"Digital workplace" is a hot topic in today's business environment. The abilities to support remote working and seamless collaboration among employees at different work sites have become a key component of any digital transformation initiative.
Although having the right software and cloud technologies is important, many overlook the foundation of implementing a secure and efficient digital workplace -- the endpoints and the end-user experience.
This is one of the main challenges faced by our long-term client of 20+ years, a multinational energy transportation company when they needed to implement a digital workplace program throughout their 200+ sites in North America.
The digital workplace program was a top 5 priority at the CIO level in 2018. After partnering with us, it was named the top 2 most successfully executed programs in the organization in early 2020. Here's how we set a solid foundation for this digital workplace program.
Before 2018, we have been performing lifecycle management for this client as a managed services provider. When they needed to upgrade all the endpoint devices from Windows 7 to Windows 10 for the entire organization, they put out a bid to their vendor marketplace.
The RFP request for upgrading 20,000 machines (after validation it turned out to be around 13,000) was a competitive process, which we completed without any external partnership. We won the project in winter 2018 thanks to various factors. Besides the long-term partnership and trust we have built over the past two decades, we also have the capabilities to cover the project's broad-scale requirements.
We were able to fulfill the project scope, which required the provider to cover over 200+ locations throughout North America -- including very remote sites -- by having boots on the ground to ensure that endpoint devices get to every location and every employee, as well as being set up properly.
As part of the strategic priorities, the client needed to roll out a digital workplace program that includes the Microsoft 365 stack. However, there's a dependency on endpoints, which had to be upgraded to Windows 10 for the MS 365 model to be effective.
As such, the client needed to modernize their end-user support model to accommodate their digital workplace program. Not to mention, Windows 7, the operating system that the client was using at that time, was running out of support. They needed to move to Windows 10 quickly to achieve an acceptable level of security.
However, the large and dispersed footprint of the client's operation posed many challenges. They needed a global field and procurement services expert to manage their end-user support effectively and ensure that all the devices are up-to-date.
Now you may wonder, if everything is turning digital, why do we still need boots on the ground?
The need to support a digital workplace translates into an explosion of devices. To enable every employee to participate in a digital workplace, we need to start with digital devices (e.g., laptop, mobile device, tablet) -- an essential component that forms the foundation of any digital transformation initiatives.
The Compugen global field services offer the capability to reach every geographic region in North America to support the client's entire workforce and the mobilization of teams across the continent. This distinguished us from many vendors, which didn't have the infrastructure and ability to do so.