Umbrellar & AFAM: 17 Years of Trusted Critical Infrastructure Partnership

A long-standing partnership underpinning life-safety services across New Zealand, delivering always-on infrastructure for mission-critical fire alarm monitoring.

Automatic Fire Alarm Monitoring (AFAM) provides nationwide fire alarm monitoring and direct connection services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), supporting the safety and compliance of more than 7,000 commercial buildings across the country.

Because these services sit at the centre of life-safety systems, the infrastructure that underpins them must deliver continuous availability, strong security, and operational resilience.

For over 17 years, Umbrellar has partnered with AFAM to host and manage the infrastructure behind this platform within its secure New Zealand data centre environment. Through co-location services, infrastructure management, and 24×7 monitoring, Umbrellar helps ensure AFAM’s systems remain reliable and responsive at all times.

This case study explores the operational requirements behind a national fire alarm monitoring platform and how long-term infrastructure partnership supports its ongoing performance and reliability.

What the case study covers:

• AFAM’s nationwide fire alarm monitoring network and operational requirements

• The infrastructure challenges associated with life-safety and compliance systems

• Umbrellar’s role providing secure co-location hosting and infrastructure management

• The operational outcomes of a 17-year partnership supporting mission-critical services