Case study AU: Transforming Adelaide 500 event ticketing
How Canon Business Services Australia helped transform the 2024 Adelaide 500 ticketing for corporate clients with modern applications and built in security.
Canon Australia’s (Canon) IT support model had grown across multiple vendors, with different providers managing the Service Desk, Linux systems, databases, storage, security, and a legacy data centre footprint. Canon leadership had set two priorities: consolidate third-party vendor support under the Canon Business Services ANZ (CBS) umbrella to retain value within the Canon Oceania Group, and lift service quality without risking downtime on mission-critical systems.
However, consolidating these services wasn’t just a technical decision, but a values-driven one. Canon’s commitment to Truly Care and CBS’s value of Partnership shaped the approach from the outset, centring on teamwork, trust, and continuity.
The stakes were high. Changing support providers, storage arrays, and core platforms while improving user support and security required precise coordination between Canon, the outgoing providers, and CBS.
“These are complex, mission-critical systems that need to be up all the time,” says Nathan Lord, Senior Manager, Enterprise Operations, Canon Australia. “When we transitioned from the external vendors over to CBS, it was smooth, professionally managed—and there were no outages.”
“It just made sense,” says Paul Frontczak, Transition Manager, CBS. “Why pay external providers when the expertise already existed within the Canon group? By consolidating services under CBS, we kept the value under one umbrella—Canon Oceania—rather than sending it outside.”
CBS has a long history of supporting organisations transform their IT stack and become more future-ready with the capability to support a full-service requirement.
CBS designed a multi-phase transition spanning planning, cutovers, and early-life hypercare, with mixed teams from Canon and CBS working as “one crew.”
From the CBS side, Paul oversaw the migration process end-to-end, coordinating closely with Canon’s IT team and outgoing vendors to ensure a smooth cutover.
“We collaborated with Canon’s staff and the previous suppliers to make sure every detail—from configurations to processes—was captured and ready for onboarding into CBS,” Paul explains.
“The project’s success came down to open dialogue,” he adds. “We had key people on both sides talking daily, solving problems in real time, and keeping everyone informed. That level of communication is what made it work.”
“Bringing our IT services under CBS turned multiple vendors into one team,” says Nathan. “Now we have one partner accountable across Service Desk, infrastructure, and security it’s all seamless, and it’s all within the Canon family.”
CBS assumed Level 1 & 2 Service Desk operations across Australia and New Zealand with follow-the-sun coverage.
“CBS took our IT support to the next level,” says Lord. “We finally have around-the-clock Service Desk coverage, and employees are giving us rave reviews about the support. The CBS team feels like an extension of Canon IT.”
Tight integration with ServiceNow keeps ticket routing invisible to users, while shared knowledge articles and Canon’s ITIL processes ensure consistent outcomes.
CBS provides a Security Operations Centre (SOC) and Vulnerability Management with 24×7 monitoring and incident response, integrating specialist threat-intel where appropriate while remaining the single accountable operator.
“Thanks to CBS, we’ve got enterprise-grade security watching over us 24/7,” says Nathan. “They provide dark web monitoring and advice if there is any activity that mentions Canon —it’s like having a world-class SOC team on standby for Canon.”
CBS operates Cloud Metro, Canon’s private cloud platform hosted in top-tier data centres. Canon migrated off legacy facilities into a more scalable, cloud-like environment, with disaster recovery (DR) capabilities and rapid provisioning.
“Moving to CBS’s Cloud Metro was a game-changer,” Nathan notes. “We have moved a large percentage of workloads out of our old data centre, and now we have a private cloud that’s as agile as public cloud—our systems are more stable and scalable than ever.”
“When things go bump in the night, CBS jumps on it like it’s their own,” says Nathan. “We’ve had critical incidents where their engineers were on-site within minutes—that dedication has sharply improved our uptime and reliability.”
One partner, end-to-end accountability.
Canon no longer juggles multiple vendors for interdependent services. Databases, Linux, storage, Service Desk, SOC, and Cloud Metro operations now sit with a single accountable team.
“This isn’t a vendor deal—it’s a partnership,” says Nathan. “CBS works with us as one team. They understand our business, adapt to our needs, and have made my life easier by taking our IT operations to the next level.”
Over just two years, Canon and CBS have transformed a fragmented outsourcing model into a unified partnership. What began as a cost-saving exercise quickly became a story of collaboration and shared accountability.
“CBS is now part of our ecosystem,” says Nathan. “It feels like we’ve channelled our investment back into our own business and are reaping the rewards in quality.”
Beyond the operational benefits, the partnership has reshaped how both organisations work. Canon staff who transitioned alongside CBS have expanded their skills and exposure to new technologies, while CBS engineers embedded within Canon have developed deep knowledge of the imaging and print industry. This cross-pollination of expertise has created a culture of continuous improvement—one where ideas, not invoices, drive progress.
“When we asked for more detailed security reporting, CBS refined it almost immediately,” says Nathan. “When we needed extra coverage for a new business in New Zealand, they just made it happen. That agility and willingness to adapt is what makes this partnership work.”
Multiple cutovers were delivered without outages, supported by rehearsed change windows and early-life hypercare. Integrated teams and clear playbooks have shortened mean-time-to-restore when incidents do occur.
User sentiment on the Service Desk has improved, with quicker resolutions, consistent communications, and seamless handoffs behind the scenes. Canon IT’s reputation internally has strengthened as a result.
24×7 SOC coverage, proactive vulnerability management, and dark-web monitoring have improved visibility and response, reducing risk across servers, workstations, and network devices.
By insourcing under the CBS banner, Canon keeps significant non-payroll value within the Canon group while accessing MSP-grade execution and scale.
“Nothing is ever perfect,” says Frontczak. “But the key is that we keep talking. Regular production and status meetings let us fine-tune as we go—and that’s been really successful.”
The next phase focuses on expanding SOC and vulnerability coverage, and evolving Cloud Metro with added capacity and public-cloud interconnect options for burst workloads.
At the same time, CBS is working with Canon to evolve the Cloud Metro platform, adding new capacity and exploring public cloud interconnect options to enable burst scalability when workloads spike.
Finally, both teams are focused on refining ServiceNow workflows and knowledge management, driving faster first-contact resolution and a more seamless user support experience. Together, these initiatives ensure the Canon–CBS partnership continues to mature, building resilience, agility, and continuous improvement into every layer of IT operations.
The collaboration between Canon and CBS continues to evolve as a model for how large enterprises can balance control with innovation. Canon now serves as a flagship customer for CBS’s managed services—helping test, refine, and champion new solutions such as AI-enabled service desk tools and next-generation security analytics.
“With CBS as our partner, we can move faster on new technology,” says Nathan. “They’ve already implemented many of the innovations we’re considering, so we’re not reinventing the wheel—we’re leveraging proven expertise.”
As Canon looks ahead, the focus remains on sustainable growth, agility, and continual improvement. The past two years have proven that keeping IT support in-house —with the right partner—can deliver savings and strategic value across the entire organisation.
“It’s not about a finish line—it’s about a steady tempo of improvement,” says Paul. “That’s where the Canon–CBS model really pays off.”
CBS ANZ helps enterprise IT teams bring critical services back under their own banner without sacrificing pace, resilience or security. From multi-vendor migrations to 24×7 SOC coverage and private cloud operations, we deliver MSP-grade execution with a true partner mindset.
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