A not-for-profit aged care provider needed to modernise infrastructure. Commercial quotes ranged from $280,000-$420,000. Our advice cost $12,000 and saved them $162,000.
A not-for-profit aged care provider operating three Adelaide facilities faced end-of-life servers, unsupported clinical software, and a data security flag from their last accreditation visit. Their IT modernisation budget was $120,000. Commercial MSP quotes were $280,000-$420,000.
Our Advisor-tier engagement ($1,000/month) provided monthly strategy sessions and async guidance. In the first session, we identified that all commercial quotes proposed on-premises replacement — a like-for-like approach that perpetuated the problem. The right answer was cloud migration.
We recommended Microsoft 365 for productivity and cloud-hosted clinical software. We advised on the procurement process (including accessing not-for-profit pricing through Microsoft’s NFP programme, reducing software costs by 40%), provided vendor evaluation criteria, reviewed contracts before signing, and conducted a security review of the final architecture. A local MSP selected using our criteria handled the actual implementation.
The modernisation completed at $118,000 total — $162,000 less than the lowest commercial quote. Annual IT operating costs reduced 62%. A subsequent aged care accreditation found no IT governance concerns.
This engagement demonstrates what strategic CTO advisory can achieve at the lowest tier. Sometimes you need the right advice at the right moment — not a full engagement.
Book a free call with a CTO who has 27 years of hands-on experience — and a track record of measurable outcomes.