by The Computing Australia Group | Exciting New IT
Partnership
Delivering real-time, follow-the-sun engineering coverage so customers get expert help the moment they need it—day or night.
Executive Summary
Smart Solutions Group (UK) and The Computing Australia Group (Australia) have entered into a strategic joint venture to deliver true 24/7 IT support for customers worldwide. By combining geographically distributed teams, unified processes, and shared tooling, the partnership provides real-time access to highly skilled engineers across all time zones. The result: faster response, reduced downtime, better outcomes for end users, and improved engineer work-life balance.
This press release outlines the vision behind the partnership, how the service model works, what customers can expect at launch, and how the two organisations will measure success. It also includes quotes from leadership, a set of frequently asked questions, and guidance for customers who wish to onboard immediately.
Quick Facts
- Partnership: Smart Solutions Group (Cambridgeshire, UK) × The Computing Australia Group (Australia)
- Service: True 24/7/365 IT support with live engineers
- Coverage: EMEA, APAC, and the Americas through a follow-the-sun model
- Focus: Rapid incident response, proactive monitoring, security-first operations, and customer experience
- Benefits: Minimise downtime, improve SLAs, elevate customer satisfaction, and support employee wellbeing by removing unsociable hours
- Availability: Immediately for existing and new customers
Why This Partnership Matters Now
In a world where customers make purchases, deploy software, and run business-critical operations at all hours, IT support cannot sleep. The cost of downtime-from missed orders to delayed projects and reduced employee productivity-can escalate quickly. Many providers promise “24/7 coverage,” but too often that translates to voicemail triage or third-party call centres that cannot resolve issues on the spot.
This partnership is different. Smart Solutions Group and The Computing Australia Group have invested in:
1. A follow-the-sun engineering roster-so the person answering the call has the skills and access to fix the issue, not just “log a ticket.”
2. Shared tooling and standards-including unified ticketing, change and incident workflows, configuration management, and security practices.
3. Harmonised SLAsthat define clear, measurable response and resolution targets across all time zones.
For customers, this means less waiting, fewer handoffs, and faster time-to-resolution regardless of location or hour.
Leadership Commentary
“Our joint venture with The Computing Australia Group represents a major breakthrough in customer support, enabling us to provide uninterrupted assistance to our valued clients,” said Lee Bennellick, CEO of Smart Solutions Group. “With engineers on standby 24/7, we’re delivering a level of service that meets customers where they are-while giving our teams a healthier work–life balance.”
“At The Computing Australia Group, we understand the importance of reliable, responsive IT support,” added Daniel Hutchinson, CEO of The Computing Australia Group. “This is the culmination of over 12 months of business and systems development. We’re excited to combine resources and deliver a seamless global experience that keeps businesses running without interruption.”
What “True 24/7” Means in Practice
True 24/7 is more than an after-hours line. It means:
- Always-on engineering: Real people with the right credentials are online at all hours—no time zone gaps and no “we’ll call you back at 9am.”
- Single shared platform: One ticketing and observability stack across the partnership ensures continuity of context and zero blind spots.
- Escalation that works: Clear, pre-agreed escalation paths with ownership, RACI roles, and incident commanders for major incidents.
- Security-first operations: MFA, role-based access, audited changes, and a least-privilege model are enforced across both organisations.
- Proactive monitoring: Issues are often detected and remediated before they impact users thanks to telemetry, alerting thresholds, and defined runbooks.
Customer Benefits
1. Faster Response, Faster Resolution
- Live triage by engineers who can immediately investigate, diagnose, and act.
- Runbooks and standard operating procedures (SOPs) reduce time to resolution for common incidents.
- Follow-the-sun handovers include context, logs, and actions taken-no repeated discovery.
2. Higher Uptime and Reliability
- Proactive patching and maintenance windows are coordinated across regions to minimise business disruption.
- Predictive monitoring flags anomalies early using trends, baselines, and health checks.
3. Stronger Security Posture
- Hardened access controls and secure bastion workflows ensure changes are traceable and approved.
- Security incident playbooks accelerate response to threats and support forensic analysis where needed.
4. Better Employee Experience
- No more unsociable rotas for internal teams; after-hours burdens move to the joint engineering roster.
- Clear ownership reduces decision friction and avoids burnout.
5. Transparent SLAs and Reporting
- SLA-backed response and resolution times with monthly service reviews.
- Dashboards and executive summaries show trends, root causes, and continuous improvements.
How the Joint Venture Operates
Unified Processes
- Incident Management: ITIL-aligned triage, severity classification, communication plans, post-incident reviews.
- Change Enablement: Standard, normal, and emergency change pathways with risk assessment and rollback plans.
- Problem Management: Root cause analysis (RCA) with defined corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
- Service Request Management: Catalog-based fulfilment with customer-specific approvals.
Shared Tooling
- Ticketing & CMDB: A shared platform ensures configuration and dependency mapping is consistent.
- Monitoring & Observability: Metrics, logs, and traces feed into a central observability layer with alert routing.
- Automation: Scripting and infrastructure-as-code reduce human error and accelerate routine tasks.
Governance & Quality Assurance
- Joint Service Review Board (SRB): Monthly governance to review KPIs, risk, and roadmap.
- Security Council: Quarterly alignment on controls, certifications, and threat posture.
