Case Study: Spence Construction achieves improved productivity + transparency across the business
“Technology is a huge part of our business, we are looking for a partner to grow with as our business grows.”
Matt Gibson, Director
“When we were looking for an IT partner, we wanted someone like-minded. KMT was very aligned with our values – they are committed to going above and beyond and evolving as we do. They really do value our success as their own.”
Matt Gibson, Director
Information Technology Services Used
Support- Strategy
- Cloud
- Modern
Support
Strategy
Cloud
Modern2017
Partnered with KMT
03
Office Locations
84
End Users
The Construction industry generates over $360 billion in revenue, producing around 9% of Australia’s GDP and has an annual projected growth rate of 2.4% in the next 5 years. Victorian residential building approvals passed 70,000 in 2021 – the highest levels for the three prior years. Construction and Builders have been forced to keep ahead of innovation and technology to ensure they can continue to improve onsite productivity and safety and drive efficiencies in their project management and administration departments.
All businesses inherently understand that technology is at the heart of any successful organisation or they risk compromising their ability to keep up with their competitors. Technology affects every aspect of a business from finance to the project management process, the construction sites, and the collaboration and communication between the end-users.
The challenges of working across multiple sites, often over the other side of the state meant Spence Constructions needed to ensure their technology was working efficiently to drive productivity across the business.
“We had outgrown our technology solution, it was inefficient and was hindering our productivity. We needed a partner who could challenge us and collaborate with the business to understand our strategy and ensure our technology could enable us to deliver.”
Who are Spence Constructions?
Spence Constructions has a passion for building. Their commitment to achieving excellence, their relationships with their clients, their architects, subcontractors and the team that drives their success. Trust is important to them and it is their goal to turn their clients’ dreams into a reality.
Originating in the Colac Otway region, the company has seen consistent success and has expanded its services to deliver high-quality commercial and residential projects throughout Melbourne and South West Victoria.
They continually invest in their people, technology, resources and plant equipment to ensure they are always best placed to take advantage of the opportunities that arise.
“As a business we are always looking for new ways to do thinks better for our clients, partners and staff. Technology is a critical element in our business and we made a decision to invest heavily to future proof our company and our goals”
Spence had outgrown its technology
As a growing business Spence Construction has experienced changes over the last few years. They now have 3 fixed offices and anywhere from18-20 project sites across Victoria depending on the building projects they have operating at the time.
To manage concurrent projects with various satellite teams in locations scattered across the state technology is critical to their success. Teams need the ability to collaborate remotely, the safety standards and OH&S measures must be compliant and consistent across all sites. Industry regulations must be adhered to.
Spence identified a need to take a proactive approach to technology and was prepared to heavily invest in tools and resources for the right result. The leadership team decided they were looking for a technology partner that could provide realistic, appropriate technology solutions to ensure the businesses needs were being met and to assist them in their growth.
A solution that delivered business transparency and collaboration between building sites and teams.
As Spence is growing, so are the needs of its clients and teams. The business had a need for improved communication, transparency across the business for leaders and management alike and collaboration ability between teams. There was a need for a centrally hosted platform to manage the project management workload where all teams including management and finance can access securely and view live data.
A proactive approach to maximizing existing Microsoft 365 licensing allowed for the migration of data to both SharePoint Online and OneDrive, combined with a move to Microsoft’s Azure AD services allowed for multiple on-premise servers to be decommissioned, greatly reducing support and maintenance overheads, while improving data redundancy and security.
KMT also worked closely with Spence’s key Line of Business application vendor to ensure a smooth migration of the legacy on-premise project management application to the vendor’s new SaaS offering, which removed the last roadblock for Spence to be able to move to a completely serverless cloud-hosted infrastructure.
The right people have the right information at the right time
In construction, business never stops and access to the right information instantaneously means savings on time and money. Prior to the new cloud-based infrastructure solution delivered by Kaine Mathrick Tech, Spence was using a legacy system that was inefficient and didn’t enable teams to access the right information when they needed to.
Document access, project management transparency and financial data needed to come together on one secure accessible platform to enable them to continue to be dynamic in a rapidly changing industry.
In addition to a new infrastructure solution, Spence was looking for a partnership. An IT partner they can trust and rely on, someone that understood their business direction and could deliver technology solutions that will enable them to future-proof themselves.
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“KMT challenged the status quo and provided innovative and forward thinking solutions that we could understand. Our ability to collaborate between office sites and teams has improved dramatically. We are now well placed to respond to changes quickly which has improved our project management capability”
Spence needed a technology partner that would challenge the status quo and help them innovate
Choosing a quality technology partner was critical to Spence’s ongoing success. To date, their IT was reactionary rather than proactive. They were looking for a strategic partner that could help them innovate and operate more productively and efficiently, improving the way they served their partners and clients.
Spence was looking for a partner that could provide forward-thinking strategies that would keep their infrastructure current and future-proof them. They wanted to migrate to a cloud solution to make their operations more mobile and dynamic.
On meeting KMT, the leaders knew that KMT was a team they could work with. “They spoke plain English, were happy to have open conversations and break complex concepts into simple terms that our nontechnical individuals could understand. KMT understood what our business was trying to achieve and presented solutions that were simple and made sense. Our previous provider was unable to do this for us.”
KMT’s first job with Spence was to undertake a detailed audit process that assessed the current infrastructure. It was identified that a migration to the cloud was required to help Spence achieve their goals to become more transparent, collaborative and productive and live at all times.
The project delivery was smooth and implemented within time and budget and has delivered the outcomes desired by the team at Spence.
Ongoing technology support
As a managed service provider at its heart, Kaine Mathrick Tech has delivered Spence construction a proactive technology service that deals with issues before they become a major problem. The monthly meetings conducted with their dedicated Account Manager enable the business to stay one step ahead of any new technology, updates or issues that may be present.
“Initially, I thought the monthly meetings came around really fast, but, they are so informative. There is always something new we need to be across and our Account Manager is well prepared to advise us on any reoccurring issues we need to be across and aware of. We have grown to rely on these meetings”.
The easy client portal to log tickets has made it seamless for the teams to log IT support tickets if required, however, Spence has reduced the number of support requests since KMT because of the improvements in the infrastructure.
Benefits include
- Improved administrative efficiency
- Improved efficient IT Support with a dedicated Help Desk Team
- Increased flexibility for workers with remote working solutions
- Improved staff retention and user experience
- Business growth even in tough market conditions
- Power-saving and cost-efficient cloud solution
- Increased Cyber security resilience and flexibility
- Removal of legacy Server Operating System and associated Cyber risk
- Removal of aged on-premise IT infrastructure
Employees can easily collaborate and work on documentation in real-time while working at the different sites which have driven a huge increase in the efficiency and productivity of a business. Internal communication has also improved through the introduction of new online communication tools.
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services ensure all applications and desktops run on a secure server that supports staff mobility, allowing employees to work safely and efficiently from any location.
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Our managed IT services are tailored for the construction industry. We understand the ins and outs of multiple sites, improved productivity and efficiency. We will take the time to get to know your team and provide technology solutions that enable you to meet your growth targets.
