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Automation with PowerShell

Computacenter and ScriptRunner support the City of Munich with automation in the Microsoft and Citrix environment

With more than 40,000 employees in its 15 departments and six municipal enterprises, the City of Munich is one of the largest municipal employers in Germany. The IT department employs more than 1,100 IT specialists and is fully committed to digitalisation. The City of Munich uses the PowerShell scripting language for automation in the Windows and Citrix environment. Creating the scripts required a lot of "manual work" and meant that the already busy IT teams had to perform repetitive, sometimes monotonous tasks. To counter this and reduce effort and costs, the Munich-based company wanted to optimise automation with PowerShell by simplifying script creation. As part of the consultancy provided by its technology partner Computacenter, the City of Munich was introduced to the solution offered by the PowerShell expert ScriptRunner. The solution of the same name offers, among other things, a central repository for PowerShell scripts and allows the automation of routine IT tasks as well as the delegation of administrative tasks to team members. Since the joint implementation by all three parties, the solution has been used successfully. With the ScriptRunner software, the City of Munich was able to further advance automation in the Microsoft and Citrix environment and thus reduce the effort and costs in daily IT operations. After the solution was initially only rolled out within the IT department, the number of employees benefiting from ScriptRunner is steadily increasing. The automation of many recurring tasks frees up time for more exciting projects. Read the case study

Partnering together to achieve exceptional outcomes for patients

Computacenter and Dell Technologies deliver a stable, scalable infrastructure enabling Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to fulfil their key priority of delivering electronic patient records.

This new system ensures that patients get the best possible care throughout their journey through the hospital and community care infrastructure. Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust provides hospital-based services from three main sites in Redditch, Kidderminster and Worcester and turns over around £460m pa. They serve almost 600,000 people and, in 2020, provided care to around 240,000 different patients. The Trust employs nearly 6,000 people, has 800 volunteers, and delivers 42 sub-specialties, whilst also running two Type One Emergency Departments. Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust wanted to deploy an electronic patient record (EPR) system to improve care services. The Trust had to overhaul its legacy IT infrastructure and find a solution that could support the EPR alongside other digital healthcare solutions in the future. Starting with an infrastructure assessment to help IT build a business case for transforming the old hardware and to collect data needed to design a replacement infrastructure, Computacenter delivered a hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution that underpins the Trust’s EPR system and other digital healthcare systems. The Trust replaced the legacy technology with VMware Cloud Foundation on VxRail, the jointly engineered HCI by Dell Technologies and VMware. With its partner competencies, Computacenter was able to deliver a highly efficient, end-to-end service, co-delivering the solution with Dell Technologies. It implemented 24 VxRail nodes in total, with 12 nodes each across its Redditch and Worcester sites, connected by a dedicated wide area network link. As a result of this infrastructure transformation, the Trust has gained the performance to deliver its EPR goals, as well as future digital solutions. It also consolidated its hardware, improving manageability and reducing power usage for greater sustainability. The new solution is providing healthcare staff with 50% faster access to patient admin data, enabling them to provide better patient services with access to digital care records from bedsides and streamlined patient journeys with 24x7 access to care systems. Read the case study

Work in new splendour

Smooth sailing for Salzgitter AG with a successful rollout of Microsoft 365 across 25 companies.

For more than 150 years, the companies of the Salzgitter Group have been producing steel and technology products. The core competencies lie in the manufacture of rolled steel and tube products, their further processing, and global trade in these products. In the office and at the plant, Salzgitter AG is increasingly relying on connectivity and digitalisation. Thanks to new communication tools, employees can also work together and communicate with each other flexibly from their home offices. The company laid the foundation with the introduction of Microsoft 365 and provides corresponding value-added services. The long-planned introduction gained a lot of momentum due to the pandemic. As part of the collaboration, Computacenter was responsible for managing the entire Microsoft 365 project - with a clear roadmap. First, we recorded all of Salzgitter AG's requirements and brought them together conceptually. In the next step, the configuration was carried out in close coordination with the customer. On this basis, a proof of concept (PoC) was tested with various users and - where necessary - adapted. In this way, we laid the foundation for the subsequent implementation. Computacenter has created a series of training materials that make it easier for employees to use the new Microsoft solutions and illustrate the added value with the help of use cases. Since we've also introduced a series of standard processes, Salzgitter AG is in a position to react promptly to regular further developments of Microsoft 365 Evergreen and to adapt its own processes quickly. The early involvement of the user help desk was also an important factor for user adoption. Read the case study

Transformation of IT support brings digital-first experience

In partnership with Credit Suisse, Computacenter is providing a digital-first support experience to Credit Suisse’s users and customers, efficiently resolving issues, and helping customers work without disruption.

An ambitious digital strategy to deliver Support Productivity and Customer Experience (SPACE). During the past three years, Credit Suisse and Computacenter have been focusing on improving the former’s self-help channels and remote IT support services. This aligns to the combined strategy of the two companies which is to provide a better customer experience ensuring customers receive timely and attentive support when they need it most. Provision of a wide digital-first support experience, efficiently resolving issues and helping our customers work without disruption. Serving customers with a consumer-like, personalised experience to resolve issues quickly and get more work done. Read the case study

Innovating to create significant new business insight

Computacenter is exploiting the power of the Microsoft Power Platform to provide an informed viewpoint on the technology market, and is now sharing this insight with our customers

The Office of the CTO (UK) is Computacenter’s team of technology and market experts who engage with our customers to provide industry and market expertise, thought leadership and technology expertise within a range of domains across the IT Infrastructure landscape. Its purpose is to support customers in undertaking their digital transformations, from start to finish, to achieve their business goals and to help them operate more efficiently, whilst enabling agility and growth. The mission of Computacenter’s Office of the CTO (OCTO) is to ensure that the company continues to be relevant to our customers and partners. OCTO’s interaction across a broad landscape generates significant insights and provides an informed viewpoint on the technology market. OCTO helped Computacenter’s Power Platform practice to understand goals and current ways of working before the practice developed a significantly updated and improved ‘Model-Driven’ Power App version of OCTivity, which is underpinned by a complex set of tables, relationships, and business rules in Dataverse. It was also necessary to migrate historical data from the previous version of OCTivity. The new application is bringing considerable benefit to Computacenter UK. We are now generating meaningful information which enables the creation of new IP/Business insights that are also made available to customers. We are also improving our operational effectiveness through better traceability and clarity of our offering’s developments, as well as supporting enhanced collaboration across the business through the ability to share meaningful information that enables more effective decision making. Read the case study

High performance for mission-critical applications

Computacenter provides Ferdinand Bilstein with a high-availability and high-performance PureStorage cluster for the Oracle database environment.

Ferdinand Bilstein GmbH + Co KG is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of passenger car and commercial vehicle spare parts in the automotive aftermarket. Under the umbrella of the internationally operating Bilstein group, the family-run company unites the brands febi, SWAG and Blue Print brands. Only one central storage platform was available to meet the requirements of Ferdinand Bilstein GmbH + Co KG. Due to the resulting performance bottlenecks and the age of the existing system, Computacenter was tasked with implementing a dedicated storage system for the spare parts manufacturer's mission-critical Oracle databases. In close coordination with the customer, Computacenter supported the selection of a scalable SAN storage model and accompanied all subsequent project steps - from sizing the target environment and architecture consulting to procurement and implementing the target concept. Ferdinand Bilstein now has a high-availability, high-performance storage platform that exclusively serves requests from the company's Oracle databases. Since storage utilisation is more efficient than the manufacturer promises, there are even more reserves available for data growth or other database systems than expected. Reducing operational overhead and simplifying environment upgrades has also significantly lowered costs. Read the case study

Moving into a modern working world

Computacenter lays the foundation for hybrid working in the new building at the EUREF Campus

