The Nellemann Group‘s many companies are managed efficiently and securely on a single, shared Modern Workplace platform based on Microsoft 365, InTune and Autopilot.
Many people know Nellemann‘s car dealerships. Few people are aware that the group has more than 325 employees in eight different companies across a number of industries. It places huge demands on Group IT to handle efficiently and securely the many acquired companies and industry systems in its day-to-day business – and at the same time make it easy for employees to manage their work.
“At Nellemann, we grow through a combination of organic growth, new agencies and acquisitions. Thus, it is important for us to be able to consolidate the acquired companies into a single, shared IT platform, as much as possible,” says Mikkel Fløj Lindegren, Group CIO at Nellemann.
"We were looking for a significantly easier way to manage and keep our PCs up to date, while at the same time taking advantage of the new capabilities of both Office 365 and Microsoft 365,” Mikkel explains on the reason for contacting Automize.
“Instead of time wastage with manual updates and bug fixes, we needed to free up time for our IT people in order for them to provide support and be more proactive as to what can done smarter to grow the business.”
Along with Windows 10, which was already used by Nellemann, the cornerstones of the new solution are Microsoft InTune for device management, and Autopilot for device configuration, mobile device management and asset management. In addition, a combined solution from Automize, which uses F-secure and its own services to continuously update and patch management of the InTune-installed applications on the computers.
“InTune replaces loads of different security tools, and together with Automize, we have automated, streamlined and simplified things with Autopilot. Now we have a baseline setup of our PCs across the entire group. We have removed redundant systems and the management of our computers is far less complex than before,” says Mikkel regarding the new solution.
“If a PC stops working, it is no longer necessary for one of our IT supporters to drive from Fredericia to Aarhus with a loaner PC in order to install it - and then back again the following week with a new PC for installation. With a few spare PCs ready at each of our locations, the employee can quickly grab a new machine, ready for use – and if any additional customization or support is needed, much of it is now managed remotely,” Mikkel explains.
“As a side benefit, we have also become much better at utilizing the apps and features that are to be found in the Office 365 palette. We were already making progress, but the process with Automize has helped change people and habits, e.g. so files are now stored on OneDrive instead of file share or locally, and we have minimized the need for a VPN connection for each employee,” Mikkel adds.
The use of MS Teams has also been utilized through this project and has provided the company a much greater flexibility of meeting online.
Nellemann not only uses InTune to manage PCs, but also mobile phones are managed securely and efficiently with InTune,” says Mikkel.
“We can now properly manage mobile phones with InTune, so we have control over the data on our phones, e.g. with backup. Centrally, we can delete all company data if a phone is stolen or if an employee who has stopped their employment wants to keep the mobile phone. We can get rid of our outdated hardware - both phones and PCs - in a secure way, without data and with acceptance from the IT audit.”
Mikkel has assessed his business case against many parameters and he is satisfied: “With the old solution, one of our IT supporters spent a third of their time just keeping us and the SCCM server up to date with software updates – now it runs automatically and is maintained by Automize, so our software is always up to date. Not only does it have value for the daily management and maintenance, but also in terms of security.
”On the licensing side, there are savings to be had in using the right licenses, also focusing on the needs of the employees, e.g. by the fact that the workshop staff do not receive a full Office package, but only use an online version.
Nellemann and Automize invested the time to develop a solution that is customized exactly to Nellemann’s requirements and needs – instead of going with a standard solution.
“I place relatively high demands on my partners. We are probably somewhat unusual, e.g. we have many domains. The process with Automize went really well, although I had hoped that we could have been a little more concentrated and focused on getting to the finish line faster. But we did reach the finish line, and I look forward to continued cooperation with Automize concerning ongoing technical challenges,” says Mikkel.
“I am treated well at Automize and one feels clearly that they will keep one satisfied. It gives me confidence that Nellemann has a size that makes us an important customer,” Mikkel concludes.
Nellemann A/S is part of the Nellemann Group, which currently employs approx. 325 employees involved in both domestic and foreign activities in closely related industries, along with a turnover of just over DKK 2 billion. In addition to its own car dealerships in Odense, Roskilde, Valby, Copenhagen and Aarhus, the Group also imports Korean KIA, Japanese Isuzu, English Aston Martin, and Chinese MG, as well as road, park, construction and agricultural machines, including Kubota, Bobcat and Holder.
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“We were looking for a significantly easier way to manage and keep our PCs up to date, while taking advantage of the new capabilities of both Office 365 and Microsoft 365.” |
“I am treated well at Automize and one feels clearly that they will keep one satisfied.” |
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