Hawkins Group, one of New Zealand’s largest privately owned construction companies, is using IT to support ongoing productivity by upgrading its communications technology with ICT services and solutions provider Dimension Data.
Hawkins is investing in technology as a critical enabler to improve productivity, beginning with the implementation of Microsoft Lync and Office 365.
The upgrade enables mobility for its employees and a dynamic environment that supports the future enablement of activity based working.
Hannes van Zyl, Chief Information Officer at Hawkins, says IT plays a major role in all aspects of the business today, and his focus is on ensuring it is as effective and efficient as possible.
"One such component is ensuring Hawkins is fully mobile so that our teams can work from anywhere at any time," van Zyl adds.
"Upgrading to Microsoft Lync and Office 365 enables just that, and gives us the benefits of improved collaboration and communication across our locations nationwide.
"We can leverage IP-based communication with Lync, and have therefore reduced our phone toll spend.
"We’ve also got the benefits of instant messaging, video calling, multi-party collaboration and presence and availability information."
According to Simon Goode, General Manager – Solutions at Dimension Data New Zealand, Hawkins wanted to ensure it has "reliable and streamlined communication tools" that would improve employee productivity and ensure its people had more time to focus on their job, regardless of their location.
“With this upgrade, Hawkins has also been able to reduce its capital investment on fixed desk assets such as phone hardware," Goode adds.
"Utilising consumption based technology allows the business to pay only for what it needs at any given time.
"Hawkins has also bought the first Polycom Lync Room Systems with interactive touch panels in New Zealand, leading the way for enterprise collaboration nationwide.
"The dedicated room collaboration solution will help Hawkins to cut back on travel costs and carbon footprint for the company."