GASAG AG is a Berlin energy company and one of the largest regional energy suppliers. With its subsidiaries, GASAG supplies around 800,000 household and commercial customers with natural gas, bio natural gas and green electricity. In April 2021, the energy service provider GASAG moved into a new corporate headquarters on the EUREF campus in Berlin. The innovation location in Berlin-Schöneberg has a climate-neutral energy supply. In order to provide its employees with an agile and digitalised working environment, the company also wanted to lay the technological foundation in the energy quarter. The future-oriented office concept was therefore to be equipped with innovative multi-space solutions that support the desktop sharing concept. Internally, the relocation project started back in 2017. From the very beginning, the focus was on the modern space concept in the new company headquarters. In order to take into account the current requirements and needs of the workforce and to be prepared for the future, GASAG involved its employees from the very beginning. The employees now have a modern working environment at their disposal on 12,000 square metres at the EUREF Campus. As a future-oriented office concept, the multi-space solution flexibly adapts to agile forms of work and different needs. The new design promotes interaction and ensures motivated, efficient and creative employees. Read the case study

Technology services: pandemic and beyond

Digital Engagement services delivers major improvement in user engagement and experience

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fC83TlZnB0Q" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> Computacenter has been managing Worcestershire Acute Hospital NHS Trust’s (WAHT) technical infrastructure via a Technology Services contract for many years. In 2021, the contract was due for renewal, and modernising an ageing infrastructure and transitioning to new innovative digital services was a priority. WAHT extended the Technology Services contract with Computacenter and negotiated several elements to ensure business continuity and certainty of service throughout the pandemic as well as adding new services. The first year of the renewed Technology Services contract has resulted in significant digital transformation for the Trust, with new digital tools and features bringing about a muchimproved user experience. The adoption of NGSD has been enthusiastically welcomed, seeing a 50% shift from traditional Service Desk to multi-channel support, while adoption of TechCenters has been hugely successful, with a 95+% user satisfaction rate. <a class="button lightblue fill:solid" href="/en-gb/sectors/public-sector/healthcare-industry">Red More : Healthcare page</a> Read the case study

Publishing and consuming APIs securely at scale

We provided DHCW with a secure, fault-tolerant & cost-optimised solution for their cloud-based Application Programming Interface (API) management needs which is now supporting 150 million API calls per year.

Computacenter has provided DHCW with a secure, fault tolerant & cost optimised solution for their cloud based Application Programming Interface (API) management needs which is now supporting 150 million API calls per year. DHCW required a modern, secure & scalable API Management solution, enabling their Health Boards and Trusts and external service providers to connect to a national API service, to store & retrieve data such as patient health records and organisational in for mation. DHCW chose Computacenter to design and deliver their API Management solution needs, which required the following services: • Design and delivery of a multi-region enterprise scale landing zone. • Using our Landing Zone service, and working closely with the customer teams, we used purpose-built Terraform scripts to deploy folders and projects as per the agreed resource hierarchy, with organisational security policies, a shared VPC structure, and HA VPN tunnels for Apigee X provisioning with connectivity to backend legacy services hosted on-premise. • Working with our Apigee delivery partner, we also supported the customer’s teams with the onboarding of the GCP platform, the Apigee X software, initial API development, and the provision of ongoing support. • Acceleration of delivery using Infrastructure as Code and pre-built agile artefacts. Reselling & billing support was also delivered. • A highly secure, CIS compliant architecture, with policy based guardrails for onboarding workloads, and with data encryption delivered via Cloud KMS. • A fault tolerant and cost optimised solution built to support 150 million API calls per year, and a solution which is compliant with DHCWs API Strategy and architecture for the enterprise. • Centralised operations, including integration with Azure AD for centralised Identity and IAM, centralised cloud operations for monitoring and logging, and a shared Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) architecture with VPC peering to Apigee X projects. • Automated delivery remotely deployed and managed via Terraform Infrastructure as Code (IaC ) for a project factory approach, and CI/CD pipeline for APIs. • We worked with DHCW on a change request to the original contract to accommodate Cloud Armor (a network security service) into the environment, and to manage the consumption and billing process. Read the case study

Support during an unprecedented crisis

Delivering devices to home workers, transforming offices and Front of House, and supporting flexible DWP working.

To keep the provision of UK citizen benefits operational during a period of unprecedented challenge and demand. Faced with this hugely challenging scenario, DWP needed to rapidly supply 28,000 of their employees with appropriate workplace devices to enable them to continue to provide critical benefits services from their own homes. DWP needed an IT partner who could manage this mass procurement, build and deployment on their behalf. As the pandemic unfolded, an IT partner was also required to help transform DWP offices to be COVID-compliant, to support their next wave of business transformation, and to set up both new and temporary sites for Front of House support to the public. Due to this existing relationship, and a proven track record of delivery, DWP turned to Computacenter to help support them and to work together to rapidly deliver their workplace objectives during the early Coronavirus pandemic. This required Computacenter, working within the DWP programme, to manage the procurement, build and deployment of appropriate workplace devices, to enable the now home-based workers to continue delivering a first-rate benefits service to the public. Despite the excessive impact and demands of this unprecedented crisis, the various technical delivery teams have succeeded in keeping DWP operational and supporting the UK public throughout the pandemic. As Kenny Robertson says, when speaking in February 2021: “As a business, over the last ten months, we have not flinched or shied away, and have moved mountains to keep our services going. Our response is publicly acknowledged as being phenomenal and DWP Digital has played a major part.” Read the case study

Audit-Proof management of access rights

Thanks to Computacenter, HUK-COBURG has already implemented key parts of BaFin's risk management requirements and started the recertification process on time.

HUK-COBURG is one of the ten largest German insurance groups. With over twelve million customers, HUK is the largest insurer for private households in Germany. Around 13 million insured motor vehicles make HUK-COBURG the largest German car insurer. In accordance with the requirements of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), HUK-COBURG had to carry out a group-wide recertification of the Entitlements by 1 July 2021. For this purpose, it was necessary to ensure a regular review of the access rights of employees. The persons responsible for the rights must be able to approve or revoke IT access rights accordingly. First, Computacenter analysed the existing environment and created a concept for the different recertification types to be used as well as for the connection of the source systems. At the same time, the IT service provider provided support in classifying the authorisations, cleaning up the source systems and implementing the identity management solution (IM). Thanks to the new solution, HUK-COBURG was already able to implement the requirements of BaFin in significant parts and start the recertification on time. In the new IM solution, all rights to be checked are always mirrored from the connected systems. The interface and handling are very user-friendly. In addition, the insurer benefits from an easily expandable reporting system and always has a good overview of the current status. Escalation and reminder mechanisms remind the respective employees of open to-dos. Read the case study

Modern device procurement with autopilot proof

Proof of Concept of zero-touch device deployment, demonstrates major cost-cutting opportunity

Proof of Concept of zero-touch device deployment, demonstrates major cost-cutting opportunity Ageas Insurance Limited were looking for a new partner to reduce the cost in device deployment to over 2,500 UK employees and were particularly interested in trialling Microsoft’s Autopilot software. Ageas UK approached Microsoft to demonstrate deployment at speed, using workplace test devices, with the intention to rollout Autopilot across the business, if the trial proved successful. In turn, Microsoft invited Computacenter to bid alongside them in order to showcase our own capability around Autopilot. Ageas UK chose the Microsoft/Computacenter partnership to demonstrate a Proof of Concept (POC) to showcase the capabilities of Microsoft Autopilot. By using investment funds available with our partner, Microsoft, Computacenter was able to deliver the POC to Ageas UK at no up-front cost. Computacenter proceeded to create the deployment profile within Intune to enable the Autopilot deployment process, as well as registering 20 workplace test devices in the Intune console. These devices were then shipped to select Ageas UK employees who promptly tested the auto-deployment by simply taking the workplace device out of the box and connecting to their network. Auto-deployment was then successfully engaged, deploying appropriate policies, drivers and applications or Windows 10 updates, all within half an hour of device power-on. The POC clearly demonstrated that device deployment can be handled rapidly and efficiently by Autopilot, with no on-site manual intervention required by engineers. This offers Ageas UK a significant opportunity to reduce cost, improve service efficiency and deliver an improved user experience, as the POC proved that a vanilla device can be booted up and built within 20- 30 minutes. With no requirement for engineer intervention, the POC also proved that Autopilot would meet Ageas UK’s requirement for a zero-touch production solution. As a result of the successful POC testing, Ageas UK have already moved hardware procurement from the previous supplier to Computacenter and are now seeing Computacenter as a strategic partner of the future. Read the case study

