Intelligent CIO APAC Issue 11 | Page 61

Case

STUDY

Inmarsat , a world leader in global , mobile satellite communications , has been working with its partner Globalsat to provide the McMillan Pastoral Company , a large cattle business based in Queensland , with a cost-effective , mobile and reliable connectivity solution using Inmarsat ’ s Broadband Global Area Network ( BGAN ) satellite service .

Inmarsat connects cattle farmers with reliable connectivity solution

McMillan Pastoral Company is a large family pastoral cattle business based in Cloncurry , Queensland . It specializes in the grazing , transporting and selling of cattle throughout the country , as well as the exportation of premium livestock to buyers around the world . The company owns approximately five million acres across Queensland and the Northern Territory in Australia .

The challenge
The challenges faced running such a large aggregation in very remote locations are numerous . One day you can be brokering high value deals with cattle buyers , accountants and lawyers , the next you could be cashing clean skin cattle ( unbranded bulls and cows ) to move or sell to market .
One of the biggest challenges the McMillan family operation faces on a daily basis is trying to finalise urgent business contracts with exporters from the various remote farm locations , which includes sending and receiving important emails , contracts and documentation . The McMillan ’ s business model relies heavily on cloud business apps such as Xero for payroll and accounting that require a stable Internet connection at all times .
When out in the field , McMillan ’ s staff and family regularly face the extremely physical activity of mustering wild bulls , which often entails a combination of helicopters , 4x4 vehicles , horses , motorbikes and trucks on the ground . In an accident or emergency scenario , the team needs to communicate quickly with emergency services , which
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