- Training & Certification: Cross-organisation skill matrices and continuing education plans keep teams current.
Service Catalogue Highlights
- 24/7 Incident Response for end-user computing, networks, servers, cloud, and business applications
- Managed Detection & Response (MDR) with playbooks for containment and recovery
- Patch, Backup & DR Orchestration with tested restore objectives
- CloudOps & FinOps guidance to optimise cost, performance, and reliability
- SaaS Administration for core collaboration suites and line-of-business apps
- vCIO / Strategic Advisory for roadmap planning, budgeting, and risk management
Use Cases by Industry
- Professional Services: Maintain billable operations across time zones; prevent file sync or VPN issues from blocking deadlines.
- Retail & eCommerce: Keep payment gateways, POS, and inventory systems available 24/7; reduce cart abandonment from slow checkouts.
- Healthcare: Maintain EMR uptime, secure remote access for clinicians, and rapid recovery from device or network failures.
- Manufacturing: Support shift-based operations with network reliability, OT security overlays, and monitored production systems.
- Education: Ensure LMS, collaboration tools, and Wi‑Fi remain stable during global cohorts and assessments.
Onboarding: What New Customers Can Expect
1. Discovery & Readiness
- Environment assessment, risk review, and access prerequisites.
- Identification of critical systems, vendors, and compliance needs.
2. Service Blueprinting
- Define incident severities, SLAs, and communication plans.
- Map dependencies in the CMDB and align monitoring thresholds.
3. Runbook Development
- Create repeatable response steps for priority incidents.
- Establish change windows, maintenance rhythms, and patch cadences.
4. Secure Access & Tooling
- Implement MFA, bastion, and logging; integrate ticketing and observability.
- Test handovers and escalation paths.
5. Go‑Live & Optimisation
- Start 24/7 coverage with weekly checkpoints for the first month.
- Quarterly reviews thereafter with roadmap updates.
Metrics That Matter
Customers will receive transparent reporting on:
- SLA Performance: Response and resolution by severity.
- Availability: Uptime by service and region.
- Incident Trends: Recurring themes and seasonal patterns.
- Root Causes & Fix Rates: Closed-loop corrective actions.
- Security Signals: Detected threats, MTTA/MTTR for security incidents.
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): Post-ticket surveys and NPS snapshots.
Commitment to People and Planet
The joint venture is designed to protect both customer operations and engineer wellbeing:
- Work-Life Balance: Engineers work daylight hours in their local regions; overnight stress cycles and fatigue are reduced.
- Sustainable Operations: Efficient, remote-first support limits unnecessary travel while maintaining excellent service quality.
Quotes for Attribution
- Lee Bennellick, CEO, Smart Solutions Group: “Engineers on standby 24/7 means customers get real-time response when it matters most. We’re proud to pair industry-leading service with a healthier workplace for our teams.”
- Daniel Hutchinson, CEO, The Computing Australia Group: “This partnership brings together two culturally aligned organisations with a shared mission: keep customers online and secure, no matter the hour.”
About Smart Solutions Group
Smart Solutions Group is a leading IT services company based in Cambridgeshire, UK. The firm delivers innovative solutions across managed services, cloud, networking, and security-supported by a customer-first culture and proven delivery frameworks. Smart Solutions Group equips organisations to thrive in the digital age.
- Headquarters: Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
- Expertise: Managed IT, cloud engineering, network & security, consulting
- Approach: Outcomes-based delivery, continuous improvement, measurable SLAs
About The Computing Australia Group
With 20+ years of experience, The Computing Australia Group (CAG) is an established Australian managed service provider delivering comprehensive IT solutions to organisations of all sizes. CAG specialises in reliable support, secure operations, and scalable cloud and network services that help customers grow with confidence.
- Headquarters: Australia
- Expertise: Managed services, cloud platforms, cybersecurity, strategic advisory
- Approach: Security-first operations, proactive monitoring, and customer-centric design
Media & Customer Enquiries
-
Smart Solutions Group (UK)
General Enquiries: info@mysmartgroup.co.uk
Website: www.mysmartgroup.co.uk -
The Computing Australia Group (Australia)
General Enquiries: info@computingaustralia.com.au
Website: www.computingaustralia.com.au
Final Thoughts
Ready for always-on, engineer-led support?
Whether you need to stabilise operations, accelerate cloud adoption, or raise your security posture, our joint team is ready to help.
- Book a 30‑minute consultation to explore fit and timelines.
- Request a readiness checklist to assess your environment.
- Ask for a demo of dashboards, ticketing workflow, and runbooks.
FAQ
How is this different from outsourced after-hours call centres?
Every shift is staffed by engineers with the credentials and permissions to act immediately. We don’t just log your call; we resolve your problem.
What if my environment is highly customised?
During onboarding we document your environment in the CMDB, build bespoke runbooks, and validate change and incident procedures that fit your context.
How do you handle security and compliance?
We enforce MFA, least-privilege, and auditable change processes. We align with common frameworks and can support ISO/IEC 27001-aligned controls and industry best practices.
What happens during major incidents?
An incident commander is appointed, stakeholders are notified per the communications plan, and the team executes pre-approved playbooks. A post-incident review with RCA follows.
Will I have visibility into what’s happening?
Yes. Customers receive access to ticket status, dashboards, and executive summaries-and participate in regular service reviews.
