Valentia and Whakarongorau Aotearoa deliver Azure migration to support national telehealth services

SECTOR UPDATE - Valentia Technologies

Valentia Technologies and Whakarongorau Aotearoa have successfully completed a major infrastructure transformation, transitioning the Whakarongorau Aotearoa New Zealand Telehealth Service’s systems to Microsoft Azure NZ North Region.

24 hours every day Whakarongorau Aotearoa New Zealand Telehealth Service puts health and wellbeing support within reach of every New Zealander.

Serving 5,000 New Zealanders a day and two million a year through Healthline, mental health support, Quitline, and cancer screening services, the services act as a digital front door for New Zealanders wanting the right care, right away.

The infrastructure transformation marks a significant step forward in making healthcare easier to access for New Zealanders by building resilience and future readiness. It also creates a platform for ongoing innovation around access to doctors, nurses and paramedics.

Since it began, the users of Whakarongorau Aotearoa services have increased, with 96% of people saying they follow their virtual clinician’s advice.

It is about having the right support at the right time in an environment where it can take time to visit a GP. This winter it is expected that Healthline will support more than 100,000 New Zealanders, diverting 85% from emergency departments.

Valentia led the infrastructure transformation programme end to end, working in close partnership with Whakarongorau Aotearoa as their strategic cloud transformation partner and with Microsoft. A dedicated multidisciplinary team from Valentia and Whakarongorau Aotearoa included security specialists, infrastructure architects, DevOps engineers, developers, testers, a business analyst and a project manager.

The programme began with structured design workshops to co-develop a detailed Azure blueprint in NZ North Region and agree on how the new environment would be structured, secured, and scaled. Whilst there was already industry best practice in place, Valentia enhanced security and operational readiness throughout the new environment with the support of Microsoft. This collaborative and systematic approach ensured a seamless transition with no disruption to the 27/7 services of Whakarongorau Aotearoa.

“We are proud of how systematically this programme was delivered,” said Malik Rizwan, spokesperson for Valentia Technologies. “Our teams worked closely with Whakarongorau Aotearoa from the outset - through design, build, and cutover - ensuring continuity of care while laying a solid foundation for future innovation. This migration is just the first step in a broader roadmap that will enable significant digital improvements across the national Telehealth service, particularly because we are now operating in a modern cloud environment.”

The successful migration not only stabilises core infrastructure but also unlocks new opportunities for digital health innovation, scalability, and ongoing optimisation of the critical services that Whakarongorau Aotearoa provides..

“Valentia’s partnership was instrumental to the success of this programme,” said Anna Campbell, Chief Support Services Officer for Whakarongorau Aotearoa. “Their team were by our side from the outset - offering to lead delivery when momentum was difficult to build - and committing strongly to our agreed milestones. They also remained in constant contact with great communication.

We are really pleased with the modernisation this migration brings to the digital backbone or our services. It really sets us up for what comes next.”

The transition to Microsoft Azure sets the stage for the Whakarongorau Aotearoa broader transformation agenda. Now operating in a modern cloud environment, the next phase includes expanding AI-driven automation, enhancing appointment and triage capabilities, improve digital front door, integrating new engagement channels such as social media, and strengthening interoperability across systems. These improvements will directly support more personalised, accessible, and efficient telehealth services for people across Aotearoa.

Source: Valentia Technologies media release

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