By Insight Editor / 5 Mar 2021 / Topics: Software Microsoft 365
Facts at a glance
Client industry:
Electric and Natural Gas utilities
Size of Company:
+6000 employees.
Challenge:
As Microsoft® Exchange and Office 2010 neared its end of life date, a major Canadian utility company needed to make the move to Microsoft Office 365®. But to do so, the organization needed help to define a new licensing model that would shift costs from CapEx to OpEx and navigate NERC compliance. Unfortunately, its in-house team didn’t have the technical expertise or bandwidth to complete this initiative in time.
Solution:
Insight developed a comprehensive rollout plan that took OCM best practices into account and began with a small pilot program of just 25 users. We provided education sessions and 24/7 Help Desk support for all end users while migrating accounts for Microsoft Exchange, OneDrive for Business, Skype for Business and more. And, throughout the engagement, we ensured regulatory compliance by working with both the client’s and Microsoft’s compliance officers to resolve any issues.
Results:
- Over 6,000 employees smoothly migrated to Microsoft 365
- 24/7 Help Desk support supplied for all users throughout the migration
- Regulatory compliance achieved at every stage of the engagement
Solution area:
Insight’s Connected Workforce solutions are a suite of end-user compute offerings designed to simplify IT management while improving connectivity and collaboration.
In 2018, Microsoft® Exchange Server 2010 and Office 2010 were nearing end-of-life. One Canadian provincial electric power and natural gas utility company was looking to finally migrate its 6,000 employees to the Microsoft 365® platform.
However, the organization’s in-house team didn’t have the technical expertise nor the bandwidth available to complete this initiative by the end-of-life date in October 2020.
So, the company reached out to Insight to assist. Its IT decision-makers relayed that they were on time crunch to retire their existing on-premise Exchange deployment and make the move to 365.
We quickly dove into the project, creating a comprehensive roll-out plan that incorporated several moving parts. The creation and implementation of this complex plan is where our extensive Organization Change Management (OCM) expertise was essential.
Fast Global Delivery
Insight’s global reach combined with our global alliance partner network allowed us to offer a truly global solution with local customer service across multiple hardware vendors. Due to our multiple vendor relationships, we were able to accommodate the client’s request for a Choose Your Own Device (CYOD) business model.
Insight utilized its extensive knowledge and experience with large global device rollouts to create a more strategic solution that better met the client’s needs. During the first phase, of this major undertaking we ensured timely delivery of 5,000 laptops.
The Pilot Program
In April of 2018, Insight’s Enterprise Architect Jason Singh travelled onsite to the client’s head office. There, he kicked kick off the contracted initiatives and presented the pilot workshops for both Microsoft Azure® and Microsoft 365 to the internal leadership and project teams. Being able to interact with both the business and technical leadership in person was extremely beneficial towards solidifying the partnership between Insight and the client.
“The broadening of our partnership was based on the initial impression that we made with the pilot initiative and the level of trust we gained through our technical expertise demonstrated by our delivery team,” explains Singh. In addition to Singh, Microsoft 365 Solution ArchitectJeremy Dahl and Project Manager Nelio Vitorino comprised the pilot delivery team. Software Licensing Consultant Stephanie Yackimec was also instrumental in navigating the shift from a CapEx to OpEx model for the end-user licensing requirements, which was key in obtaining the go-forward approval from the client.
Ensuring regulatory compliance
Since the project involved a client in the power generation industry, adherence to regulatory compliance was paramount. As a utility organization, the key standards in place were developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).
Insight worked closely with the client’s compliance officer during the pilot program and leveraged, when necessary, Microsoft Canada’s National Security Officer for additional support on compliance questions and issues surrounding the engagement.
This was an added value to the client at no additional cost, as Microsoft Canada was also dedicated to making this a successful migration.
Insight executed pilot workshops and regulatory compliance consulting, expanded the client's headcount bandwidth and fully migrated over 6,000 employees to Microsoft 365
Production rollout
In April of 2019, the production rollout began and was successfully completed in January 2020. Throughout this timeline, we worked seamlessly with the client’s internal team to deliver results on-time and on-budget.
In addition, our relationship with the client evolved from a professional services partner to a managed services partner as part of the production rollout. Helmed by Solutions Architect Doug Auvigne, Insight became the frontline, 24/7 helpdesk for end users as they went live on the Microsoft 365 platform.
The numbers
In April of 2019, the production rollout began and was successfully completed in January 2020. Throughout this timeline, we worked seamlessly with the client’s internal team to deliver results on-time and on-budget.
Over the course of this project, Insight and the client successfully migrated and/or deployed:
• 4,646 Exchange Online accounts
• 2,390 E3 accounts
• 2,256 F1 accounts
• 4,262 Skype for Business Online accounts
• 2,223 Office Pro Plus accounts
All this was completed within 60 total days of migration.
Exceeding expectations
Our delivery of the main project provided the client with exceptions services and innovation, far exceeding their initial expectations. Over the course of two years, Insight executed pilot workshops and regulatory compliance consulting, expanded the client’s headcount bandwidthand fully migrated over 6,000 employees to Microsoft 365.
In addition, the client signed a 12-month managed services contract to make Insight its primary support team for the rollout. This ensured the client’s existing help desk team remain focused on non-migration operational support.
