Port Otago
Microsoft partner and cloud specialist Arinco has hosted its first customer event since it landed in New Zealand in July.
The Melbourne-based company appears to have established its presence on the local scene quickly, aided by introductions from Microsoft, with prominent clients now including Fidelity Life Assurance and Port Otago.
Arinco has also bolstered its local business by hiring two new consultants to provide local expertise and support for New Zealand clients.
Speaking at the event, which was co-hosted by Microsoft, Fidelity Life CIO Billy Miller said Arinco helped deliver a secure digital platform, from consulting to defining the insurer's digital identity and authorisation solution, through to the development, documentation and support required to implement it.
The company has also been busy helping to modernise Port Otago's environment, thinking and IT practices.
Arinco first partnered with Port Otago over six months ago, said Arinco account executive Michael Dorio. That followed a Microsoft introduction and several sessions with the Port Otago team, meeting stakeholders and demonstrating its track record of partnering to drive digital transformation.
Since the initial meetings, Arinco had become Port Otago's "partner of choice".
Arinco implemented a platform on Azure with defined guard rails to support future growth and the deployment of services while also improving the port's security posture and ability to scale.
As well as helping Port Otago to continue its migration to Azure, parallel projects are under way to provide a DevOps framework and to modernise the port's data platform as a foundation of future innovation and optimisation.
"They worked collaboratively with us through each stage to deliver an outcome that we are proud of," said Scott Mosley, senior cloud platforms lead at the port.
"This is just the beginning of our partnership with them and a step towards a better future here at Port of Otago.”
One priority area of work being conducted in collaboration with Microsoft was preparing customers to maximise the potential of the new Microsoft data centre region in New Zealand.
In particular, Arinco offers an "OpenAI Done Right" service, designed to empower customers to embark on AI-based transformations.
Centred around the growing opportunity of generative artificial intelligence and featuring practical implementations of AI, the event attracted over 40 and featured presentations by experts from both Microsoft and Arinco.
Arinco's New Zealand general manager, Daniel Lund, said the company was dedicated to fostering a strong kaupapa (policy/purpose) in New Zealand, focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Recently he secured a partnership between Microsoft, Rea and Arinco to build essential cloud skills and provide employment opportunities for Māori and Pasifika communities.