Windows 10 and SCCM migrations

Delivering software currency, better security and the platform to fully exploit Microsoft 365

As part of its Digital Transformation agenda, the CAA wanted to optimise Microsoft 365, but to do so, they needed to migrate users from Windows 7 to Windows 10. This was also an opportunity to improve security and minimise disruption for future Operating System upgrades. The CAA were looking for a partner to perform the design and build of both Windows 10 and Microsoft SCCM, and to then procure and deploy appropriate workplace devices or replace the hard disks of existing devices to accommodate Windows 10. Computacenter led the design and build of Windows 10 for the CAA, to NCSC standards, and the design and build of SCCM. This was followed by deployment of Windows 10 in a pilot for up to 180 employees, and subsequent deployment to the remaining 1,020 employees in scope. In doing so, Computacenter and the CAA had to work around changing conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, having to adapt their deployment method accordingly. Hardware consolidation Improved productivity and sustainability Increased security Standardisation Supported digitalisation Read the case study

Enabling Lawyers Worldwide

Linklaters transforms working practices for its lawyers worldwide with Windows 10 devices

To increase efficiency while improving the work-life balance for lawyers, Linklaters needed to embrace a more flexible and mobile approach by equipping 5,000 users worldwide with Windows 10 technology. To increase efficiency while improving work-life balance for its lawyers around the world, Linklaters was keen to embrace a more flexible and mobile approach by equipping more than 5,000 users globally with the latest Windows 10 technology. With ambitious timescales, wide spread locations, and multiple time zones, the firm needed a partner with international capabilities to ensure a swift and smooth deployment. Linklaters selected Computacenter for the depth and breadth of its Microsoft expertise, as well as its international logistics and engineering capabilities. Computacenter designed, built and tested the Windows 10 image and SCCM environment and sourced 3,500 new Lenovo Yoga laptops and Microsoft Surface tablets, configured and deployed from Computacenter’s Configuration Center. Computacenter also provided engineering resources to assist with deployments across 28 international locations, including rebuilding 2,000 existing desktops. Leveraging Computacenter’s industrialised processes, Linklaters successfully completed its workplace transformation on time and with minimal disruption to users. The new IT environment enables lawyers to work from anywhere, improves their work-life balance and enhances client communication and collaboration. As well as providing a better user experience and increasing productivity, the new working environment will help support the future ambitions of the firm. Read the case study

Improved user experience

Computacenter’s new slant on services empowers users and delivers desired cost savings for Yorkshire Building Society

Yorkshire Building Society Group is the second largest building society and the seventh largest retail financial services provider in the UK. With branches from Land’s End to John O’Groats, it has more than 3.3 million customers. In 2020, many of Yorkshire Building Society’s Managed Services were up for renewal. Sarah Hollis is a Senior Manager in Technology Services, Risk and Monitoring at YBS. As she explains: “We wanted a refreshed service that was reflective of the transformation we were delivering to our desktop estate in 2020 which would see us move to Windows 10 Evergreen and new devices for all colleagues. We wanted a service that reduced our cost base, offered flexibility as we continued to evolve the service and, more importantly, improved our colleague experience.” Computacenter were selected as the preferred supplier to run Yorkshire Building Society’s Managed Services for another five years, commencing in October 2020. As Sarah Hollis explains: “We already had a strong partnership with Computacenter, but it was refreshing to see the ideas they brought to the table as part of the bidding process; they didn’t just propose a like for like service.” Computacenter has succeeded in maintaining a high-quality service and has introduced significant cost savings by re-shaping some central and second line service functions. They have also evolved the service by delivering engineering support through a new TechCenter at Yorkshire Building Society’s head office in Bradford, which is backed up by an appointment scheduling app. Read the case study

Accelerating the path to cloud

Engaging powerful partnerships to deliver multi-supplier cloud solution

Computacenter helped William Hill move applications to the cloud, in order to continue delivering great products and services for its customers in a safe and secure way. William Hill's 'cloud-first' strategy sought a scalable, predicatable cost structure, coupled with improving their bsuiness agility. They were faced with the challenge of moving all their in-scope applications and services to the cloud. They would not be able to achieve their eighteen-month migration time-frame without the use of multiple cloud providers. William Hill needed an IT partner to help them achieve the migration to cloud using the best-fit cloud infrastructure and software vendors. Computacenter provided independent advice and support on how best to proceed with the migration, harnessing their experience of many successful projects. Following that advice, Computacenter was awarded a 3-year contract to provide enterprise licence agreement, support and implementation of VMware Cloud on AWS, followed by application and service migration. A critical part of implementing this solution required Computacenter to coordinate the migration between themselves, the other two partners (VMware and AWS) and William Hill. Computacenter also co-ordinated the training requirements for William Hill’s key stakeholders. William Hill saw cost reductions early in the project, with the VMware tool Cloud Health demonstrating where those savings were. A road map was developed and implemented for migrating the rest of the eligible applications to the cloud, while the training is delivering benefit particularly in terms of demonstrating how the new solution supports business agility. Elsewhere, visibility of William Hill’s IT estate is much improved, as is workload mobility, while the new scalable and predictable cost structure is enabling their management to better plan for future cloud expansion Read the case study

Cloud-only strategy with Apple devices

With MacBook and iPhone, new employees at SHARE NOW are ready to work from day one.

The carsharing provider needed a high-performance software and hardware solution - and the key would be cloud. SHARE NOW needed a flexible, scalable IT infrastructure at locations throughout Europe. The guiding principle was the cloud-only strategy: the company did not want to buy solutions, but to follow the principle of its own business model, using them as a consumer and renting resources flexibly. To attract the best specialists, SHARE NOW also wanted to provide a modern IT workstation. With partners Computacenter, Apple, Jamf, Okta and Google, SHARE NOW developed a modular solution. It is based on an end-to-end approach to equip new employees directly with a MacBook and iPhone during onboarding, and gradually replace existing systems. The technical solution is identity management from Okta, Google Suite for collaboration and Jamf for device management. Office 365 ensures compatibility with legacy documents from the previous IT landscape. SHARE NOW is independent of hardware and software and can assemble and equip teams very quickly. From their first day at work, new employees have access to a secure and immediately operational IT infrastructure, which is particularly attractive thanks to modern Apple equipment. Its modular structure means that the solution can be changed at any time, scaled and extended and adapted to new requirements. The leasing model ensures that costs and technological development are always in harmony. Read the case study

A clear strategy for cloud at Kellogg's

Analysing applications and exploring options to exploit cloud technology.

Computacenter has helped Kellogg’s identify some immediate cost savings and efficiency gains as well as shape its long-term strategic roadmap for digital transformation Kellogg’s needed an IT partner to help them evaluate their current environment, analyse their existing applications, and identify opportunities to migrate eligible applications and services to the cloud. In addition, advice on tools, technology and infrastructure best-suited to their cloud needs was required, along with the development of a cloud strategy aimed at transforming their environment of the future. Computacenter was engaged by Kellogg’s to provide independent advice through its Application Migration Assessment Service. This service was tailored to deliver an environment evaluation and application analysis, enabling an effective Windows 2008 Server eradication strategy with opportunities for cloud migration – which was adapted to suit the Kellogg’s organisation. Computacenter successfully delivered a solid, strategic plan to de-risk the platform by moving off legacy technology and transforming Kellogg’s environment to a more modern, flexible cloud environment. Cost savings were enabled by a reduced on-premise footprint and better standardisation across the group. Through better understanding of the application lifecycle and future target platform, it was possible to develop a long-term strategic roadmap for digital transformation. Read the case study

Transport for London: Sharing common values

Computacenter help Transport for London to meet the IT challenges of growth.

