Part of the struggle is a perception that infrastructure is a bit like the kitchen, and who wants to ask for money to renovate the tea room.

The financial services firm has 185 IT staff in Australia, and Douglas said availability and restoration is "a hot topic for us".

The company has undertaken a data center management upgrade moving to KVM over IP connectivity, replacing old Dell and HP kit.

Douglas said local operations were the first to use Cyclades console management appliances which are now being used in the U.S.

The supplier Avocent was created following a merger with Cyclades and KVM providers Apex and Cybex.