By Insight Editor / 1 Jul 2020 / Topics: Software Microsoft 365
Facts at a glance
Client industry:
Federal government
Size of company:
4,300 employees
Challenge:
The client was dissatisfied with the user experience and limited capabilities of its existing cloud platform and needed a strategic partner to assist with migrating more than 4,000 users to Office 365.
Solution:
- Deployment of Office clients
- Infrastructure build for Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) and Exchange Server, including firewall/proxy configuration
- Project management
- Post-migration support and knowledge transfer
Results:
- Successful migration to Microsoft Exchange Online
- Successful migration to OneDrive for Business
- Cost savings provided by cloud services
- Improved collaboration and security with cloud productivity solution
Reimagining a collaboration strategy is no easy feat — especially when an existing cloud collaboration platform has been in place for nearly a decade. Such was the case for a federal agency determined to simplify its technology and improve collaboration across teams.
Shifting to new platforms, tools and processes often come with a learning curve, not to mention the tactical journey of migrating existing users and data. Migration is a complex undertaking; from unifying email to ensuring minimal downtime, migration must be done as securely and efficiently as possible.
The client chose Microsoft® Office 365® for its robust capabilities, usability and security. Office 365 combines the familiar Office desktop suite with online versions of Microsoft’s next-generation communications and collaboration services. It’s simple to use and easy to administer — and backed by the robust security and guaranteed reliability you’d expect from a world-class service provider.
Combining the power of deep migration experience with proven public sector expertise, Insight Public Sector was able to guide the client through every phase of this undertaking.
Dedicated technical resources worked closely with the agency to assess its needs, from the specifics of the migration itself — to procurement via a government contract vehicle.
A hybrid approach to migration (where certain processes remain within existing systems) can add another layer of complexity to the migration process. The agency intended to move all of its existing mailboxes and cloud-drive data to the Office 365 platform — while keeping an existing tenant in place for use with other necessary systems. Our team strategized a robust plan outlining the specific design decisions necessary for this type of migration.
This comprehensive plan covered everything from migration group creation to tenant-to-tenant coexistence, synchronization settings, server specifications, group licensing, cybersecurity considerations and more.
Once all users were migrated, our team offered post-cutover support. During this phase, we provided dedicated support and troubleshooting for any issues.
By investing in dedicated expertise to build a robust strategy, the client was able to seamlessly deliver a highly available collaboration solution across teams while providing a secure platform for authentication. Additionally, the agency achieved cost savings through Microsoft cloud services.
Aligning business requirements with technical requirements is a critical part of any migration initiative — and delivering on those technical requirements ensures success.
At Insight Public Sector, we understand that optimization initiatives can pose challenges, and we were honored to rally our resources to simplify the process and support this organization.
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