An extended Managed Services partnership centred on people, and now delivering new TechCenter support and ‘shift-left’ self-serve. Transport for London’s Technology Services Operations department has the responsibility of making sure that the company’s IT Services are running smoothly and always available for their staff, Londoners and millions of annual visitors who use their transport services each year. In addition, the key objectives of delivering healthier transport and eliminating fatalities, also require appropriate future investment in IT. In 2019, support for several critical IT services had reached their contract end date and were therefore open to bids for future support. Given the challenges and strategic objectives, combined with the ongoing tough economic climate, it was vital that Transport for London selected the right long-term partner to deliver those services. Computacenter were selected by Transport for London (TfL) to provide support for a minimum of 4 years, with a potential to be extended up to 7 years. The new contract centres on Computacenter’s DigitalMe Workplace offering and providing Deskside Support and Service Desk services – which serve not only TfL Head Office buildings, but many other areas ranging from London Underground stations all the way down to the portacabins from where engineers conduct the maintenance of rail tracks. The new contract places a big emphasis on intelligent support aligned to personal preference, enabling users with self-service capabilities through an End User Portal. This is underpinned by the delivery of Service Desk and TechCenter services for remote and on-site assistance and support, delivering convenient access to multi-skilled IT experts. An exciting partnership meeting challenges together and putting the user at the heart of everything. The evolution of the services through the new contract will also be a key part of TfL’s “Smart Working” programme – enabling better staff productivity, reducing costs and supporting an increasingly-flexible workforce. Read the case study

A forecast of Cloud for the Future

Computacenter's proven sourcing capability applied to cloud-based services

Computacenter helps the Met Office adopt public cloud services, enabling them to scale up for increasing data volumes, and to deliver the agility needed to respond to market demands. The Met Office needs to migrate services to cloud to respond faster to market and customer demands. They need to transform from legacy physical infrastructure to cloud-based services, without impacting scientific research, their vast data processing requirements, or their super-computer – which underpins both IT-based scientific research, and day-to-day operations. Computacenter are providing the Met Office with independent advice on tools, technology and infrastructure. Together we are developing an adaptable cloud strategy and migration process and methodology, including a compliant route to market for cloud services. The Met Office has used Computacenter's consultancy to develop a strategic plan for future growth, using flexible approaches to establised methodologies and skill-sets. Powerful partnerships enable strong commercials and early visibility of future roadmaps. All delivered with scalable, predictable and transparent costs. Read the case study

Pioneer in all things Cloud

DONNER & REUSCHEL breaks new ground with Computacenter and a cloud-only strategy

The private bank, which has offices in Hamburg, Munich and Kiel, focuses on close, personal contact with its customers and places them at the centre of its services. The clientele of a private bank has exclusive demands. So DONNER & REUSCHEL aimed to create a modern and future-oriented work platform when redesigning its infrastructure – not shying away from disruptive technologies. The digital workplace should not just be a buzzword for the bank. “Our declared goal is to create innovation through IT,“ emphasises Andreas Weinberger, IT Division Manager at DONNER & REUSCHEL. Computacenter supported DONNER & REUSCHEL at the early stage in planning its IT strategy. Jointly they considered the options for renewing the infrastructure – both in the bank‘s own data centers and in the cloud. Banking in the cloud was still largely uncharted territory. A solution proof-of-concept made it clear: this should be a completely mobile working environment based on Microsoft 365, Intune and Azure with a ‘zero data center’ strategy. On the hardware side, notebooks and tablets from Microsoft‘s Surface series and the Apple iPhone were chosen. Banking in the Cloud? Yes, it works! DONNER & REUSCHEL’s users have a state-of-the-art working environment on up-to-date hardware and can work efficiently with the new functions. By switching to a cloud solution, the bank was able to view and implement all regulatory requirements in an application-specific manner. “During the planning phase in 2017 nobody could have guessed that a pandemic in 2020 would block our way to the office,“ says Alexander Fuchs, Lead Consultant at Computacenter. “During the Corona crisis, our users were seamlessly mobile – this alone made the project worthwhile,“ applauds Andreas Weinberger. Read the case study

Accelerating our collaboration with Microsoft 365

Service remains unaffected and productivity is enhanced as people embrace flexible working.

Computacenter successfully rolled out Microsoft Teams to 16,000 users inside 4 weeks, with 90% of our people enabled for remote working. Service to Computacenter’s customers remained entirely unaffected. In early 2020, Computacenter was committed to moving away from their existing unified communications and telephone platforms, to fully leverage their Microsoft Office 365 subscription and provide a better user experience. They needed to fully embrace the capabilities of Microsoft Teams, with an effective adoption approach for the company’s 16,000 users. The programme was also expected to provide cost reuctions, improved reliability and performance, and greater flexibility. Computacenter replaced their existing collaboration tools with Microsoft Teams deploying the User Adoption Framework to maintain focus on people and ensure successful adoption of the new capabilities. This led to improved user satisfaction and productivity, despite the global pandemic forcing the rollout to be brought forward by nine weeks. Home-working for our people was achieved by moving on-premise data to the cloud and quadrupling VPN capabilities. The programme was successfully delivered within 4 weeks, and service to Computacenter’s customers remained entirely unaffected. Feedback from users has exceeded expectations, with hundreds reporting a significant improvement with their new digital and remote workstyle. Read the case study

Encapsulated internet access with Bromium

Ensuring that people's activities which could cause risk are executed safely in isolation.

Computacenter supports public administration’s IT service provider with the introduction of encapsulated internet access based on a solution from Bromium. Dataport wanted to introduce a solution for more than 30,000 customers who use their clients to access the Internet via a terminal-server solution. The solution needed to enable secure and efficient Internet access, increase the number of access points available for simultaneous use, and provide greater convenience in handling uploads, downloads and data transfers. Computacenter used a sourcing framework to provide Bromium licences for the 32,000 clients that Dataport manages. Specialists at Computacenter configured the software using the Bromium Enterprise Controller and tailored it Dataport's customers' computers. The implementation improved security as desired, whilst improving performance and reducing both cost and administration effort. Customer satisfaction improved through better access to information and maximum productivity. Read the case study

Coffee goes Digital

Enriching the customer experience - presenting orders via app, direct to the store.

Mobile ordering is now available at over 500 Costa Coffee stores nationwide. Costa Coffee has successfully achieved it's customer-related objectives, whilst also bringing about a marked increase in sales. Costa Coffee’s overriding business objective is to be the world’s number one coffee shop brand, and they want to achieve this with a personal touch. A perfect fit with this vision was to enable customers to pre-order from the Costa Coffee app, with their order ready and waiting for them when they arrive in the store. Computacenter invited Costa Coffee to their Customer Experience Center at Hatfield, to demonstrate the technology that Costa were considering and provide a practical market overview. The demonstration included a tailored version of Costa’s coffee-ordering app with output displayed on multiple device types. Costa Coffee were then able to select the best fit, and Computacenter delivered Kitchen Display Screens to 500 Costa Coffee stores. Mobile ordering is now available at over 500 Costa Coffee stores nationwide – a hundred more stores than originally targeted. Using the Costa Coffee app, customers are now able to place and pay for an order at a nearby Costa Coffee store, direct from their phone or tablet, and then collect the order in-store. This is enabled by the app link to Costa Coffee's e-commerce system, which then re-directs orders to the new kitchen display screens. In delivering this new and cost-effective system, Costa Coffee has successfully achieved its customer-related objectives, whilst also bringing about a marked increase in sales. Read the case study

