Genesis powering ahead in a cloud world

Genesis has moved to a modern cloud environment to deliver quality experiences for their employees and customers 

Leading the way in the generation and sale of electricity in New Zealand, Genesis has taken an innovative move to build an automated Azure cloud platform designed to scale and support its technology environment now and in the future. Significantly, the new platform was built with automation and agile delivery at the forefront. It is secure by design and was deployed in just 6 months.  

Genesis achieved this fast-tracked outcome by opting for our LAB³ Bedrock product which enables a rapid deployment of a safe and secure CAF aligned Azure platform delivered using Terraform and automation. This leads to a quicker realisation of business value, which made it an attractive option for Genesis.  

Now deployed, Genesis is already achieving value and its IT team was able to build three new websites in just two weeks.  

The low down: Why Genesis had a need for a modern cloud platform 

To operate efficiently in a cloud world organisations need a modern cloud platform for their technology environment to support the latest innovative cloud technology and run modern apps. 

Although Genesis had transitioned to a hybrid cloud model with Azure six years ago, this was done in an ad hoc way over time and alongside ageing on-premises infrastructure.

“Over time this ad hoc approach resulted in chaos. We had no framework to scale from, a total reliance on an IT team for development, and security weaknesses,” says Deakin Wilson, Genesis, Cloud & Infrastructure Platform Owner

Costs were also spiraling for Genesis, both in terms of maintaining its legacy environment, and not being able to reap the full efficiencies of being in the cloud.

Genesis identified the need to build a modern Azure platform which could support its technology environment in a secure, scalable and standardised way going forward.  

Taking this strategic step, Genesis opted for LAB³ Bedrock which could quickly provide unified organisational structures, improved cyber security, overcome blockers to internal innovation, provide better experiences for people, and allow Genesis to value-add sooner.

“Our desire is to democratise technology for employees and empower our people to innovate themselves without relying on our IT team. Our Modern Cloud is designed to support modern applications and ultimately improve online services for customers,” says Deakin Wilson.

It is not just the Genesis IT environment that is now modern; the Bedrock platform also supports their OT environment. 

“Bedrock puts Genesis in prime position to use the latest cloud technology in operational environments. With IoT and data analytics we can improve sustainability in the generation and supply of power, and with infrastructure management,” says Deakin Wilson.

What does automation bring to the build of a modern cloud environment? 

A key feature of LAB³ Bedrock is automation. This enables rapid deployment which is extensive and secure. Bedrock is comprised of ready-made modular components which cater to the holistic nature of an enterprise grade Azure Platform. These modular components are not only technical but also include workshops, design documents, and how-to guides, all paired with our code. Bedrock takes out complexity and enables a low barrier of entry to the benefits of cloud services. 

“Bedrock is built and designed to scale through automation, without sacrificing security controls. This means Genesis can easily modernise in the cloud as the need arises and only consume services as they are required,” says Lachlan White, General Manager of Technology, LAB³

The Bedrock deployment is also compliant with government requirements and has cyber security measures which are consistent with IRAP, ISO/ISM27001 and NZISM standards.

“The goal of Bedrock was not just to establish a foundation, but to create a springboard that extends past the basics into the operational side of the platform. This means that not only is there a secure, code-driven and functional foundation, but a safe and reliable space for the rapid development of innovative solutions to business problems, paired with a production ready environment with operational capabilities, such as monitoring and backup services available. This places Genesis in a unique position to achieve value faster,” says Lachlan White.

As part of this transformation, Genesis ensured the new platform build was supported by its team members. Plus, as part of the deployment, LAB³  worked in tandem with Genesis to ensure its team was given opportunities to upskill in Azure, automation, and DevOps. This helped drive uptake and innovation at every stage. 

“Utilizing the Bedrock platform has enabled Genesis to achieve a scalable, standardised and secure cloud mindset across the team, and improve technology cost management across the business,” says Deakin Wilson.

Genesis already achieving business value 

With the modern platform deployed, Genesis is already achieving value at an unheralded pace. Their IT team has been able to build three new websites in just 2 weeks.

“One of the first initiatives we embarked on in our new environment was to build a model and template for a new website. Having done it once, we were then able to build 3 more websites inside two weeks,” says Deakin Wilson

In the past this would have taken the Genesis IT team months and the website manager wasn’t ready for such a fast turnaround.  

“Our ability to move with so much speed is one of the real benefits of moving to a modern cloud environment and infrastructure as code approach. Once we have built models and templates for an existing use case, we can move incredibly fast to version this for new use cases. That’s just gold,” says Deakin Wilson.

Learn more about LAB³ Bedrock