Behind the scenes, making it work: PSA and Truis in action

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), the national peak body for Australia’s pharmacists, partnered with Truis to deliver a seamless Microsoft tenancy migration following a major acquisition.

With a tight deadline and complex technical requirements, PSA selected Truis based on an established relationship built on trust, responsiveness, and a proven track record.

This case study explores how Truis supported PSA through the migration, the collaborative approach taken, and the outcomes that ensured a smooth transition for both the organisation and its people.

PSA is the national Peak Body for Australia’s 40,000+ pharmacists, bringing together every pharmacist from every sector and connecting them with the resources and professional development they need to succeed.

PSA proactively advocates for students, interns, pharmacists, and all the sector changes that a long career might entail, to ensure pharmacy will remain a rewarding and enjoyable career into the future. They also have a strong presence in Canberra for representation at parliament level directly.

Late last year, PSA saw an opportunity to grow their business and expanded their reach by acquiring a branch of a competing organisation. This created an immediate need to merge systems and onboard new staff quickly, ensuring continuity for both operations and the pharmacists they support.

Our partnership

Truis and PSA have built a solid long-term relationship since 2019, with Truis as one of a few IT vendors working with PSA.

“We’ve been working closely with PSA since 2019, primarily providing licensing procurement, services and support along with infrastructure and networking projects,” Truis Sales Rep, Michael Frank, said.

When Senior IT Systems Engineer Clement R. joined PSA in 2021, one of his priorities was simplifying vendor management. Licensing and services were spread across multiple providers, creating unnecessary complexity.

“Turns out you were, in my opinion, the best, and I consolidated all the other businesses that I had and licensing needs under your umbrella,” Clement said.

He explained that the reason Truis was chosen was due to the ease and strength of the relationship.

This decision streamlined operations and strengthened the partnership, setting the foundation for future collaboration.

Our latest project challenge

That collaboration was put to the test during the Microsoft tenancy migration following the acquisition. PSA was working to a tight window, with systems needing to be fully integrated between January and April 1st.

Recognising the pace and scale of the project, PSA engaged Truis to support the migration, building on an existing relationship defined by trust and delivery.

“That's where I stepped in and said, we've got an awesome relationship with these guys named Truis. They traditionally… help us on projects and when we've got certain procurement requirements for licensing and things, which was the poster child here. So, I was the driving force behind the scenes on the PSA side to say go with Truis. They won't let you down. They will make things happen for you. And that's exactly what happened,” Clement said.

The timeline was ambitious, and the technical requirements were complex. Security constraints added another layer of difficulty, with limited system access available due to only part of the acquired organisation transitioning.

Michael explained that the branch that was purchased had some pretty tight security requirements.

“They didn't want to provide full access to their systems because it's not the entire company that was coming over. It was only a portion of it that caused additional hurdles.”

Due to this tight turnaround, Truis got the help of a trusted partner on the project, Tech Click.

Clement made a point to note that most vendors “would have actually shied away from such a project”. But instead of stepping back, we prioritised the relationship, choosing to “maintain and make sure that that relationship remains healthy.”

That commitment showed in the way Michael personally stepped in and owned the outcome, taking responsibility to ensure the project’s success end-to-end.

From Michael's perspective, the environment was fast-moving and required constant coordination.

“But we were able to stay on top of it and keep things rolling relatively smoothly.”

“From A to Z, my own comments, the comments from our execs, the comments from the end users affected by the migration itself, raved about the service they received,” Senior IT Systems Engineer at PSA, Clement R, said.

The Solution

When the project began, the engagement model was intentionally shaped around how PSA wanted to tackle the project.

Early on, Truis and PSA explored whether the project would follow a white-glove approach, with Truis handling end-user transitions and guidance, or a more collaborative model where the internal IT managed the user-facing side.

Rather than taking a fully front-facing role, the client chose a different path, one that aligned with their internal capability.

Clement explained that they preferred to retain ownership of the end-user experience because of their internal capability and familiarity with their people.

This shaped a delivery model that was deliberately balanced. Truis operated behind the scenes, focusing on the technical execution, while PSA remained the primary interface for their users.

