Koch Solutions case study
A hyper converged platform at NEXTDC P2 and faster links between sites.
AustinCloud
Managed cloud servers on a fixed monthly price
Run your business servers in AustinCloud, our private cloud across three Perth data centres. You pay a fixed monthly price, and our engineers patch, monitor, back up and secure every server for you.
AustinCloudHosted in WA, managed from Subiaco
- 3Data centres, Tier III and Tier IV facilities
- $0Data egress or per request charges
- 31daysImmutable lock on the optional offsite backup copy
- 24/7Monitoring by our operations team
Trusted by businesses across WA
01Time to move
Signs your server is ready for the cloud
Most small and medium businesses move their servers when one of these four things happens. If one sounds familiar, it is worth pricing a cloud server before you buy new hardware.
The warranty is ending
A new physical server, licences and set up is a large upfront cost for a box that sits in a cupboard. Older hardware gets harder and slower to repair.
FixSwap the capital spend for a fixed monthly price. Hardware refresh underneath becomes our job, not yours.
Remote staff find it slow
Files and applications that run well in the office crawl over a VPN from home or site, because everything travels through your office internet.
FixServers on fast data centre connections, reached through secure remote access or a private link to your offices.
One server, one point of failure
A failed disk, a power cut or a hot comms room can stop the whole business, and the backup often sits in the same room as the server.
FixClustered hosts with data centre power and cooling, and backups kept in a separate data centre.
You are moving office
A new lease means building a new comms room, moving fragile hardware and planning a weekend of downtime around it.
FixMove the servers to AustinCloud first. The new office only needs desks, wireless and a good internet link.
02What managed means
Who looks after what
Plenty of providers rent you a server and leave the rest to you. This is where the work sits with AustinCloud, a self managed cloud server and a server in your office.
| Who handles | AustinCloudManaged cloud server | Self managed cloud serverRaw hosting or IaaS | Server in your officeOn site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware, power and cooling | Us, in Tier III and Tier IV data centres | The provider | You, in your comms room |
| Hardware replacement | Us, with no refresh project for you | The provider | You, with a capital spend every few years |
| Operating system updates | Us, on an agreed schedule | You | You |
| Monitoring and alerts | Us, 24/7 | The platform only | You, if it is set up |
| Backups and restores | Us, included and test restored | Often an extra you set up yourself | You |
| Firewalls and network security | Us, on a segmented network | You | You |
| When something goes wrong | Our engineers, who already know your setup | You fix the server, the provider fixes the platform | Whoever you can reach |
| How you pay | Fixed monthly for your reserved resources | Monthly, plus usage and egress on some platforms | Upfront hardware, then maintenance |
Swipe the table sideways to compare all three.
03What runs on it
What runs well on a cloud server
Anything you run on a Windows or Linux server today can usually move as it is. These are the systems businesses most often bring across.
01
Line of business applications
Industry software that needs Windows Server, from practice management and job costing to ERP and engineering systems.
02
SQL Server databases
Databases that need steady storage performance and a short path to the applications that use them.
03
Remote desktop
Remote desktop servers give staff anywhere the same desktop and apps, with the data sitting right next to them.
04
File shares
Shared drives with the folders and permissions you already have. If your files suit SharePoint better, we will tell you.
05
Domain and sign in
Active Directory domain controllers, linked to Microsoft Entra ID so staff use one sign in for Microsoft 365 and the network.
06
Linux servers
Web applications, integrations and tools on Linux, managed alongside your Windows servers by the same team.
Planning a change to where things run?
Tell us what you have today. A technical consultant will scope it with you and send a fixed monthly price.
04How pricing works
Fixed monthly, no usage surprises
Data egress and per request charges$0
You pay a fixed monthly price for the resources you reserve. The bill stays the same every month until you ask us to change it.
Get a fixed monthly quoteWhat sets your monthly price
- 01Processor and memory
The cores and memory allocated to each server, sized to what your applications need rather than a fixed package.
- 02Storage
Fast storage for databases and applications, and a lower cost tier for archives and older files.
- 03Software licences
Windows Server, SQL Server and remote desktop licences, supplied monthly or brought across where your licence terms allow.
- 04Backup
Backups of every server are part of the service. The offsite immutable copy is optional and billed per terabyte stored.
- 05Connectivity
Secure remote access for your team, with a private link or SD-WAN connection to your offices if you need one.
Quoted ex GST after a short sizing review. Resources can be scaled up or down as your business changes.
05Backup and disaster recovery
Backups you can restore from
A backup only counts if it restores. Every AustinCloud server is backed up, and we test restores so you are not finding out on the worst day.
