgrade to modernize the platform and significantly increase the scale in preparation for business growth. When the sudden increase in demand occurred due to COVID-19 work from home requirements, NobleOak was able to seemlessly transition while maintaining capacity and performance.
- Security:
Tecala has an on-going brief to provide effective IT security across the firm’s IT environment. This includes deploying secure networks as well as managing end-user assets. Managed security capabilities such as SIEM and on-going vulnerability assessments assist NobleOak in maintaining operational security and meeting stringent regulatory and compliance requirements.
- Business Continuity:
Together, NobleOak and Tecala developed a comprehensive Disaster Recovery strategy, ensuring a rapid recovery from any unexpected disruptions. This strategy is regularly tested to ensure it continues to be effective and had a real world test when the lockdown laws enforced work from home overnight.
- Strategic advice and consulting:
In line with the constant evolution of business technology, Tecala continually reviews new products and services to determine whether they can add value to NobleOak’s operations. Advice is given on preferred options and roadmaps are developed to guide agreed deployments. The goal is to ensure maximum value is achieved from all IT spending.
“For us, Tecala is so much more than a hosting provider,” said Minney. “They understand our business and what we are trying to achieve, and this makes them a valuable business partner.”
He says Tecala’s values are also very much in line with those of NobleOak. This helps to further strengthen the relationship and ensure long-term goals are met.
“I am confident we will continue this relationship for many years to come,” Minney concludes.