As he described it, “you were more behind the scenes, making sure that… mailboxes or SharePoint sites and things like that were being migrated.”

The result was a true partnership model, a balanced, highly collaborative approach.

In his words, “It was a shared responsibility, 50-50 on you and me.”

Behind the scenes, the migration was carefully planned, tested, and executed in stages to ensure continuity, minimise disruption, and maintain data integrity throughout the transition. This ensured that, when it mattered most, everything was in place and ready to go.

The migration process for mailboxes, Teams, and SharePoint from one tenant to another using MigrationWiz involves several key stages:

Preparation: Confirm source and target tenant details, ensure all necessary permissions are in place, and pre-provision user accounts, Teams, and SharePoint sites in the target environment. Collect a full inventory of objects to be migrated and communicate the migration plan to stakeholders.
Licensing and Project Setup: Purchase and assign the required MigrationWiz licences for User Migration Bundles, Teams, and SharePoint/OneDrive. In MigrationWiz, create separate projects for mailboxes, Teams, and SharePoint to manage each migration workload efficiently.
Configuration: Configure connectors in MigrationWiz for both the source and target tenants, ensuring all authentication and permissions are validated. Map users, mailboxes, Teams, and SharePoint sites between the two environments.
Pre-Migration Testing: Run test migrations with a small subset of data to validate configurations, check for permission issues, and address any pre-migration errors. Adjust settings as needed based on test results.
Full Migration Execution: Migrate user mailboxes, Teams data (channels, files, conversations), and SharePoint site contents in batches. Monitor progress using MigrationWiz dashboards and logs to ensure data integrity and resolve any errors promptly.
Validation and Cutover: Upon completion, validate that all data has migrated successfully. Perform user acceptance testing and resolve any outstanding issues. Communicate cutover timing to all users and provide support during the transition.
Post-Migration Clean-up: Decommission old resources as appropriate, provide post-migration support, and deliver final migration reports to stakeholders.

The outcome

The impact of this approach was immediate and measurable from a user perspective.

“The feedback that I got firsthand from my users here is that this is the smoothest transition they've ever had. They had gone through another two acquisitions over the last decade or so, and I've been told this was the smoothest it's ever been for them," Clement said.

PSA staff were able to finish work on Friday and return Monday morning as usual, with systems fully operational.

“The feedback that I got is that from 8.45 am onwards, people were already able to start joining phone calls and online meetings. And this, from their point of view, was unheard of in the past. Simple as that,” Clement said.

For PSA, the migration wasn’t just successful; it set a new benchmark for how these transitions should feel.

Customer Feedback

“Well, speaking more broadly about why I like working with your team, it's the proactiveness of our rep, Michael. I appreciate the fact that he is always one step ahead…It's like he's reading my mind. He's always literally messaging me when I'm about to do it. So I think I'm prepared, he's prepared plus one day," Clement said.

“Also, for the more ad hoc requests, I always get quoted pretty much within 24 hours, if not on the same day, and things get actioned really quickly. It makes things just easy for us. And it's just a healthy relationship,” Clement said.

“I would say one more thing as well: I also like that Truis is not pushy and you're not constantly trying to sell me things. I must say that how I choose my vendors, it is a big criterion as well. You trust me to know what I need instead of trying to think on my behalf,” Clement said.

"Your team is trustworthy. You make things happen…You can trust Truis to deliver," Clement said.

Conclusion

What stands out in PSA’s experience isn’t just a successful migration under pressure, it’s the strength of the partnership behind it. Faced with tight timelines and technical constraints, PSA’s internal team led with clarity and confidence, supported by a partner who could align quickly, take ownership where it mattered, and keep everything moving.

By working in a true partnership model, balancing responsibilities, adapting to PSA’s preferred way of operating, and staying one step ahead throughout, the team ensured a seamless transition where users barely felt the change.

As Clement summed up, the experience wasn’t just effective, it was genuinely positive.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about migrating systems. It’s about giving teams the confidence that everything will just work, and having the right people beside you to make sure it does.