Convergent network solution delivers significant savings and scalability for Centro

Company: Centro Properties Group

Web: www.centro.com.au

Key business focus: Centro (ASX: CNP and CER) specialises in the ownership, management and development of shopping centres. Centro is Australia’s largest manager of retail property investment syndicates with over 80% market share as well as being a leading manager of direct property funds and wholesale funds which invest in Centro’s quality retail properties in Australasia and the United States. Centro has a market capitalisation of $8.1 billion and funds under management of $15.6 billion. Centro continues to maximise returns to investors through its customer focused and value adding team based approach.

Key challenge: To find a provider that could deliver a high performing high speed network capable of reaching diverse locations throughout Australia and with the bandwidth to allow new business applications to be rolled out to all sites to meet changing business needs whilst ensuring that business continuity and network reliability are treated as priorities

Macquarie Telecom products and services:

• A Macquarie Telecom private IP core network with providing high-quality, high-speed secure transmission
• A QoS enabled MPLS network
• Managed Network Services - supply maintenance and management of all routers
• Managed PABXs at some shopping centres
• Fixed voice services

Key results: An IP convergent solution with quality of service that delivers significant savings with scalability to meet current and future business needs. Macquarie Telecom was the only provider who could deliver a carrier and technology diverse network with business continuity and redundant services and a real relationship based customer focus.

At the start of any ICT planning we say, “Let’s talk to Macquarie!” We consider Macquarie the only provider capable of delivering a carrier and technology diverse network that allows business continuity and redundancy aligned with real relationship based customer focus”.

Carl Cappadona,
IT Manager, Centro Properties Group

Overview

For Centro Properties Group (Centro), business is more than being a provider of retail space. Their strategic vision has seen them become the highest performing listed property trust over the past ten years with technology playing an integral part in supporting business growth.

As Centro’s business grows and evolves – so does its business enabling Information Technology (IT) and Management Information Systems (MIS). Key to this success has been a partnership with Macquarie Telecom spanning more than a decade.

Already a Macquarie Telecom customer for voice and data services, Centro challenged Macquarie to deliver ongoing solutions to meet ever-changing information technology and communications (ICT) needs.

The result has been an innovative convergent data solution with quality of service providing Centro with increased network capabilities whilst delivering significant savings along with scalability to meet current and future business demands.

The Opportunity

In Australia, Centro employs 800+ people throughout 120-plus shopping centres across the country and at their Corporate Head Office in Glen Waverley, Victoria.

At the heart of their successful business plan is a well established ICT strategy - with Macquarie Telecom proving itself as a key provider in enabling this strategy.

Risk managed growth over the past ten years has seen the need for a high performing high-speed network capable of reaching retail properties in diverse locations around Australia. Many regional locations including places like the Whitsunday region in Queensland or the Pilbara region of far north West Australia require access to network services.

The company required a cost-effective data network solution that would allow new business applications to be rolled out to all sites and just as importantly could support various applications with the right amount of bandwidth on an ‘as and when’ required basis.

The Solution

As a multi-carrier provider, Macquarie Telecom was able to offer a truly tailored IP data network solution. Macquarie could greatly increase Centro’s choices with a customised approach for each site to ensure the right balance between technology, speed and cost.

With business continuity an explicit need for Centro’s head office in Glen Waverley, Cappadona says that Macquarie Telecom’s multiple carrier access diversely routed was a definite plus.

Through its MPLS network dedicated to business users, Macquarie Telecom has been able to shape data across the IP network to regulate how much of a link each application uses at one time.

“Our existing network bandwidth was far too limiting to our business,” Cappadona said.

“We can now ensure that various applications receive enough bandwidth to work well, for example, the over throttling of print traffic is a thing of the past.”

The Macquarie Telecom solution provides a complete managed service from a single provider for voice and data together with one number to ring for any service issues. Centro is able to get all the services it requires such as Volume Control, Dialup, billing, managed router and fault management.

“When presenting their offerings, it’s essential that providers understand the due diligence organisations such as ourselves must go through,” Cappadona said.

“Macquarie Telecom is the complete package with a true focus on ‘customer first’ bringing proactive solutions that meet specific business needs. We consider them a Corporate provider of choice capable of delivering a carrier and technology diverse network that allows Business Continuity Planning.”

As Centro’s business grows and evolves, so does the need for business enabling IT and MIS systems and applications. Centro has a need for a widespread and high-speed network that provides easy access to corporate IT infrastructure and MIS systems.

The rollout of more data and network intensive applications such as Video Conferencing mean that many sites require increased bandwidth and for that bandwidth to be symmetrical. Macquarie Telecom’s Metro Access Network (MAN) provides high-speed access with the Wide Area Network (WAN) handling a range of access link technologies.

“Macquarie has responded to our growth and business changes with a relationship focused on consultation. This includes discussion, proposals and recommendations to continually deliver on Centro’s requirements and our customer service needs,” Cappadona said.

Results

Centro now has a high performing high-speed IP network that reaches diverse locations throughout Australia with Business continuity services and allows new business applications to be rolled out to all sites, as required.

Video conferencing means that productivity and timeliness is increased, teamwork enhanced and that travel is not always required for interaction between staff offices around the globe.

“Effective communication with the Australian regional offices and our major offices in the U.S is far easier and more productive than before,” Cappadona said.

“Printing speed for remote offices has increased several times over and this has been well received by users who appreciate the increased response times”

With a secure and fault tolerant network design, technology has enabled business continuity bringing operational efficiencies and business innovation.

Centro now has a comprehensive scalable and secure data network using Private IP, various BDSL’s or Fibre services, Dial In services and Internet services.

Macquarie Telecom offers a comprehensive suite of tools and resources to provide online visibility of itemised costs and help dissect billing and understand Telco costs, delivering on price, performance and reliability.

Centro now benefits from a diverse and redundant network that brings reliability and scalability to meet current and future business needs and growth.

Key to this has been Macquarie Telecom’s personal service model with a highly responsive technical and service team.

“Macquarie Telecom is definitely hard to beat when it comes to providing a reliable network, customer service and managing relationships,” Cappadona said.

“At the start of any ICT planning we say – let’s talk to Macquarie!”