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Tindo Solar — Australia's only solar panel manufacturer — scales IT to match rapid growth without breaking stride

Tindo Solar engaged Otaris to build a modern, externally-supported IT foundation that could scale with rapid growth and close critical cybersecurity gaps across their 80+ person manufacturing operation.

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Industry
Manufacturing — Renewable Energy / Solar Panels
Team size
80+ staff
Location
Mawson Lakes, SA
Plan
Fortress
Platform
Microsoft 365 + Intune + ThreatLocker + Off-site M365 backup + 4G failover
Compliance
Essential Eight ML1

Meet the client

Tindo Solar is Australia's only solar panel manufacturer. Founded in 2011 and based at Mawson Lakes in Adelaide's Technology Park, the business designs and manufactures high-quality, Australian-made solar panels — including the Tindo Walara 440W G4P, the ninth generation of a panel built specifically to withstand the extremes of the Australian climate. Tindo panels are sold to homes and businesses across every Australian state through a national wholesale channel, and the business has earned a reputation for quality that is hard to match — global solar panels fail at a rate of around 1 in 1,000; Tindo panels fail at around 1 in 200,000. The business has been growing quickly — now more than 80 people across manufacturing, sales, and operations — and that growth has brought new staff, new contracts, and new operational complexity. Leadership had a clear ambition: build the IT foundation that lets Tindo keep scaling — without the systems they relied on becoming the thing that slowed them down.

What they were up against

External

As Tindo's growth accelerated, the day-to-day IT setup that had served the business well in earlier years was no longer keeping pace with where the business was heading. New people were joining faster than devices could be procured, configured and handed over. Microsoft 365 licensing had been added to over time without a structured review, leaving questions about whether the business was getting full value from what it was paying for. Several common cybersecurity controls expected of a growing Australian manufacturer were either inconsistent across endpoints or missing entirely — not every computer was enrolled in modern device management, traditional signature-based antivirus was still in place on some machines, and the Microsoft 365 tenant had no independent off-site backup. The site's internet connection had not been recently reviewed for performance or value, and there was no 4G failover in the event the primary connection went down. Each of these on its own was small. Together, they added up to an IT environment that was straining against the pace of the business.

Internal

Leadership could see where the business was heading and wanted IT to be an enabler of growth, not a constraint on it. Onboarding new staff quickly mattered — every delay on a device or a login was a delay on productivity. So did predictable, modern cybersecurity. The team knew the right next step was to bring in an external IT partner with the breadth of expertise to run the modern IT environment the business now needed and to keep pace with whatever came next.

A growing Australian manufacturer of national significance shouldn't have to choose between focusing on what it does best — making high-quality solar panels in Adelaide — and standing up a large internal IT team. The right partner brings the depth and breadth of an enterprise IT function and quietly puts it behind the business.

How we stepped in

Otaris understood Tindo's position from the first conversation. A growing Australian manufacturer wanted a smooth, structured transition to a modern, externally-supported IT model — one that closed real cybersecurity gaps, optimised what the business was already paying for, and could keep pace with the speed of hiring. With deep experience modernising growing Australian businesses, broad in-house expertise across Microsoft 365, Intune, ThreatLocker, cybersecurity, networking, AI and managed services, and a track record of delivering Essential Eight uplifts without disrupting day-to-day operations, Otaris was well placed to build the foundation Tindo needed for the next phase.

What we delivered

  1. Smooth transition and discovery

    Stand up Otaris as Tindo's external IT partner with no business downtime. Comprehensive discovery across endpoints, identity, Microsoft 365, network and security posture to build a clear, prioritised modernisation plan.

  2. Microsoft 365 audit and licence optimisation

    Review every Microsoft 365 licence, configuration and feature in use. Right-size licences, close configuration gaps, and make sure the business is getting full value from what it's already paying for.

  3. Cybersecurity review and Essential Eight roadmap

    Full assessment of the cybersecurity posture against the Australian Essential Eight framework. Identify every gap, prioritise by risk, and deliver a clear roadmap to Maturity Level 1.

  4. Endpoint management and threat protection uplift

    Enrol every computer into Microsoft Intune for centralised device management. Replace traditional signature-based antivirus with ThreatLocker application whitelisting on every endpoint. Add an independent off-site backup for the Microsoft 365 tenant so email, files and Teams data are recoverable separately from Microsoft.

  5. Connectivity, resilience and rapid device provisioning

    Review the site's internet connection for performance and value, and add 4G failover so the site stays connected if the primary link drops. Deploy a standardised Intune-automated device build with an automatic software catalogue — so a new starter can be handed a fully configured laptop in days rather than weeks.

  6. AI introduction and ongoing managed services

    Introduce AI tools to help the business work smarter — including AI-assisted analysis of financial and sales data. Provide ongoing access to Otaris's full breadth of in-house IT expertise under the Fortress managed services plan.

The cost of inaction

Tindo's growth was real and ongoing, and IT either had to scale with it or get out of the way of it. Without a complete refresh, slow device onboarding would have continued to delay new starters at exactly the moment the business needed them productive. Microsoft 365 spend would have continued without the discipline of a structured review. The cybersecurity gaps — inconsistent endpoint management, traditional antivirus, no independent M365 backup — would have grown into real, material risks to a manufacturer that increasingly sits on Australia's critical-infrastructure map. And a single internet outage at Mawson Lakes, with no 4G failover, could have stopped a working day.

Before and after

Before
After
  • Internal IT setup straining to keep pace with rapid growth
    Smooth transition to Otaris as external IT partner — no business downtime
  • Microsoft 365 licensing added without a structured review
    M365 licensing audited and optimised — right-sized to how Tindo uses it
  • Not every computer enrolled in modern device management
    Every endpoint enrolled in Microsoft Intune — centrally managed and policy-controlled
  • Traditional signature-based antivirus on some machines
    ThreatLocker application whitelisting deployed across every endpoint
  • No independent off-site backup of the Microsoft 365 tenant
    Independent off-site backup of Microsoft 365 — email, files and Teams data recoverable
  • Internet connection not recently reviewed; no failover at the site
    Internet reviewed for performance and value; 4G failover added for Mawson Lakes
  • New-starter device procurement and setup was slow and inconsistent
    Standardised Intune-automated device build — new starters productive faster
  • No formal cybersecurity framework
    Essential Eight Maturity Level 1 in place with ongoing roadmap
  • Limited use of AI in day-to-day operations
    AI tools introduced — including AI-assisted financial and sales data analysis

Where they are now

Tindo's IT environment has been brought into line with the business it has become — and built to keep up with the business it is becoming. The transition from the previous internal model to Otaris's externally-supported model happened without disrupting the working day. Microsoft 365 licensing is right-sized and well-understood, so the business knows exactly what it is paying for and why.

Every endpoint is enrolled in Intune and protected by ThreatLocker application whitelisting, and the Microsoft 365 tenant is independently backed off-site. The site's internet has been reviewed for performance and value, and a 4G failover now keeps Mawson Lakes connected if the primary link drops.

Crucially for a business hiring quickly, a standardised, Intune-automated build means a new laptop can be procured, deployed and handed to a new starter in days — with the right software, the right policies, and the right security controls in place from day one. AI tools have been introduced for areas like financial and sales data analysis, helping the team work smarter. Under the Fortress managed services plan, Tindo now has on-tap access to the full breadth of Otaris's in-house expertise — Microsoft 365, identity, cybersecurity, networking, cloud and AI — without the cost or complexity of building that breadth in-house.

The IT environment is no longer the thing slowing growth down. It's the foundation under it.