A Peerless IT Service

Enabling NFU Mutual to deliver a first-class service to their customers

Ensuring solid, stable and secure systems, continuing an excellent business relationship. Entrusting Computacenter to deliver efficient and effective IT services, and to oversee another refresh of workplace – leaving NFU Mutual free to focus on providing quality insurance for their customers, and not having to worry about their IT. Computacenter continue to provide a full Managed IT Service, excluding Service Desk, which delivers a modern workplace. It includes Windows 10 and Windows 10 Evergreen support, new end-user devices and Managed Print, with guaranteed end-user infrastructure performance. NFU Mutual benefit from a stable, resilient infrastructure supported by smooth-running IT services and enabling a workplace transformation for their 6,000 people. Their people enjoy improvements in the user experience and their choice of support. In Computacenter they have a long-term partner that understands NFU Mutual’s business and adds value, providing thought leadership and commercial innovation. Read the case study

Leading-Edge Configuration Management

Computacenter support Camelot in a successful migration

Computacenter has successfully migrated Camelot’s outdated configuration management system to Microsoft’s leading-edge SCCM in under three months. We are now also responsibile for managing the SCCM licence procurement, as well as providing additional project and consultancy services. Camelot were looking for a suitable partner to migrate their ageing configuration management system away from Altiris to Microsoft’s SCCM, and to then manage the supply chain around licence procurement. The objective of deploying SCCM was to improve Camelot’s visibility of their desktop environment. This modernisation of configuration management will play a small part in contributing towards Camelot’s overarching objective to “maximise returns for good causes”. Computacenter helped Camelot implement a configuration management system migration from Altiris to SCCM in under three months. This included delivery of supply chain services for the management of 1,500 SCCM licences, with project and consultancy services to ensure smooth delivery of the objectives. Camelot now have a product that is super-automated and which delivers greater visibility of their desktop estate. The new SCCM solution also delivers a more up-to-date and agile tool which provides a better end-user experience. Read the case study

A Multimedia Future

Computacenter install multimedia-capable thin clients at public insurance companies supported by gkv informatik

Computacenter's installation of multimedia capable thin clients helps to improve productivity and lower costs at gkv informatik. Updating their thin clients should allow staff at the insurance companies supported by gkv informatik to participate in multimedia training courses and video conferences in the future. Computacenter undertook this task for gkv informatik and, as planned, managed to install around 12,000 multimedia-capable thin clients across Germany within three months.The new thin clients were preconfigured in the Computacenter Integration Center in Kerpen before being delivered to the staff at the health insurance companies. On the day of the exchange, the old devices were collected from the various offices and sent for recycling. With this new equipment, gkv informatik has modernised and updated its network of offices. The multimedia capability of the new clients makes training easier and, thanks to the modern video conferencing facilities, saves time and travel expenditure. The existing framework agreement with Computacenter meant the entire project could be implemented quickly and transparently. Read the case study

Risks? Under Control.

Conducting Threat and Risk Analyses for the City of Munich

Working with the central IT provider for the City of Munich, Computacenter have been conducting threat and risk analyses to help simplify future risk scenarios for the city. Across the organisations of the City of Munich, various approaches to risk analysis have developed over time. In some cases, no risk management of any kind was conducted due to lack of resources. The City wanted risk management to be conducted consistently across all organisations, as this ensures that results can be compared. In line with the City’s requirements, Computacenter developed consistent methods for the processing of risk analysis. These methods are based on the resulting hazard and measure catalogues, which are summarised in a questionnaire. In addition, these methods take account of the various security requirements of the City. Risk management now follows a clearly defined and widely accepted process with standardised methods, which are provided for all organisations by the central IT service provider it@M. A standardised procedure is in place for identifying threats, protective measures and risks. At the same time, responsibilities are clearly defined and analysis results can be compared. Read the case study

Best of Breed Storage Area Network

Computacenter delivers under Storage Area Network framework contract by the German Federal Employment Agency

Computacenter have been awarded a contract with the German Federal Employment Agency to expand and modernise their existing storage environment with hardware and software from Hitachi Vantara, Pure Storage, Brocade and NetApp. The existing storage systems at the Federal Employment Agency’s data centres in Nuremberg had hit the limits of their capacity. In the light of this, the agency put out a fresh invitation to tender for the new infrastructure and various services as part of a framework contract. The key priorities were to speed up and modernise access to data. In addition, a central storage management system was to be introduced to make the entire storage infrastructure easier to plan and administer. The agency decided to hire Computacenter as the general contractor. Computacenter’s multivendor approach involved three different vendors and promised to deliver the best possible results in response to the required specifications. Under the framework contract, the IT service provider has been tasked with expanding and modernising the existing storage environment with hardware and software from Hitachi Vantara, Pure Storage, Brocade and NetApp. Only flash-based storage systems are to be used and all management tasks will be handled by the Storage Resource Management (SRM) solution, NetApp OnCommand Insight. Thanks to the new storage infrastructure, the Federal Employment Agency will be able to improve productivity whilst reducing operating expenses and other costs. There will be less management and administration work. The flash-based storage systems enable high-speed data access and now that storage resource management has been introduced, smooth operational processes are assured. Read the case study

On a digital journey

IT Niedersachsen undertakes the digital transformation of their administrative processes.

Computacenter has aided a major digital transformation project, increasing the quality of IT services and processes while also providing a future-proof solution for IT Niedersachsen, the IT department in the German state of Lower Saxony. The creation of a digitalised administration is the declared goal of all German federal states. It is the basis for genuine E-government, from which all citizens should ultimately benefit. The modernisation of these internal processes is fundamental for a modern administration. It Niedersachsen looked to Computacenter to help implement this process. State-of-the-art mobile device management for the cabinet and all senior civil servants in Lower Saxony enables secure access to central servers via any smartphone. Computacenter has developed concepts together with IT.N and provided the necessary infrastructure. In parallel, Computacenter has rolled out more than 8,000 administrative clients to Windows 8.1 in a nationwide rollout. Finally, the IT service provider has assisted in developing a modular approach to the electronic file, as required by the state. The client devices can be administered and maintained centrally, which in conjunction with the software and infrastructure standardisation significantly reduces costs. In addition, all of the state’s mobile employees who use company smartphones and tablets to access the organisation’s network now also benefit from modern mobile device management: using their devices in the way to which private users are used. The new approach to building a collaboratively oriented E-file enables the exchange of structured data sets between individual authorities and across state borders. Read the case study

A Medical Archive Grid, rebuilt from scratch

Hyper-scale data center for the Medical Center of the University of Munich

Computacenter implemented state-of-the-art, future-proof technology along with the corresponding storage systems and high-performance servers. The previous storage infrastructure was at the end of its useful life and had to be systematically and methodically modernised. The aim was to create a high-availability database for real-time evaluations, and patient data. In addition, the previous architecture lacked a high-performance monitoring system for the overall environment, which needed to be addressed by the new solution. In phase 2 of the “Medical Archive Grid” project, Computacenter brought together the most powerful server and storage systems available on the market. Over the next few years, the resulting network will come to form the IT basis for handling patient data and for conducting medical research at the Medical Center. The solution from Computacenter means that the Medical Center of the University of Munich now possesses one of the most powerful storage environments within the medical field. At the same time as creating the environment, Computacenter also automated data center administration and introduced a high-performance monitoring and reporting system. Read the case study

Identity Management? Plain Sailing

Increasing Security Through a New Identity Management Solution

Computacenter has helped R+V Insurance to replace its existing identity management solution, increasing user satisfaction and security across the company. R+V Insurance had been successfully using BMC Control-SA as an identity management solution for many years. When the software manufacturer announced that its product was to be discontinued, the insurance company decided to introduce SailPoint IIQ as a replacement, with assistance from Computacenter. During the replacement process, the key priorities were to avoid interruptions to the identity management service, and to ensure a high level of user friendliness. Identity management solutions usually require extensive adaptation to suit the customer’s specific requirements. With a view to adopting the most efficient approach possible, the experts analysed, evaluated and documented the customer-specific functions in BMC Control-SA. The specialists from R+V and Computacenter then optimised these functions before mapping them onto SailPoint IIQ. Following comprehensive testing and the necessary data cleansing in the source and target systems, SailPoint IIQ was put into operation at R+V Insurance. The company’s employees now have access to an identity management system that is both modern and future-proof. SailPoint IIQ helps R+V Insurance to satisfy regulatory requirements while providing 1:1 authorisation mirroring in the connected systems. Read the case study

