Non-stop IT outsourcing

And runs and runs and runs...

As an international transport company, it is crucial for the Hugelshofer Group that the scheduling of its over 130 trucks works seamlessly 24/7. Therefore, the SME cannot for a moment do without a functioning IT system. This places the highest demands on operational and data security. What made outsourcing the company's IT to the redIT data center particularly challenging? – The migration had to be carried out while operations were running.

IT outsourcing as a basis for focusing on the core business

customer

Locally anchored. Nationally networked. Internationally active. The Hugelshofer Group is a leading Swiss transport and logistics company that also asserts itself in the European market. The company's beginnings go back to the 19th century: in 1877, Johann Caspar Hugelshofer founded a carriage company, which developed into a modern transport company in the following decades. Today, the Hugelshofer Group offers its customers a wide range of services in the areas of transport and logistics with over 250 employees.

starting position

Similar to many other SMEs, the Hugelshofer Group's offering portfolio and with it the company and process structure have constantly changed in recent years. Technologies and the associated possibilities are advancing rapidly at all levels. These changes have led to the IT infrastructure constantly growing, becoming more extensive and more complex. “In the beginning we had a server with a few PCs – but at some point the IT environment becomes too complex,” says Windler, describing the problem: “As a result, we could no longer guarantee the support of our IT infrastructure internally.”
For this reason, the decision was made to have the entire IT professionally supported by redIT. The Hugelshofer Group decided to renew its existing IT solution. The existing IT outsourcing was consistently pursued. Roberto Windler is convinced that the IT infrastructure will be outsourced to the redIT data center. “The reason for this is very simple: professionals there take care of us and our IT,” says Windler, explaining this decision.

Challenge: IT outsourcing without interrupting day-to-day business

The outsourcing project as such was never questioned because the trust in the long-standing IT partner redIT had grown over the years and was simply there. The planning therefore focused on practical aspects such as user speed for users. Among other things, it is important for the company that a dispatcher can access their applications at any time and without any loss of speed.
Hugelshofer's more than 130 trucks are on the move day and night. Without ongoing IT support, truck scheduling is not possible, and without efficient scheduling, all wheels stand still! The outsourcing therefore had to be planned so that the IT systems were available 24 hours a day, without interruption. Planning and organizing this outsourcing represented an unusual challenge even for the professionals at redIT. However, thanks to the proven redIT project methodology and the comprehensive knowledge of the customer Hugelshofer's IT, the redIT specialists were able to carry out the change after a test phase that was planned down to the last detail easily implemented.

Solution

With the exception of the clients, the entire IT infrastructure was moved to the redIT data center as part of the project. This outsourcing also included the entire software farm of all companies in the group. This affected a large number of applications such as Office, special freight forwarding software solutions, the Tachoplus application, software for live monitoring of trucks. All
Applications such as the entire IT infrastructure are now serviced, maintained, secured and constantly updated by specialists in the redIT data center. Thanks to the careful planning of the outsourcing, the operation of the entire IT system was guaranteed without any interruptions. The major change was practically unnoticeable for users in the company. And controlling is also satisfied: A welcome side effect of the successful project is the long-term reduction in IT costs.

Conclusion: IT outsourcing successful!

From Roberto Windler's point of view, successful cooperation with an IT provider is not only due to technical reasons: “Many IT service providers now have technology and project management under control. But as our experience shows again and again, the whole thing stands or falls with the personal contact person at the IT partner.” Especially in a project as demanding as outsourcing a company's IT infrastructure to a data center, close and trusting cooperation between those responsible for the project is the central success factor. Roberto Windler: “I always really appreciated the open communication, the friendly manner and the suggestions made by my redIT contact. This was the only way we could ultimately implement outsourcing successfully. redIT acts and thinks in advance. If you like, our IT partner feels the same way as we do: in order to be successful, you have to constantly change!”