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Dyson embraces the cloud

After expanding its operations in recent years, one of Victoria’s largest bus companies is now also innovating its management processes

Melbourne’s family-owned bus businesses Dyson Group is marking its 65th year by embarking on a digital transformation in collaboration with cloud IT specialist PrimeQ.

This digital software makeover will help future-proof the fourth-generation family business, which was established in 1952.

Dysons operates a large part of Melbourne and rural Victoria’s metropolitan bus services as well as school and charter coach services throughout Victoria and New South Wales.

“Dysons operates more than 490 buses and coaches and employs around 930 people in metropolitan Melbourne, regional Victoria and New South Wales,” group manager business improvement Vivienne Eyles said.

“Our new cloud-based IT system will allow us to provide more detailed reporting to our customers and will support our achievement of key contract deliverables. It will also create a platform for new innovations that will enhance our reputation for safety and reliability which have contributed to Dyson’s success and longevity over 65 years.”

When ABC spoke to the Dysons crew last year, the company had enjoyed a period of expansion throughout regional Victoria with the recent acquisition of O’Connell’s Omeo Bus Service and Shepparton Transit the previous year.

“The main focus really is on growing the network up there and hopefully putting on more services where they are needed most,” joint managing director Neil Dyson said at the time. “We are a 24/7 operation around here.”

Based in Bundoora, Melbourne, but with depots in Reservoir, Kyneton, Bairnsdale, Shepparton, Wangaratta, Wodonga and Moama, NSW, and providing local and luxury tours and charter, corporate event charter, major event transport, airport transfers, Victorian Government contract services and more, the management of Dysons’ diverse and complex network will be streamlined through the services of PrimeQ, which “sells, implements and supports Oracle Cloud enterprise software”.

“We are excited to be at the forefront of cloud technology, a key reason we have exclusively partnered with Oracle to provide the best possible solution to any organisation,” PrimeQ says.

 

The Technology

PrimeQ is set to implement an Oracle Cloud solution across the Dyson group, creating a fully integrated digital core to enhance data collection and reporting, which, as we all know, has become a full-time job for bus operators these days.

The solution will have at its core a cloud-based Oracle JD Edwards Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), “an integrated applications suite of comprehensive enterprise resource planning software that combines business value, standards-based technology, and deep industry experience into a business solution with a low total cost of ownership” and also offers mobile applications, according to the company.

It will run on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and will be complemented by Oracle Cloud applications for transportation management, customer experience and human capital management.

“The Dyson Group is pleased to work with PrimeQ to bring the best of breed in IT to passenger service delivery,” Eyles says.

“Dysons selected PrimeQ and Oracle as our preferred implementation and technology partners following an extensive selection process. The Oracle cloud platform offers Dysons a true integrated solution.

“As a family-owned business we wanted our systems integrator to be a strong cultural fit and PrimeQ’s values, with its focus on always putting the customer first, are aligned with our own.

“PrimeQ engaged with us, demonstrated an understanding of our business and gave us confidence in their approach.”

IaaS, where hardware is provided by an external provider and managed for the client, is one of the three main categories of cloud computing services, alongside software as a service (SaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS).

Company histories

Established in 2016 with its head office in Adelaide, PrimeQ has undergone a rapid expansion since then, employing more than 100 staff with offices across Australia and New Zealand, with a presence in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland and Wellington.

Its partnership with Oracle Corporation is based on solid foundations, with the American technology multinational celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2017, and recognised as the second-largest software maker by revenue, after Microsoft. Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, its specialties include cloud-engineered systems and enterprise software products — particularly its own brands of database management systems.

“PrimeQ is pleased to support the Dyson Group with a five plus five-year partnership that includes ongoing technical assistance,” PrimeQ CEO Andrew McAdams says.

“Dysons has chosen a powerful Oracle platform with integrated cloud capability and we expect to go live in mid-2018.

“The new system will allow Dysons to reduce manual data entries and automate administrative processes to create productivity gains.

“This will allow Dysons to focus its attention on data analysis and business improvement.

“PrimeQ looks forward to building a strong partnership with Dyson over the coming years as we support the company through its digital transformation journey.”

Oracle predicts that by 2025, 80 per cent of corporate IT budgets will be spent on cloud services, and 90 per cent of enterprise data will be stored in the cloud. It also forecasts that by 2025, due to the cloud, 80 per cent of IT spend will be on innovation rather than maintenance.

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