Included
Server backups
Every server is backed up to separate storage in a different data centre, with retention agreed in your design.
- Whole server and single file restores
- Retention set to your needs
- Backup jobs monitored by our team
- Encrypted backup data
OptionalPer TB
Offsite immutable copy
An extra copy of your backups in a separate offsite vault, locked so nobody can change or delete it, even with an administrator account.
- 31 day immutable lock
- 90 day retention
- Billed on the space you use
- A clean copy if ransomware reaches your backups
Planned
Disaster recovery
We agree how quickly each server needs to come back and how much data you can afford to lose, then design and test to match.
- Recovery targets for each system
- A written recovery runbook
- Restore tests on a schedule
- Results reported to you
Backing up Microsoft 365 or servers that stay on site as well?
Cloud backup and recovery06Security and data residency
Secure by default, hosted in WA
Australian cloud servers, hosted in Western Australia and run by a WA business. Security is part of the build, not an add on you have to remember to ask for.
01
Perth data centres
Your servers and data stay in NEXTDC P1, NEXTDC P2 and Vocus DC3, with backups kept in a different site from the servers they protect.
02
Segmented networks
Your servers sit on their own segmented network behind managed firewalls, separate from every other business on the platform.
03
Patching on schedule
Operating system and security updates go on in agreed maintenance windows, with urgent fixes brought forward.
04
Protected remote access
Staff connect through secure remote access with multi factor authentication, not ports left open to the internet.
05
Encrypted, locked backups
Backup data is encrypted, and the optional offsite copy cannot be changed or deleted for 31 days.
06
ISO 27001 certified
Our information security management is independently audited. For 24/7 detection and response on servers and devices, add SecureShield.
07How we move you
From your cupboard to AustinCloud
You get a price and a plan in writing before anything moves, and the cutover happens when it suits your business.
- Size
Audit and sizing
We review your servers, applications, licences and internet links, then size each server and give you a fixed monthly price and a migration plan.
- Build
Build and test
We build your environment in AustinCloud and set up networking and remote access. Then we test your applications with the people who use them.
- Move
Planned cutover
Data is copied across ahead of time, so the final move happens after hours in an agreed window, with a rollback plan if anything is not right.
- Run
Managed from day one
We monitor, patch and back up every server. Capacity, performance and backups are reviewed with you regularly.
08Is it a fit
Is a cloud server right for you
Some businesses do not need servers at all any more. We would rather tell you that than move a server you could retire.
A strong fit AustinCloud
- +A server that is out of warranty or due for replacement in the next year
- +Applications that need Windows Server or SQL Server and cannot move to SaaS yet
- +Staff across offices, home and site who need the same apps and files
- +Clients, insurers or tenders asking where your data is held
- +An office move where you would rather not build a new comms room
Probably another option We will say so
- ×Everything already runs in Microsoft 365 and cloud apps, so there is no server left to move
- ×Workloads with big, short spikes that suit pay as you go public cloud
- ×Equipment on site that has to talk to a local server, which suits a hybrid setup
- ×Raw infrastructure you want to run yourself, with no managed service
09Client stories
Infrastructure we have moved and run
Servers and platforms we planned, moved and look after, and what changed for each business.
thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions case study
380+ users and six sites supported through 100+ projects and a change of owner.
FAST Emergency Care case study
A new urgent care clinic fitted out in four fixed price packages: network, workstations, phones and clinical software.
Thirteen client stories in full, with the numbers.
All client success stories10Recognised and certified
A top 50 MSP in Australia, three years running
Cloudtango named Austin Technology in its top 50 managed service providers in Australia in 2024, 2025 and 2026. We are also certified to ISO 27001 and ISO 9001, so the way we protect your data and run your service is checked by an independent auditor every year.
Top 50 MSP in Australia
Cloudtango, 2024, 2025 and 2026. Assessed on client satisfaction, growth and the depth of our security, support and infrastructure services.
Read our client reviews on Cloudtango
ISO 27001
Information securityOur information security management system covers how we handle client data, credentials and access to your systems, certified by Compass Assurance Services and audited every year.
How we protect your dataISO 9001
Quality managementSupport tickets, projects and onboarding follow documented processes, so you get the same standard of work whichever engineer picks up your job. Ask us for our certificates when you run a supplier review or tender.
11Questions
Cloud server questions
What business owners and IT managers ask before moving servers out of the office. Anything else, call 1300 787 429.
01What is a managed cloud server?
A cloud server is a virtual server that runs in a data centre instead of your office. Managed means we look after everything that keeps it running: the hardware underneath, the operating system, patching, backups, security and monitoring. Your team keeps using the same applications and files, and connects to them securely from the office, home or site.
