Background
Crabtrees Real Estate is a long-established commercial real estate agency operating out of Oakleigh and Dandenong, handling property sales, leasing, and management. As a long-standing managed IT client, Crabtrees turned to Steadfast Solutions when it became clear that its ageing on-premises setup was not keeping pace with its business operations.
Problem
Crabtrees was running a legacy environment that had served the business well for years, but the cracks were starting to show across their multiple locations.
- Heavy reliance on ageing, end-of-life on-premises infrastructure
- Inconsistent device performance and fragmented management
- Limited ability to support secure remote and multi-site access
- Manual, time-consuming processes for user onboarding and printing
- Shared data spread across legacy file shares with no clear cloud storage model
- Rising security concerns and compliance pressures with no roadmap to address it
Solution
Steadfast Solutions worked with Crabtrees to design a phased migration that touched identity, devices, data, and networking. The goal was to implement a standardised, cloud-first environment that would be easier to manage, more secure for Crabtrees’ multiple offices, and better suited to support the business.
Cloud Migration & Identity
- Moved core services and data into Microsoft cloud platforms
- Configured Entra ID to strengthen identity and access controls
- Enforced compliance and conditional access policies suited to a multi-site business
Endpoint & Device Management
- Rolled out Windows Autopilot for streamlined, self-service device provisioning
- Standardised device management across multiple locations
- Applied MFA and compliance policies to reduce endpoint risk
Data & Collaboration
- Deployed SharePoint-based document access to replace legacy file shares
- Gave staff consistent, reliable access to shared information across all offices
Printing & Office Infrastructure
- Implemented a cloud-based printing solution to simplify and modernise print deployment across sites
Azure Workloads
- Provisioned Azure-based resources to support specific operational functions unique to Crabtrees' business
Steadfast Solutions focused on minimising business disruption throughout the project. Each phase included enough time for testing before key business periods to ensure the solutions were integrated with existing tools, properly configured, and set up for employee use.
Result
The migration gave Crabtrees a far more manageable and future-ready environment than the one it replaced.
- Reduced downtime risk by moving away from legacy on-premises systems
- Improved operational efficiency through simplified device management and easier access to shared information
- Strengthened security with MFA, tighter identity controls, and compliance-focused configuration
- Better cost value by consolidating services into a strategic cloud environment and cutting the long-term burden of maintaining old infrastructure
- A stronger, more standardised platform to support future business plans and optimisation
Future
The relationship with Crabtrees didn’t end at go-live. What started as a migration project has grown into an ongoing conversation about where the environment goes next, including:
- Further security uplift
- Device refresh planning
- Continued improvements to access controls
Steadfast Solutions continues to work with Crabtrees through regular check-ins, proactive planning, and a shared view of what business operations and IT infrastructure need as the company changes.
For Steadfast Solutions, this reflects exactly the kind of partner it wants to be for real estate businesses: one that understands the operational realities of the sector and sticks around to help the environment mature over time.
Takeaways
This project reinforced a few things Steadfast Solutions already believed, and taught a few new ones. Migrations like this work best when they’re treated as the start of a longer conversation, and planned for future improvements.
- A phased approach reduces risk and keeps staff on side during change
- Getting identity and device management right early makes every later improvement easier
- Clear communication with the client is what turns a technical project into a genuine partnership
- The real value of a cloud migration often shows up months later, in the smaller improvements it makes possible