Bauer Media stands alone with new network

Bauer Media has broken from Nine Entertainment Group shared services with a new stand-alone network from Azzurri Communications.

Bauer Media publishes more than 80 magazines in Australia, including Woman’s Day, TV Week, Cosmopolitan and Top Gear Australia.

The Bauer IT team had been working on the separation from Nine shared services since Bauer Media acquired Nine’s publishing arm, ACP, in 2012.

“From a networking and telecommunications perspective, the company went from a shared infrastructure model under the Nine Entertainment Group to a stand-alone model,” said Bauer Media CIO Simon Wheeler.

“This provided us with the opportunity to review what our needs were and look for a provider that could better align with our new business objectives.”

Bauer Media looked for a rationalised network with faster access that would include a high level of support and come at a low cost, he said. However, Bauer also faced a deadline with contracts expiring and the break away from the shared network looming.

“The relationship is important but the time limit of the rollout and the value for money we received was more important,” said Wheeler.

Wheeler said that Azzurri best met Bauer’s needs.

“I really liked how Azzurri took the time to understand our requirements, he said. “They didn’t try to oversell and the team were very knowledgeable and open in their communication, which was a key part of the success of the project.”

Azzurri provided its comUnity platform for data, and a WAN that links to various locations including distribution warehouses using a hub-and-spoke architecture. Azzurri commissioned wireless redundancy with automated failover at the distribution centres, while implementing diverse fibre runs at the primary sites.

“Any hiccups were dealt with very quickly and I was very satisfied with the service,” said Wheeler.

Bauer is considering doing more work with Azzurri, and is now reviewing how it might overlay the vendor’s comUnity Voice onto the existing network, he said.

Adam Bender covers business tech issues for CIO and is the author of a dystopian novel about surveillance. Follow him on Twitter: @WatchAdam

Follow CIO Australia on Twitter and Like us on Facebook… Twitter: @CIO_Australia, Facebook: CIO Australia, or take part in the CIO conversation on LinkedIn: CIO Australia