Changing rooms, meeting needs

Providing State-Of-The-Art Meeting Rooms for Europe's Busiest Airport

Computacenter provided Heathrow airport with a fully modernised and consistent digital workplace, complimented by vastly-improved meeting rooms containing state-of-the-art equipment. Heathrow were looking to significantly improve their colleagues’ meeting and collaboration experience, which previously had been disorganised and inconsistent, mainly due to a mixed and aging technological estate. The objective, therefore, was for Computacenter to provide a consistent and leading-edge meeting and collaboration solution that aligned with Heathrow’s new organisation-wide Digital Workplace Programme, all aimed at enhancing the company profile. During a six-month project, Computacenter delivered 110 meeting and collaboration spaces for 7,000 Heathrow Airport colleagues across the Heathrow Airport Campus, including Head Office. These “spaces” were then furnished with leading-edge equipment, including Large Format Displays, projectors, audio facilities and wireless accessories. This solution complements and integrates with the progressive suite of digital workplace applications that Computacenter had already delivered, which include messaging, audio and video conferencing, and document storage and sharing. Colleagues now have a fully modernised and consistent digital workplace, complimented by vastly-improved meeting rooms, containing state-of-the-art equipment. This combination enables flexible and secure communication with colleagues, allowing them to collaborate from across the business and make faster decisions. Read the case study

Secure, reliable, future-proof

Companies House set to achieve its digital goals and improve the digital experience

Computacenter have helped Companies House in selecting the right storage platform to help them achieve their digital goals. Companies House is on a mission to fully digitalise its business. To achieve this goal, it must ensure its growing volumes of digital data remain highly available. When the organisation’s existing storage system was approaching end of support, Companies House decided to migrate to a more strategic platform, but needed to ensure it invested in the right technology. Companies House turned to long-term partner Computacenter to compare the products on the market and find the most suitable solution. With its wealth of storage expertise and intimate knowledge of Companies House’s IT infrastructure and goals, Computacenter recommended NetApp’s AFF A300 Flash Storage System with OnCommand Insight Management. The new solution will provide active-active storage across two sites to safeguard business continuity. With fit-for-purpose, next-generation storage, Companies House can improve the availability and security of its data for a better user experience. The solution will also help Companies House reduce management costs, lower risk, and align with its digital goals. Read the case study

Securely connected

How Computacenter are helping NHS Digital Provide Their Health and Social Care Network (HSCN).

Toegether with Cisco, Computacenter are helping to provide NHS Digital’s security analysts with full visibility of traffic patterns and potential threats across the HSCN. HSCN is a new private Wide Area Network which succeeds the legacy NHS N3 network, enabling NHS organisations across the UK to share digital patient records and other data via a reliable and feature-rich platform. Ensuring the security of the HSCN is vital to its success. Computacenter led the project and engaged with Cisco to design and build the analytics solution and the underlying hardware platform. Based on Cisco Stealthwatch combined with data analytics technology, the solution will identify patterns of potentially malicious behaviour and track and send information to a centralised Security Information and Event Management system. The solution provides NHS Digital’s security analysts with full visibility of traffic patterns and potential threats across the HSCN. These incidents sre remediated using bespoke security playbooks created by Computacenter and Cisco, safeguarding business continuity for caregivers at the front line and preventing delays for their patients. The new network, with its enhanced security, will enable healthcare professionals at regional hospitals, clinics and GPs surgeries to share and protect vital digital patient data, maximising efficiency and enabling better quality care Read the case study

Rapid data center deployment

Volkswagen Financial Services use Infrastructure Services from Computacenter to enable maximum system performance.

In the course of the new data center construction, which had become necessary due to the growth in recent years, Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) created the basis for data center consolidation. IT forms the backbone of VWFS, who offer their financial services to customers worldwide. With the construction of a new data center, VWFS had the opportunity for consolidation. Network and firewall systems had to be relocated, with, supporting activities carried out as far as possible in advance and outside the data centers. The limited space and storage conditions in the existing data centers also required an alternative to simply delivering IT infrastructure components and configuring them on site. Installation and configuration of 19” appliances in specially secured rolling cases at Computacenter’s central Integration Center, and subsequent delivery to customer sites. The new network and security components were installed in the existing racks with as little work as possible. The limited space and storage capacities in the existing facility demanded that the preparation activities be relocated to Computacenter premises. Computacenter's centralised configuration and installation capabilities significantly reduced VWFS's workload. The use of flight cases minimised installation time on site, eliminated the need for industrial trucks, and made it easier to operate in the limited space available in the existing data center. There was no packaging waste or pallets in the data centers, which reduced the danger of fire and ensured that there was no dust contamination. Sealed transport via notified direct routes ensured that VWFS’ security requirements were fully met. Read the case study

A Forward-Looking Partnership

Operating Koelnmesse GmbH (Cologne Trade Fair Company) IT operations since 2011

Computacenter hosts, operates and supports all Koelnmesse central applications and IT end user devices. Before Computacenter took over the Koelnmesse, central applications frequently failed and disrupted the trade fair events. Since then, the situation has completely changed. The two companies have continuously developed their partnership over the years. With the current service contract about to expire, Koelnmesse once again chose Computacenter to be its central IT service provider. The fact that it extended the contract by another five years reflects the company’s high levels of satisfaction with the services provided by Computacenter. Computacenter operates all Koelnmesse central applications in a virtualised storage environment. This is based on the FlexPod architecture and hosted at a data center in Frankfurt. Computacenter is also responsible for the operation of all IT end user devices at Koelnmesse, as well as the central Service Desk in Cologne. Since the two companies entered into partnership, all Koelnmesse central applications have been stable and reliable. This solution provided by Computacenter also forms a strategic basis for continuous development of all IT workstations at Koelnmesse. Read the case study

Cloud First

Computacenter give Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) a fast start

VWFS uses relocation of their Digital Unit as the driver for digitalisation - with their cloud enabled by Computacenter. At the new location, the hardware infrastructure was to be reduced to a minimum following the principle ‘cloud first’. The existing hardware was not to be relocated. In the workstation environment, Microsoft Office 365 was to be used as the core application. The migration was carried out within a very limited timeframe. Computacenter was able to win the contract against other bidders and implemented the specifications of the Digital Unit within 6 weeks. With the installed WLAN infrastructure from Cisco Meraki as well as Office 365 and Azure from Microsoft, the agile team of scrum masters, software developers and managers was able to start quickly. In addition to the procurement and delivery of the hardware, Computacenter configured and implemented a flexible, cloud-based workstation environment for the Digital Unit. This enabled a creative new start in a new environment in Berlin and also considerably reduced the administration effort for the IT environment. Read the case study

Future-Proofing BMW's Network

Computacenter converts network components to dual stack for BMW

Computacenter implemented the worldwide rollout of dual stack on BMW’s network components in accordance with their specifications, helping to future-proof their network and strengthen their competitive advantage. The BMW Group was expanding its worldwide network to include internet protocol v6 (IPv6). This was essential for the company due to the constantly growing demand for IP addresses. Other developments, such as Industry 4.0 and the internet of things, were also key factors driving the BMW Group to adopt this technology. Millions of vehicles are to be equipped with IPv6 addresses in order to implement innovative new features and enhance the company’s competitive position. Computacenter implemented the worldwide rollout of dual stack on BMW’s network components in accordance with the company’s specifications. To do this, the IT service provider developed a software solution to not only automate and accelerate the rollout process but also ensure a consistently high quality. The project was led and completed to BMW Group’s schedule by Computacenter’s central project management office. With the transition to dual stack complete, BMW Group was no longer limited in terms of allocating new IP addresses - a future-proof solution. Computacenter’s comprehensive expertise in network technology ensured a smooth rollout across all of the company’s international locations, with minimum impact on day-to-day operations. Read the case study

Improved performance with SAP HANA

Dramatic performance improvement and the foundation for further migrations.

