- Cloud key to successful launch of business
- Conception to global operations achieved in just nine months
- Unparalleled flexibility and speed to market through cloud based technologies
TIAA Henderson Real Estate (TH Real Estate), one of the world’s largest real estate investment management companies, has attributed next-generation cloud based technologies as key to the successful launch of the business, which went from conception to global operations in just nine months.
Speaking today at Cloud World Forum in London, James Whyte, Acting Head of IT at TH Real Estate, told the packed conference hall that for businesses wanting unparalleled flexibility and speed to market, cloud is vital.
“The rise of cloud means that geographical location is no longer an obstacle in global success,” said Whyte. “Everything the cloud brings to a new business contributes to its success – end users have total mobility, deployment is rapid, costs are scalable and data centres become more energy efficient. Often stressful and time-consuming day-to-day IT operations are also eradicated, leaving employees to focus on their core competencies and growing the business.”
Whyte went on to outline the critical role cloud played in the growth of TH Real Estate, a joint venture company between TIAA-CREF – a leading financial services provider – and Henderson Global Investors, one of Europe’s largest investment companies.
A standalone operation to its parent companies, TH Real Estate needed a full business and technology suite built from scratch, including high quality video conferencing and other collaboration tools across 19 countries worldwide.
“The establishment of a global entity from a standing start and with very tight deadlines presents a number of challenges, particularly when you’re up against the traditionally long lead times which come with networks and equipment,” said Whyte.
“Providing the infrastructure required a vendor that understood the timelines and was willing to partner in not only the delivery but also the vision. A cloud based Citrix solution was the only logical choice if these timescales and geographic challenge was to be met. The decision of vendor in the end became quite simple – a global provider with strength in Asia Pacific and the ability to bring together three streams of services across cloud, network infrastructure and communications.”
Telstra Global was selected by TH Real Estate and adopted an ‘agile infrastructure’ approach to allow the company to place orders for WAN links and servers based on what was known at the time, enabling the model to be built according to a design that was still forming.
By hosting their key business data in Telstra Global’s secure facilities, located in Asia and Europe, TH Real Estate was able to draw on Telstra Global’s significant global capabilities, resources and flexibility to quickly implement a new infrastructure from the ground up.
In addition TH Real Estate has the ability to easily increase capacity, in Asia or Europe, according to business demand.
“As a regulated financial organisation, maintaining the integrity of our information security is fundamental to every decision we make,” added Whyte.
“By using Telstra’s Cloud Infrastructure platform, our IT team has been able to focus less on the day-to-day operations and more on enabling an innovative end-user experience through new corporate applications.”
Notes to Editors
About TIAA Henderson Real Estate
TIAA Henderson Real Estate (TH Real Estate) is an established investment management company with specialisation in real estate equity and debt investing worldwide. As one of the largest real estate managers in the world, TH Real Estate has the scale, capital resources and knowledge to provide creative and effective real estate investment solutions for clients. With a focus on the retail, office, logistics, debt and multi-family sectors, TH Real Estate emphasises sustainable practices to protect assets and maximise their value.
Launched in April 2014, the company has a dedicated global presence with offices across Asia and Europe, managing c.$22.6bn of real estate assets across c.50 funds and mandates.
Together, the TIAA-CREF real estate and TH Real Estate platforms represent one of the largest real estate investment management enterprises in the world, with a combined total of c. $71 bn* in real estate assets under management.
The company is jointly owned by TIAA-CREF (60%) and Henderson Global Investors (40%) bringing it a combined track record of over 90 years in global real estate. Its products are managed by specialist teams, which apply their own experience to the management and style of their portfolios. Each team is supported by an experienced senior management team and integrated investment platform, including finance, debt and currency management, performance analytics, client service, fund and transaction structuring, development, sustainability and research.
* All figures as of December 31, 2013
http://www.threalestate.com/
About Telstra Global
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Telstra Global is part of Telstra Corporation Limited, the leading telecommunications and information services company of Australia. We provide top-tier international customers across Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Americas with a full breadth of holistic and end-to-end solutions including managed network services, data, voice, and satellite solutions. Through our strategic investments over the years, we now own one of the most technologically advanced IP backbone networks in the world, together with our offshore subsidiaries. We have licenses in Asia, Europe and the US and facilitate access to over 1,900 PoPs in 230 countries and territories across the globe.
Contact details
Gemma Bradley
Head of Marketing & Communications
T: +44 (0) 203 727 8120
E: gemma.bradley@threalestate.com
Sophie Hinder-Walbank
Marketing & PR Executive
T: +44 (0) 203 72 78251
E: sophie.hinder-walbank@threalestate.com
Source: RealWire
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