Case Study V-ZUG
For more than 100 years, V-ZUG’s mission has been to make everyday life easier through high-quality, innovative household appliances. V-ZUG is the brand for people who expect their appliances to deliver more than just the basics, whether they’re cooking, washing dishes or doing laundry. As the Swiss market leader, V-ZUG lives by Swiss values – and makes them available to people all over the world with simple, individual solutions that provide lifelong inspiration and delight.
Initial Situlation
For the past 10 years, V-ZUG’s 1,500 employees have worked with traditional notebooks and desktops running Windows 7. The company has now decided to switch over to Windows 10, for several reasons: many devices have had to be replaced and the new hardware no longer supports Windows 7; demanding mobility and enhanced security requirements for mobile technicians and internal employees cannot be met by Windows 7; and the proprietary deployment system was not built for the modern Windows 10-based workplace and is no longer equal to the demands placed on it. Enrolling a very high number of devices in a very short time at the lowest cost possible also presented a problem. V-ZUG’s IT department therefore wished to design a modern managed workplace for their innovative business that would also protect the company from cybersecurity threats.
During the initial stages of the project, various possible solutions were tested and compared. One of these was the modern managed workplace offered by baseVISION, powered by Microsoft Cloud technologies such as Intune and Office 365. This solution would allow V-ZUG to roll out Windows 10 to all devices quickly and easily, while Azure serverless computing would remove the need for a proprietary IT infrastructure. Azure infrastructure would also protect the company from security threats. During the proof of concept phase, the key functionalities were reviewed and approved for the production environment. baseVISION then began transforming V-ZUG’s IT infrastructure.
The Vision
- Win10-based Workplace
- As simple as possible
- Save time & money
- Use built-in security to enhance compatibility with Windows as a Service
The modern workplace is the key to future innovation.
Markus Inauen, Group Leader IT Support, V-ZUG Group
Modern device enrollment & management
baseVISION’s solution offered V-ZUG an alternative to traditional enrollment via device staging. Instead, end users enroll devices on their own using Syntaro’s Advanced AutoPilot solution, which guides the user through the configuration and shows them training videos. After a device has been enrolled by the user, it is automatically registered in Microsoft Intune and company policies are enforced. This new cloud-based management infrastructure allows V-ZUG to manage its devices anywhere in the world, saving both time and – importantly – money. baseVISION therefore achieved the company’s first three goals in a single step, rolling out Windows 10 easily to all devices worldwide while saving time and money.
Modern application deployment with Syntaro Application Management based on scalable Azure cloud infrastructure
baseVISION knows from experience that while Microsoft Intune can easily deploy modern applications, it is unsuitable for many business applications. So, because baseVISION loves the modern workplace, it has developed Syntaro Application Management, which is an add-on for Intune that removes limitations such as single setup files and restriction to MSI setups. Syntaro Application Management makes it possible to deploy all business applications without restrictions, and also includes bandwidth optimization features – again saving time and money for V-ZUG.
Layered security framework protects data
One project goal was to improve the overall security of V-ZUG’s workplace. The combination of the built-in Windows Defender Suite and Microsoft Security Essentials ensures a future-proof workplace, while the addition of Microsoft Enterprise Mobility+Security (EMS) secures access to cloud and on-premise resources using conditional access and multi-factor authentication.
Innovative and intelligent rollout
Every Windows 10 rollout involves a lot of paperwork for the rollout team: for example, checklists and inventory information. baseVISION introduced an Azure-based migration database which offered a central data source for all migration requirements. The rollout manager could monitor the state of the migration in real-time via a Power BI dashboard and export data to create management reports. The database also provided functionality for planning the migration waves and filling out the checklists in a PowerApp-based application. This extension drastically reduced the paperwork and management overhead for collecting data from the different checklists and creating management reports.
Innovative and intelligent rollout
Every Windows 10 rollout involves a lot of paperwork for the rollout team: for example, checklists and inventory information. baseVISION introduced an Azure-based migration database which offered a central data source for all migration requirements. The rollout manager could monitor the state of the migration in real-time via a Power BI dashboard and export data to create management reports. The database also provided functionality for planning the migration waves and filling out the checklists in a PowerApp-based application. This extension drastically reduced the paperwork and management overhead for collecting data from the different checklists and creating management reports.
Syntaro Application Management is the key to implementing a modern workplace without on-premises systems such as SCCM.
Thomas Kurth, CEO baseVISION
Syntaro Application Management is the key to implementing a modern workplace without on-premises systems such as SCCM.
Thomas Kurth, CEO baseVISION
Most beneficial Microsoft technologies used
Syntaro Application Management is the key to implementing a modern workplace without on-premises systems such as SCCM.
Thomas Kurth, CEO baseVISION
- Windows 10
- Windows Defender Suite
- Microsoft Intune
- Azure AD Premium
- Azure AD Conditional Access
- Azure AD Application Proxy
- Office365
- PowerApp & Power BI
- Azure infrastructure
- Syntaro App Management
- Syntaro Advanced Autopilot
- Syntaro WimAsAService
Most beneficial Microsoft technologies used
- Windows 10
- Windows Defender Suite
- Microsoft Intune
- Azure AD Premium
- Azure AD Conditional Access
- Azure AD Application Proxy
- Office365
- PowerApp & Power BI
- Azure infrastructure
- Syntaro App Management
- Syntaro Advanced Autopilot
- Syntaro WimAsAService
Summary
In summary, all of V-ZUG’s objectives have been achieved and even exceeded. The Syntaro Application Management Module and Advanced AutoPilot, combined with Microsoft cloud technologies, enabled a straightforward rollout of Windows 10 to 1,500 devices as end users were able to configure their devices themselves. Both mobile technicians and internal employees were therefore able to work without technical limitations while remaining compliant with company and security requirements. Additional security and data protection capabilities were provided by baseVISION using Microsoft EMS and the Windows Defender Suite. The Azure-based migration database offered an additional benefit for V-ZUG: the rollout manager was able to monitor the state of the migration in real-time without paperwork, as all relevant information was available via the Power BI dashboard. This dashboard could also generate reports for the management. V-ZUG’s transformation into a modern workplace based on Microsoft Office 365 was a major and very successful project for both baseVISION and V-ZUG.
With conditional access and the Azure AD Application Proxy, we can easily publish internal resources to mobile users with a world-leading level of security, eliminating the need for local infrastructure.
Markus Inauen, Group Leader IT Support, V-ZUG Group
Summary
In summary, all of V-ZUG’s objectives have been achieved and even exceeded. The Syntaro Application Management Module and Advanced AutoPilot, combined with Microsoft cloud technologies, enabled a straightforward rollout of Windows 10 to 1,500 devices as end users were able to configure their devices themselves. Both mobile technicians and internal employees were therefore able to work without technical limitations while remaining compliant with company and security requirements. Additional security and data protection capabilities were provided by baseVISION using Microsoft EMS and the Windows Defender Suite. The Azure-based migration database offered an additional benefit for V-ZUG: the rollout manager was able to monitor the state of the migration in real-time without paperwork, as all relevant information was available via the Power BI dashboard. This dashboard could also generate reports for the management. V-ZUG’s transformation into a modern workplace based on Microsoft Office 365 was a major and very successful project for both baseVISION and V-ZUG.
With conditional access and the Azure AD Application Proxy, we can easily publish internal resources to mobile users with a world-leading level of security, eliminating the need for local infrastructure.
Markus Inauen, Group Leader IT Support, V-ZUG Group