Working with GASAG AG to implenment HANA database technology, we've helped to improve productivity and enhance business agility. Following the successful migration of its Business Warehouse with Computacenter, GASAG AG was keen to convert other SAP systems to the new SAP HANA technology. To consolidate performance in all productive systems, GASAG decided to acquire new storage systems with a total of two terabytes of memory on which the RAM-based SAP HANA runs. The new, virtualised environment based on Windows Server 2012 consists of dedicated SAP HANA database servers using Cisco UCS blades. The SAP system technology was updated using the SAP DMO tool. "Because RAM works 1000 times faster than disk systems, we managed to achieve the performance improvement we wanted and replace the relational database we had been using before,” explained Mirko Edling. In addition, this solution requires fewer server systems, which lowers the operating costs. Read the case study

Toasting a successful managed service

Computacenter support Asahi's complex operations with ServiceNow.

Computacenter’s ServiceNow Centre of Excellence (formerly TeamUltra) are helping Ashai save time and improve operational flexibility with the installation of ServiceNow. Asahi Breweries Europe (ABE) support over 8,000 production, sales and operations users in five different languages. They were looking to achieve best practice IT Service Management and a strong user experience, with ServiceNow to support their complex operational needs. Computacenter's Managed Service is part of the SaaS strategy at Asahi, delivering core ITSM applications into Asahi’s corporate IT environment. The service proactively manages all aspects of the ServiceNow platform including day to day administration, Level 2 and 3 support, patching, bug fixes, version upgrades and minor enhancements. Full system monitoring, on-going system performance reviews and regular service reviews ensure ServiceNow operates efficiently and meets business objectives. Computacenter has enabled Asahi to leverage ServiceNow to deliver a fast and effective service to business users. The Managed Service has saved time and enhanced operational flexibility. Asahi has simplified and improved business processes without impacting on activities such as Change Management. Read the case study

A solution with a future

Computacenter designs and implements a cloud-only infrastructure for Digital Charging Solutions

Find out how we've provided Munich-based start up Digital Charging Solutions with a completely new digital infrastructure. The Munich-based start-up Digital Charging Solutions is building a worldwide charging network for electric vehicles of the BMW brand with the Charge Now brand. What was needed was a completely new digital infrastructure, which was to be quickly available and flexibly expandable. Based on Microsoft Office 365 and Azure Cloud Services, Computacenter developed and implemented the optimal architecture for Digital Charging Solutions within a very short timeframe. This pragmatic approach met the company’s demand for fast operational capability. With this cloud-only concept, Computacenter has demonstrated that young companies in particular can do without with a separate IT infrastructure, without compromising performance and can even increase security. At the same time, the costs for the services consumed are moderate and remain fully transparent. Read the case study

Evaluating the cloud

Conducting a Cloud Maturing Assesment for HUK-COBURG Insurance

Working with Germany’s biggest car insurer HUK-COBURG, Computacenter carried out a Cloud Maturity Assesment to prepare them for cloud adoption. To effectively assess its cloud readiness, the insurer needed an objective and multi-vendor service provider who could conduct a situation and SWOT/GAP analysis for HUK-COBURG as part of a cloud maturity assessment (CMA). Computacenter conducted a multi-level CMA using standardised guidelines. All areas of IT were assessed, covering regulations, concepts, technologies, tools, processes, know-how and roles, and any changes that may be needed in order to optimise services. The assessment included an evaluation of cloud providers, including those specific to HUK-COBURG. Computacenter also provided recommendations to meet the target performance. As a result of the cloud maturity assessment, HUK-COBURG now has a SWOT/GAP analysis of its cloud maturity together with prioritised areas for action. It also has access to an evaluation of cloud providers relevant to HUK. Read the case study

Pick and Mix Support Services

Eversheds Sutherland maximises user satisfaction and productivity with flexible and responsive support services.

Computacenter are providing support for all 60 Eversheds Sutherland offices around the world, including web chat, 24x7 telephone support, onsite Tech Bars for face-to-face support and 1,200 self-help knowledge articles. Technology is fundamental to attracting and retaining high calibre legal talent. To satisfy its users’ demands, Eversheds Sutherland needed to establish a digital workplace that extends from the office to lawyers’ homes and clients’ premises. Providing support services that enable users to stay productive, regardless of their location, is a key component of its digital ambitions. Computacenter provides multi-channel end user services from its Next Generation Service Desk for all 60 offices around the world, including web chat, 24x7 telephone support, onsite TechCenters for face-to-face support and 1,200 self-help knowledge articles. By providing users with greater choice around how, when and where they access IT support services, Eversheds Sutherland can provide a more tailored and responsive experience that maximises satisfaction and productivity. To enable ongoing improvements in workplace IT and support, Computacenter is talking directly to the firm’s lawyers, and providing recommendations on how to make them more efficient with better access to information. Read the case study

Room to Grow

Eversheds Sutherland boosts productivity and agility with private cloud designed and managed by Computacenter

Access to the right information at the right time for clients and lawyers, maximising capacity, minimising complexity . To deliver innovative and consistent legal services, Eversheds Sutherland needs to ensure its employees and clients can access the right information at the right time. To achieve this objective and its digitalisation ambitions, the law firm needed to refresh its ageing and complex infrastructure with an environment that would deliver greater agility and resilience. Eversheds Sutherland worked with Computacenter’s experts to design and deploy a private cloud that supports 4,000 users around the globe. The environment is hosted off-premise in a Computacenter datacenter and monitored 24x7 by its capacity and service management teams to ensure maximum availability and scalability. Lawyers can now access information more easily, which enables them to focus more time on delighting clients. With additional capacity available on demand, Eversheds Sutherland can provision new digital and client services more quickly, which helps to boost competitive advantage. Read the case study

A textbook transformation

Department for Education modernises IT estate to enable staff to work closer with schools and colleges

To enable staff to work more closely with the education sector, the Department for Education needed to change its technologies and approach to accessing data. Improve efficiency Enable more mobile working Build a platform for the future The organisation partnered with Computacenter to support its plan for modernisation. As part of the project, Computacenter helped roll out 4,000 user devices, which are instrumental to the department’s digital ambitions. Better collaboration with schools and colleagues More flexible working Improved user satisfaction and engagement By equipping staff with mobile devices, they are freed up from the confines of the office and can work in the field with more schools and colleges. The project provides the building blocks to enable users to work more effectively alongside education bodies and support wider digitalisation initiatives. Read the case study

Consumables at the touch of a button

BMW Group removes cost and complexity from peripheral procurement

Computacenter provide employees across the BMW Group with tech from vending machines 24x7, helping to reduce times and costs involved in distributing new devices. The goal was to speed up distribution of peripheral devices, such as mice and adapters, and to make the process more cost effective. The BMW Group also wanted to make sure employees had access to all components known as ‘C-parts’ at any time without the need for an authorisation process. Computacenter converted a commercial vending machine, similar to those used for sweets and crisps, to dispense peripherals. Employees can now use their employee ID cards to obtain C-parts as required. The distribution of IT consumables is now cheaper and faster with the converted vending machine. The pilot test before moving to production had shown that Computacenter’s pragmatic approach met the customer’s expectations. Read the case study

A Fresh Start

Liberty Global enriches the entertainment experience for 25 million customers with consolidated private cloud.