02How much does a cloud server cost for a small business?
It depends on the processor, memory and storage each server needs, the software licences it runs and how much backup you keep. AustinCloud is a fixed monthly price for the resources you reserve, with no charges for data egress, so the bill does not move with usage.
We size your servers and give you a fixed quote after a short review, which makes it easy to compare against replacing the server in your office.
03Where are your cloud servers hosted?
In Perth, across NEXTDC P1, NEXTDC P2 and Vocus DC3. Your servers and data stay in Western Australia, with backups kept in a different data centre from the servers they protect. That helps with the data residency questions clients, insurers and tenders tend to ask.
04Will a cloud server be slower than the server in our office?
For staff working from home or site it is usually faster, because the server sits on fast data centre connections instead of your office internet. For staff in the office, speed depends on your internet link.
We check your links during sizing. Where an application is sensitive to delay, we run it on a remote desktop server next to its data, so only the screen travels over the internet.
05How long does it take to move our servers?
For a typical small or medium business, four to eight weeks from sizing to cutover. Data is copied across ahead of time, so the final move happens after hours in an agreed window and your team starts the next morning on the new servers.
06What happens if something fails?
AustinCloud hosts are clustered, so if a host fails, the servers on it restart on another host. Backups are kept in a separate data centre, and the optional offsite copy is locked against changes for 31 days.
Before you move, we agree how quickly each server needs to come back and how much data you can afford to lose, then design your backup and recovery to match.
07How is AustinCloud different from Azure or AWS?
Azure and AWS bill on usage, so costs move month to month, and you or your IT provider manage the servers inside them. AustinCloud is a fixed monthly price, hosted in WA and managed end to end by the same team that supports you. Some workloads suit Azure better, and we manage those too. See Azure cloud, or compare the options on our cloud computing page.
08Do we still need IT support once our servers are in the cloud?
Managed cloud servers cover the servers themselves. Your people, laptops, Microsoft 365 and office network still need looking after, which is what our IT support plans do. Most clients have both, so one team owns the whole picture. See managed IT services.
Client feedback
What our clients say
1,800+ reviews from the people who call our Perth service desk every day.
1,800+
25
60+
01 / 08
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“Turns every IT problem into a non-issue”
Arthur turns every IT problem into a non-issue and does it with real patience and professionalism. He explains things in a way that makes the process easy and always leaves us feeling supported. We appreciate the way he handles every request.
Bronte J.Indian Ocean Hotel
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“Patient, capable and a genuine listener”
The support was outstanding. Patient, capable and a genuine listener, which is rare in support calls. He took the time to understand the issue and work through it with care. You are fortunate to have him on your team and the level of service was impressive.
Peter MidgleyPowertech
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“Steady, thoughtful and stress free”
Jamie put in a great deal of effort to resolve the problem and it showed in the result. His approach was steady and thoughtful and the support was appreciated. It made the whole experience smooth and stress free.
Jason CavallaroCallidus Process Solutions
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“Resolved the issue within minutes”
The consultant knew exactly what to do and resolved the issue within minutes. He talked through each step so I understood what was happening and made the process simple. The clear communication and fast resolution made a real difference.
Kirk LentonPilbara Construction
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“The extra guidance made it more valuable”
Brady tracked down an email I could not locate and took the time to show us how to search more effectively in the future. The extra guidance was helpful and made the experience more valuable. His support was straightforward and appreciated.
Tony YoungOptimus Real Estate
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“Resolved quickly, with none of my work lost”
They resolved my issue quickly and efficiently, which meant I didn’t lose any of the work I had done today. The support was clear and straightforward, and the outcome made a real difference to my day. Thank you.
Warner PriestInterContinental Energy
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“Calm, patient and always willing to help”
Dev Sandhu is outstanding in his knowledge and support. He has a calm and patient way of working through any IT issue and is always willing to help at short notice. His positive attitude makes the whole experience easier and more reassuring. Thank you to Dev and the team at Austin for the consistent support.
Peter AlexanderKoch Solutions
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“Refreshing after two unreliable IT providers”
After dealing with two unreliable IT providers in recent years, it has been refreshing to place my trust in Greg and the team at Austin. They have been professional and highly competent, even under pressure. Their support has made a real difference. Thank you, and keep it up.
Mark HutchisonLifewood
Trusted by 300+ organisations
12Sizing review
Retire the server
in the cupboard.
Tell us about the servers you run now. A technical consultant will size them with you and send a fixed monthly price and a plan to move.
Level 2, 541 Hay Street, Subiaco WA 6008
Servers hosted locally for businesses across WA and Australia.