Maximising Operational Efficiency

Relationships Australia Queensland (RAQ), is a not-for-profit organisation committed to offering the best possible counselling, mediation, education and support services in a professional, relaxed and confidential environment. Over 450 highly qualified and experienced staff provide face-to-face, telephone and online support services across Queensland, and for the Family Relationship Advice Line across all Australian States and territories.

The collaboration between RAQ and Seisma began five years ago when RAQ recognised the need for a comprehensive data management solution. With no prior relationship, RAQ engaged Seimsa to assist in setting up a data estate and migrating from a legacy database called Penelope to Dynamics 365. The initial project involved migrating data to a Datalake using Databricks and developing Power BI reports for data visualisation and analysis. Seisma successfully delivered a suite of reports, laying the foundation for ongoing data management and reporting activities.

As the project evolved, RAQ transitioned to a Managed Services Agreement (MSA) with Seisma to maintain and enhance its data estate. The MSA encompasses regular bug fixes, enhancements to existing reports, and continuous monitoring of data pipelines to ensure smooth operation.

Steve Novak, Manager of Client Outcomes said “It's not our core business to be moving data around, we are human services workers, so data engineering is a part of our business where we seek support from external consultants. There is a great deal of value within our data. So the relationship with Seisma is an important one for us.”  

Seamless Collaboration & Platform Optimisation

With the implementation of structured communication and documentation processes, RAQ experienced significant improvements in operational efficiency. The time taken to develop and deploy reports was reduced, leading to faster insights and informed decision-making. Additionally, metrics such as SLA adherence and bug resolution times are closely monitored, ensuring high service quality.  

Steve said "In the absence of a partner like Seisma, our data estate wouldn't function. Power BI reporting is pivotal for our business; it's mission-critical. Our managers and frontline staff heavily rely on these reports. The relationship with Seisma is important; it ensures our data capabilities meet our operational needs."

The use of Microsoft’s DevOps portal for communication also plays a crucial role in facilitating this seamless communication, efficient issue resolution, and transparent project management between RAQ and Seisma. This centralised platform serves as the primary interface tracking enhancements, and bug fixes within RAQ's data estate.
 
“We use Azure DevOps as our portal for all communications, so there's a record of all project documentation and correspondence. When you are dealing with great complexity like this, even with just 50 or 60 reports, each of those reports is a huge piece of work, and it's important that they’re properly documented.” said Steve.

The partnership between Seisma and RAQ ensures the data estate architecture continues to align with best practices, while minimising operational costs. By outsourcing maintenance, enhancements, and bug fixes to Seisma, RAQ ensures ongoing support and optimisation, leading to sustained operational efficiency and performance improvement.
 
A ticketing system implemented as part of this between RAQ and Seisma also plays an important role in streamlining issue resolution, tracking enhancements, and ensuring accountability. Through this system, RAQ and Seisma can prioritise issues, ensuring that critical issues are addressed promptly.

“We want to make sure that all the tickets have been closed as soon as possible and for enhancements we make sure that we have all the acceptance criteria. So we do the automation testing in the process of development as well.” Nee Trairattanasirikul, Head of Managed Services, Seisma.

Partnering for success

The partnership between RAQ and Seisma has been an important for maintaining modernised data infrastructure and driving organisational success.  

In regards to enhancements to RAQ’s data estate Steve says, “The quickest way to do something is to do it right the first time (as an end-to-end process). We give a specification to Seisma. They say, ‘that makes sense’, or request extra information to improve the specification. Then they proceed with the build and it tends to be completed within the predicted timeframe.”

Looking ahead, RAQ and Seisma continue to focus on optimising the data estate and reducing operational costs. While no new data and integration projects are currently planned, both parties remain committed to ongoing collaboration, with a focus on continuous improvement and innovation.  

The partnership between RAQ and Seisma showcases the value of an effective Managed Services Agreement - communication, collaboration, and structured processes in achieving operational excellence. By leveraging Seisma's expertise in data management and analytics, RAQ has strengthened its data capabilities and enhanced its ability to fulfill its mission of supporting vulnerable individuals and families in the community.

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^{*This case study is sourced from acquired company Data Addiction.}