Customer Solution Case Study
/ Digital Production Company Drives Business Forward with Cloud-based Services
“There is no CAPEX required, the start-up costs are low, and we are using a pay-as-you-go model. In turn we gain leading technical solutions that users are very happy with, easy administration, and all the benefits of working with a single supplier.”
Ioannis Aligizakis, ICT Manager, Vermantia
In an effort to establish an adequate IT support for the exponential growth of its business, Vermantia decided to retire the existing on-premise IT infrastructure and turn to cloud-based services. Migration to Microsoft Office 365 and its successful integration with existing 3rd party line-of-business applications enabled Vermantia to dramatically cut costs and underpin a rapid business expansion drive, while positioning for future developments.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published November 2013
Business Needs
Vermantia is a company specialized in management of audiovisual and gaming content for digital services. Vermantia Gaming manages a rich portfolio of gaming content including VirtualGames, LiveSports and LiveRacing and creates customsports betting, virtual gaming and liveracing channels to the specific requirements of its clients.
Similarly, Vermantia Entertainment provides a wide range of services based in media management expertise and high-end technology platforms, includingLinear Channels, video-on-demand services,multi-screen distribution,interactive TV applications and Second Screen Apps.
Since it was founded in 2007, year-on-year growth has been a defining characteristic of the company. In the past two it has surged upwards at an exponential rate as the demand for digital entertainment and services has increased. That said, growth has been so rapid that the needs of the business were outstripping the capacity of its IT infrastructure to efficiently and cost-effectively support business operations.
The IT team was providing various on-premise services to different departments, but realized that the cost and management complexity of supporting the business would only multiply if the business continues to grow at this rate.
Consequently, the company decided to replace its in-house IT infrastructure with cloud-based services, which is able to scale more easily, in line with company’s requirements. As a result, Vermantia began evaluating cloud offerings from various companies, seeking for a solution which would support its expansion and growth.
Solution
Following an extensive evaluation of the competing cloud platforms Vermantia decided on Microsoft. “Neither Google nor Amazon Services could offer the same range of components or provide the same level of centralized management. On the other side, Windows Azure and Office 365 can be managed from one console, making management simple and straightforward”, explains Ioannis Aligizakis, ICT Manager at Vermantia.
To provide a full range of business productivity functionalities for employees, Vermantia purchased Microsoft Office 365 Enterprise E3 plan, with particular attention given to an enterprise-grade email solution, team collaboration facilitated by SharePoint, and cost-effective communication using Lync. As a part of the E3 plan, SharePoint Online was specifically valued for the ability to deliver integration with other applications and easier development of additional features.
Like many Greek companies, Vermantia uses Atlantis, a local ERP system, for finances, invoicing, logistics, taxation and other business processes. “SharePoint is not only a portal, it can be used to build and develop applications that link to other systems, for instance it provides very good integration with Atlantis”, says Aligizakis.
Windows Intune was also used to deliver endpoint protection, device management and software and hardware inventory, while Windows Azure was delivered to provide secure single sign-on to Office 365 via virtual machines, site-to-site virtual private networks, and also as a recovery service. Furthermore, virtual machines were deployed using Windows Azure for migration of those on-premise applications that were able to bevirtualized. A further important element of the move to cloud services included the migration of Vermantia’s existing Oracle database environment to Microsoft Azure SQL Database to ensure high-availability.
Benefits
The cloud-based platform has provided Vermantia with access to cutting-edge technologies at a fraction of the cost of an in-house system. “There is no CAPEX required, the start-up costs are low, and we are using a pay-as-you-go model. In turn we gain leading technical solutions that users are very happy with, easy administration, and all the benefits of working with a single supplier”, adds Aligizakis.
Noticeable Cost Savings
Significant cost savings are evident across a range of operations, but some of the most striking are in the areas of integration and database management. SharePoint integration with existing applications obviates the need for expensive third party developers, while migration from Oracle to Windows Azure SQL Database not only provided high availability for databases, but the cost of management has plunged from €3,500 to €1,000 a month for each database.
Faster business enablement
Accelerated business enablement is a further compelling feature, helping the company bring new customers and projects on board in half the time it previously took. “It’s far easier to deliver new projects. When we have a new client we don’t have to go through a complicated process or map out new workflows. This used to take close to four months; now we can do it in about two months”, says Aligizakis.
Improved Employee Satisfaction
Employees have expressed great satisfaction with the cloud-based services. Thanks to Office 365 they have gained access to company information at any time and from any location, which is helping them become more efficient, especially when dealing with existing and potential new customers. “Users want simplicity along with full functionality, and this is what Office 365 delivers. They have all the functionality they need, even from their smartphones”, emphasized Aligizakis.
Lower Demands for the IT Department
The IT team can also focus on work and projects designed to develop the business. In an on premises scenario,a complicated environment with so many different types of serviceswould require ten people in order to be managed. “Today we are able to manage it only with three people, enabling the rest of IT staff to focus on enabling business process improvements.In this area, the cost savings have been huge and the benefits to the business will become apparent as we develop new tools that will make business easier and more efficient,” adds Aligizakis.
Improved and Integrated Communications
Cost-effective communications with customer are also expected to drive further savings and enhance customer relations when Lync-based communications are offered to customers. At the moment Lync is being used internally, but a plan is being developed that will use Lync as a foundation for external customer communications.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published November 2013