Liberty Global must constantly introduce new features to keep up with customer demand and retain its competitive advantage. With services delivered across 12 European countries and a portfolio of brands including Virgin Media, Telenet and UPC, the company needed to unite its operations to maximise agility. As the world’s largest international cable company offering quad play services, Liberty Global must constantly introduce new features to keep up with customer demand and retain its competitive advantage. With services delivered across 12 European countries and a portfolio of brands including Virgin Media, Telenet and UPC, the company needed to unite its operations to maximise agility. A traditional data center infrastructure no longer offered the flexibility the company needed. Although Liberty Global had previously embarked on disparate cloud initiatives, it realised that to deliver the better business outcomes, it needed to consolidate its efforts. Liberty Global worked with Computacenter to design and build a new private cloud environment based on VMware technology. Computacenter helped at every stage, from designing and implementing the container-based platform to configuring the network and providing strategic advice. Liberty Global’s cloud environment comprises around 1,000 virtual servers and supports business-critical systems, such as the company’s backend television platform and user identity solution for millions of European customers. All new services will be hosted on the environment, with hybrid cloud capabilities to be introduced in the future. Liberty Global now has the agility and scalability it needs to bring new products to market faster and more easily. No longer restricted by 12-month development cycles, the company can launch new features every month to provide customers with the real-time content and innovative features expected in a digital age. As well as accelerating innovation and increasing capacity, a consolidated private cloud has also enabled the company to decrease costs. Read the case study

A Good Ear for Innovation

Computacenter helps audio specialists Sennheiser implement modern collaboration infrastructure that inspires creative teamwork

To protect and expand its position as market-leading manufacturer of audio devices, Sennheiser needs to continuously develop new products. To enable its global project teams to work better together, it needed to improve collaboration capabilities. Sennheiser has been manufacturing high-quality audio devices for a number of years. In order to further expand its position in the market and to provide more customer-oriented products, Sennheiser has established the Innovation Campus at its headquarters in Wedemark. Sennheiser’s objective: To enable international Sennheiser project teams to work better together by improving collaboration capabilities. Following the opening of the Sennheiser Innovation Campus - the most modern innovation centre in the audio industry - at the beginning of 2015, the IT specialists at Computacenter implemented an open and flexible infrastructure for the campus. Computacenter created an integrated, future-oriented and intuitive IT environment based on Microsoft Office 365 with Skype for Business and Outlook. The concept developed by Sennheiser for the Innovation Campus offers open spaces for implementing projects. Users can log onto any workstation spontaneously to access the new IT environment, to optimise use of the space. This also allows the project team at Sennheiser to use the efficient multimedia system anywhere on site. The advanced technology speeds up communication, improves collaboration processes and ultimately creates optimal working conditions, enabling the team to focus on their work on new audio solutions. Read the case study

Working Together

Computacenter carried out independent evaluation of the collaboration environments offered by Microsoft and IBM

Thanks to this comparison, KRZN now has a comprehensive overview of the solutions, which will provide a strong basis for their evaluation and future decision. As the IT service provider for local authorities, KRZN must keep the cost of IT systems low. The incumbent solution, which is based on IBM collaboration products such as Lotus Domino/Notes, Connections and Sametime, was compared with collaboration solutions offered by Microsoft under normal operating conditions, to weigh up the costs and benefits of replacing the solution. As the IT service provider for local authorities, KRZN is required to keep the costs of IT systems low. The environment currently used by the organisation, which is based on IBM collaboration products such as Lotus Domino/Notes, Connections, and Sametime, was compared with Microsoft collaboration solutions under normal operating conditions, in order to weigh up the costs and benefits of replacing the incumbent solution. Computacenter developed a fully functional Microsoft collaboration solution for KRZN to test based on the most up-to-date components. Test migrations of mailboxes and analysis of possible improvements to processes were just some of the features of this comprehensive comparison. Thanks to the test environment Computacenter provided for KRZN, the organisation now has a comprehensive report on which to make a well-considered decision regarding their future requirements for a collaboration environment. The clear cost-benefit analysis of the solutions on offer has also provided the organisation with useful information for making a decision. Read the case study

New clients overnight

Replacement of all PC clients during Windows 10 migration for Provinzial Rheinland Versicherung AG back-office staff

Computacenter helps Provinzial Rheinland with its migration to Windows 10 while equipping the office staff with new devices, helping to improve productivity and providing a visually-appealing client environment. During its Windows 10 migration planning, Provinzial Rheinland opted to replace all PC clients for back-office staff at their Düsseldorf headquarters simultaneously with the migration. This needed to occur without any work interruptions and cabling had to be minimised accordingly. At the same time, it was necessary to ensure that all insurance applications used by the company could run under the new Microsoft Windows 10 operating system. Provinzial Rheinland with adopted Computacenter's space-saving 1-litre PC concept. Integration of the required applications and Windows 10 had been tested in a Proof of Concept installation beforehand. In addition, there was a rollout concept that allowed for replacement outside of business hours. Computacenter developed and installed a modern and visually-appealing client environment for the customer. Business operations remained uninterrupted throughout. Costs were fixed for the entire programme. Read the case study

A healthy future

UCB empowers employees to deliver better value to patients with joined-up IT services, multilingual Global Service Desk and deskside support.

UCB’s Patient Value Strategy underpins everything it does. To align IT services to this strategy and deliver the best possible outcomes, it needed to provide a more joined-up IT experience across more than 40 countries. Align IT services to ensure consistency Improve user experience Drive ongoing innovation The biopharmaceutical company partnered with Computacenter in January 2016 to improve the user experience and drive innovation. The service is delivered from Computacenter’s Global Service Desks in Spain and the US, as well as local support teams. By taking a global approach, UCB can identify and prioritise opportunities for improvement while Computacenter takes care of day-to-day user support, enabling both financial and efficiency gains for the company. Maximised efficiency Reduced operational costs Meets patient value promises Support for innovation and digitalisation Read the case study

Betting on the Future

Paddy Power Betfair launches better products faster with private cloud datacenter platform

Paddy Power Betfair needs to be able to launch and adapt products and services quickly. The company needed to replace its existing datacenter platform to provide the level of agility needed going forward. Operating in the highly competitive and heavily regulated sports betting and e-gaming industry, Paddy Power Betfair needs to be able to launch and adapt products and services quickly. The company needed to replace its existing datacenter platform, which was reaching end of life, to provide the level of agility needed going forward. Paddy Power Betfair turned to long-term partner Computacenter to design and deploy a private cloud solution featuring software-defined networking. A proof of concept environment was established in just six weeks. The company is currently migrating all its production systems to the new platform, including mobile gaming apps, websites and core services. With the flexible and scalable datacenter platform, Paddy Power Betfair can develop, test and launch new e-gaming products faster. It has also been able to reduce costs, maximise resources and improve productivity within its IT teams. All these factors contribute to a better customer experience and greater competitive advantage. Read the case study

Improving cross-country collaboration

SPAR Business Services GmbH centralises seven European IT environments with Computacenter

With operations spanning seven European countries, SPAR needed to centralise its Active Directory structure to allow users to access collaboration applications such as Microsoft Exchange and Skype for Business. - Improve user experience - Boost productivity - Enhance collaboration Computacenter established a migration and build plan to consolidate application servers across SPAR’s IT estate. The company then implemented standard operating concepts to streamline processes. Collaboration is easier and staff are more productive. - Reduced IT complexity - Cost savings through greater efficiency - More productive, satisfied users Read the case study

A new dawn

Met Office safeguards millions of daily forecasts with scalable mainframe environment designed by Computacenter and IBM

The Met Office is the UK’s National Meteorological Service. As a world leader in providing weather and climate services, it employs more than 2,000 people at 60 locations around the globe. The Met Office collects around 200 million weather observations a day, which power a range of public forecasting services, commercial products and mobile apps. To ensure this data can be served up 24x7, the Met Office utilises a highly available and scalable mainframe environment. Increased demand for weather intelligence and the deployment of a new supercomputer prompted the Met Office to embark on a mainframe upgrade. The Met Office partnered with Computacenter and IBM to design and deploy a mainframe platform that could support future growth. Computacenter assisted with the technical build and pre-installation checks to safeguard business continuity. The new environment, which includes two mainframes with a total of 44 cores and 200 terabytes of attached storage, combines a range of IBM and open source technologies and will support a range of new Met Office applications and initiatives. With more than 35 per cent additional mainframe capacity, the Met Office can process greater volumes of weather data in a shorter timeframe. This not only safeguards the delivery of millions of daily forecasts and briefings, but supports future growth. As well as increasing operational agility and efficiency, the mainframe upgrade has reduced total cost of ownership. Read the case study
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