Symal Group has tapped Macquarie Cloud Services, part of Macquarie Technology Group, for Microsoft Azure public cloud services to support the company’s digital foundation and rapid growth.
Symal Group was founded in Melbourne in 2001 and has since evolved into a newly ASX-listed construction giant.
The group comprises five complementary businesses with services across contracting, plant and equipment hire, material sales and recycling, all spanning multiple sectors.
Trent Dawson, general manager of IT and systems at Symal Group, said that with digital innovation a core focus for the company and key reason behind its continued growth, Symal needed a Microsoft Azure specialist provider with deep technical expertise.
“We’ve been moving at pace, and we needed a new partner who could keep up and match our digital ambition and expertise,” said Dawson.
Macquarie Cloud Services managing the Azure environment has freed Trent and his team of more than 20 technology experts from time-consuming tasks. These include software patching to focus on business growth, security and networking.
Macquarie has also enabled cost savings including a 10% reduction in Microsoft subscriptions and reducing certain less-used cloud resources.
Symal also benefitted from improved commercial discounts on Azure consumption and the deployment of cloud-native monitoring. This significantly reduced infrastructure downtime and improved capacity management.
At the same time, a heightened need for robust cybersecurity and compliance measures was a front-of-mind concern for Symal to ensure the seamless integration of new acquisitions while reducing both the cost and risk often associated with growth.
Symal is focusing heavily on building AI capabilities in its Azure environment, including the development of large language models (LLMs) through Microsoft Copilot, building its own AI agents, and leveraging its data in new ways.
The company is looking at a number of AI developments to improve construction projects’ efficiency and reduce risk.
“The construction sector has lagged behind in technology and innovation for so long, but in the last few years we’re seeing a drastic shift and more impactful digital services being offered and created,” said Dawson.
Naran McClung, head of Asure at Macquarie Cloud Services, said Symal’s innovation and AI focus will help to improve efficiency and digitalisation in Australia’s construction sector.
“AI can’t construct buildings, but it can dramatically improve efficiency, forecasting, collaboration, and lower costs for construction companies and customers,” said McClung.
