Harbour Asset Management’s Lancom Technology transition sets the scene for lasting value

About Harbour Asset Management

While deciding to outsource IT support to a managed services provider is one thing, the actual transition is often quite another. Routinely characterised by un-anticipatable problems and challenges, the transition is a fraught time which can set the tone for what’s to come. That’s why Harbour Asset Management was so impressed with Lancom Technology. When it outsourced management of its day-to-day IT support, the smooth sales engagement was quickly backed by a similarly flawless transition. Service delivery was exceptional from practically day one.

Founded in Wellington in 2009, Harbour Asset Management is one of New Zealand’s most highly rated investment managers. The company takes pride in delivering market-leading investment outcomes for clients including KiwiSaver scheme providers, charitable trusts, iwi, government institutions, corporate superannuation funds and financial advisors.

"The lines of communication and the visibility of support issues is very good; our users know if they need help, just hit the ‘Lancom Button’, and it’s at hand. These ad-hoc things wrap up into a quality engagement where we’re getting great value. And above all, it means we’re not stressed about IT stuff, but are instead free to get on with work – our employees love the service."

Ruari McGregor / Chief Operating Officer

The Situation

Harbour Asset Management is a subsidiary of the growing Jarden Group and has headquarters in Wellington with offices in Auckland and satellites elsewhere, including Queenstown. Chief Operating Officer Ruari McGregor says that as Jarden grew, standardisation in its delivery of IT support meant a growing gulf between Harbour’s requirements and the Group delivery.

“As a result, we opted for outsourcing to a specialist service provider. When we looked at the market, Lancom Technology’s name was mentioned several times, so we got in touch for an initial exploration.”

What McGregor and Harbour found was encouraging: a solid reputation backed by meaningful engagement analysing requirements and recommendations for appropriate structures with Service Level Agreements. “We liked what we saw and Lancom was saying exactly what we wanted to hear. While we also looked at some of the bigger providers, we felt some of the issues which led to outsourcing in the first instance might again crop up,” he explains.

As an aside, McGregor notes that Harbour had made the move into the cloud as far back as 2017, seeking the advantages of reduced cost, infrastructure elimination, and flexibility for a dispersed workforce. This meant at least two things for the company: it was well prepared when government pandemic restrictions were introduced, and it was equally well-positioned for the delivery of remote support – since Lancom Technology is Auckland-headquartered.

The solution

With contracts signed and everything else in place by late 2021, the real test of the engagement after the pleasantries of the sales process was the transition from internal teams to Lancom Technology’s support.

“Moving over was a collaborative effort run by Lancom but including our own personnel as well as Jarden people, and yes, this is probably the riskiest and toughest part of any engagement,” notes McGregor. “And honestly, we thought the transition was handled superbly.”

No IT engagement is ever without its challenges, but he says his teams and people couldn’t sing Lancom’s praises high enough. “There’s a lot going on at this time, but we had excellent communication, timeliness in the delivery of agreed activities and tasks, and excellent project management. It really was second to none.”

Such success sets the scene for and tone of the future engagement, McGregor adds. “It’s a good basis from which to grow a relationship.”

The results

While it was already in the cloud and therefore accustomed to working remotely while accessing off-premises services, McGregor says there was a natural concern in engaging an Auckland-centred company for day-to-day support over the former largely face to face interactions. “Covid, of course, changed the way everyone looks at remote work, so that helped. But what we’ve seen is consistent quality in service delivery with exceptional responsiveness.”

To an extent, he says this ties into Lancom’s system excellence, providing clear visibility of the Harbour environment and the status of all support items, tickets and issues. “The lines of communication and the visibility of support issues is very good; our users know if they need help, just hit the ‘Lancom Button’, and it’s at hand.”

More recently, Lancom Technology has expanded its onsite presence in Wellington, which McGregor says results in a literal hands-on service, further enhancing the support enjoyed by Harbour. It’s yet another indication of an attentive service provider, he notes, adding that Lancom gets involved in reviewing technology policies and cyber protection, liaises with auditors on IT controls, and has run simulations. “These ad-hoc consulting engagements are where we’re getting great value. And above all, it means we’re not stressed about IT stuff, but are instead free to get on with work – our employees love the service.”

Services used

Managed Services

IT Managed Services
Cloud Computing
Cloud Managed Services

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