Livingstone Shire boosts disaster recovery with Nutanix

Livingstone Shire Council has implemented Nutanix Disaster Recovery as part of its Nutanix Cloud Platform setup to strengthen infrastructure resilience.

The Central Queensland council covers about 11,776 square kilometres along the Capricorn Coast, a region exposed to cyclones, storm tides, bushfires and floods. In emergencies, it monitors conditions, issues public warnings and coordinates evacuations with emergency services and partner agencies from the Local Disaster Coordination Centre in Yeppoon.

That role has made IT continuity a central operational issue. The council selected Nutanix because resilience during disasters is critical to maintaining public communications and coordination functions.

Before adding the disaster recovery product, Livingstone Shire Council was already using Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure for many critical applications, alongside the Nutanix Prism management console. The latest deployment extends that setup to disaster recovery and day-to-day resilience testing.

According to Nutanix, the council can now test and validate its recovery point objectives and recovery time objectives more easily. The system also supports faster patching and upgrade cycles for business application systems, which the council sees as part of its broader cyber posture.

Disaster role

Regional councils in Australia often carry frontline responsibilities when severe weather disrupts communities, and the operational burden can intensify quickly when communications networks and local services come under strain. For Livingstone Shire Council, those pressures are amplified by the frequency and variety of natural hazards in the area.

Adam Belot, Mayor of Livingstone Shire Council, framed the technology decision in that context.

"With Nutanix, Livingstone Shire Council can focus on its core mission - serving residents and keeping them safe - whilst ensuring IT resilience," Belot said.

The council's use of Nutanix also reflects a broader push across the public sector to reduce the operational complexity of recovery systems. Easier testing can be significant for local authorities because it shifts disaster recovery from an infrequent compliance exercise to a more routine operational discipline.

In this case, Nutanix said the council had moved from annual testing to daily testing. That suggests a materially different approach to preparedness, especially for an organisation that may need to act quickly during storm season or other emergencies.

Operational impact

Simpler recovery processes were a key part of the deployment, according to Nutanix. For councils, the ability to restore systems predictably can shape how quickly staff regain access to applications used for community alerts, administration and coordination during disruptions.

Michael Alp, managing director A/NZ at Nutanix, said the deployment was intended to reduce the burden on the council's technology teams while supporting its public safety role.

"Across Australia, regional councils serve a critical role in their communities - particularly during natural disasters where they help coordinate rescue efforts, evacuation notifications, and ensure the residents' safety," Alp said. "During these times, if IT systems go down, recovery needs to be a known quantity, it needs to be tested, and it needs to be as simple as possible. With Nutanix, Livingstone Shire Council has peace of mind in its IT resilience so it can focus on what's most important - keeping residents safe."

The rollout also highlights the growing overlap between disaster recovery planning and cyber resilience in local government. Faster patching and upgrade cycles can reduce exposure to security risks, while more regular recovery testing can show whether key systems can be restored within acceptable timeframes after either a cyber incident or a natural disaster.

For a council responsible for public warnings and evacuations, that overlap is not just technical but operational. When severe weather strikes, system availability can directly affect how authorities communicate with residents and coordinate with other agencies.

Nutanix said Livingstone Shire Council can now test and validate its recovery point and recovery time objectives more easily, while also improving patching and upgrade cycles for business application systems.