Enabling secure, high-performance spatial work from anywhere
e2m is an ecological consultancy supporting tier-one clients across mining, gas, renewables, and infrastructure. With 60+ people and a growing delivery footprint, the business relies on accurate, time-critical ecological reporting, much of it powered by spatial analysis. Large Geographic Information System (GIS) datasets and processing-heavy workflows mean performance is not optional. It directly impacts delivery timelines, quality, and team productivity.
As e2m entered a major growth phase, their IT environment needed to evolve beyond supporting everyday operations. They required a platform that could scale with the business, strengthen resilience, and maintain a consistent experience for specialists working with demanding workloads, while reducing reliance on office-based infrastructure.
Reducing office dependency without compromising performance
e2m’s critical datasets were previously housed on office-based storage, with users working locally. During COVID, VPN access helped enable remote work, but as the organisation expanded, the limitations became clear. Spatial workflows are particularly sensitive to latency and throughput. When teams rely on office infrastructure for access to large datasets, performance can vary significantly depending on location and connection quality.
Operational resilience was also a priority. With the Milton office in a flood-prone area and disruption experienced in the past, e2m wanted to reduce location-based risk. They also needed deeper support coverage than a single contractor model could provide as complexity increased.
“We wanted to work on a cleaner, more efficient platform, one where our organisation could access the right information at the right time.”
Cameron Davey, Chief Commercial Officer, e2m
A performance-led cloud platform designed for spatial workflows
RES. Business IT delivered a staged platform shift, guided by discovery and proof-of-concept testing to validate what would hold up for real spatial workloads before rolling it out more broadly. The solution centred on keeping compute close to datasets in Microsoft Azure, supporting low latency, high throughput, and consistent responsiveness for specialists.
Key elements included:
- A cloud home for critical project data using Azure storage aligned to throughput requirements
- Consistent access to specialist tools through Azure Virtual Desktop and Azure virtual machines
- Performance-led design, with compute kept close to data
- Stronger access controls using multi-factor authentication and conditional access policies
- Ongoing managed services to reduce single-person dependency and support continuous improvement
“We iterated through things and we eventually landed on a solution that enabled our GIS team to keep working pretty much as they were previously, while simultaneously allowing us to scale more easily.”
Cameron Davey, Chief Commercial Officer, e2m
Outcomes that improved delivery
With core data and workflows hosted in Azure, e2m reduced reliance on the office for critical access and improved continuity across locations. Remote work became simpler with fewer VPN-driven issues, onboarding became more streamlined, and security maturity lifted through standardised identity controls and training.
See how e2m maintained performance while enabling secure work from anywhere
Want the full detail, including the approach, technical decisions and outcomes?
