News & Events

a&o is selected by TerraNua Ltd in Ireland to build and support its internal IT Infrastructure over the largest IT outsource providers in the Country

Dublin, April 14 th, 2009 : a&o IT Systems & Services Ireland will manage a complete end to end outsourced internal IT infrastructure function for TerraNua in a deal worth greater than €0.5M.

Brian Fahey, CEO of TerraNua said that they “selected a&o over other large outsource providers because of a&o’s ability to provide a level of consultancy and service that we were unable to find in other suppliers”. For Brian Fahey, having a single point of contact for all of TerraNua’s internal ICT requirements was critical to their diverse range of IT infrastructure demands. “With a&o, we received the level of consultation and relationship that we were seeking. This was complimented by a comprehensive solution at the right price. a&o supplied the software, hardware, professional services and ongoing monitoring of our internal infrastructure systems in the rapid timeline that we needed. It’s a complete solution that enables us to focus our resources on the software solutions we build and maintain for our clients and removes the challenges of simultaneously maintaining our internal IT infrastructure. It also provides additional monitoring of our own development and production environments. We are delighted with the outcome,” he said.

TerraNua builds practical software solutions that simultaneously reduce the risks and costs of a company’s governance, risk and compliance needs and obligations. Following the purchase of the firm by Irish investors from its previous parent company (a large, US based, financial services firm), TerraNua had to set up a new internal IT infrastructure quickly as it had used the parent’s extensive infrastructure capabilities up to that point. It needed to integrate the offices in Dublin and New York and continue servicing its remote clients in Boston. Although it had significant software development and support capabilities, it did not have personnel with the skills to manage internal networks, desktops, servers and all the associated security. The entire internal IT infrastructure had to be integrated and capable of being centrally monitored by a single group.

A top priority for TerraNua CEO Brian Fahey was the rapid implementation of the infrastructure and network that enabled the company to continue its business without any interruption in service to its clients after extrication from the previous parent’s existing IT infrastructure. Once new premises were found in Dublin, the next component of the strategy was to outsource the ICT function. “ I knew it would require diverse skills to provide the services we were used to as part of a large global financial services firm. We did not want to hire a set of people that would be difficult to find and expensive to keep. We wanted to find a flexible organisation that had the capability to deliver this service to us” he said.

TerraNua went to market for an end-to-end outsource provider, with the IT infrastructure hosted offsite. Fahey’s first port of call was to some of the biggest outsource providers in Ireland but he was disappointed at what they offered. “They were large companies geared up for servicing other large companies; I didn’t think a firm of our size would receive the service we needed.”

Fahey was looking for a partner that would be responsive to TerraNua’s internal infrastructure needs, would have the knowledge to evolve with changing security needs for the IT infrastructure and be there for the long-term. The people implementing and supporting the network would be critical as would the price. He found what he was seeking with a&o Ireland .

The system is provided as a managed service solution through a&o. Routine helpdesk enquiries go through a Software as a Service (SaaS) management tool that a&o use to give their clients a quick and cost-effective solution. Onsite resources and ad-hoc support are also made available to TerraNua as required. Network monitoring is a major component of the service, giving Fahey the peace of mind he sought from a supplier, with a&o identifying problems before they impact on the business and ensuring that prioritised traffic is allowed to flow uninterrupted.

For more information, contact press@aogroup.co.uk