global migration services - Global Workspace Alliance

GLOBAL MIGRATION SERVICES Consistent, agile, reliable

A CHANGING MIGRATION LANDSCAPE Over the last twenty years, the rhythms of IT migration have

Right now, these established patterns and practices of migration

remained reasonably constant and predictable. New generations

are subject to significant and lasting change.

of hardware, operating systems and productivity tools came

Migration experts from across the global Getronics Workspace

along every four or five years. For organisations with a centralised IT strategy, the CIO team planned and implemented migration. Where distributed decision-making was the norm, migration

Alliance identify three key factors behind this fundamental shift in the migration landscape.

initiatives could be managed locally.

DIVERSITY

CONSUMERISATION

Hardware and software options have multiplied. The clear divisions and choices of desktop, laptop and phone are fast disappearing. Tablets and smartphones proliferate and the barriers between fixed and mobile environments disappear. And even if Apple, Android, Google and Microsoft are in direct and dramatic competition – they must still co-exist.

Employees’ expectations are set by their personal experience of technology. Instant communication, collaboration and access to information become the norm whether the employee is using their own or a company device. Just as in their personal lives, employees are increasingly empowered to make their own choices of application and platform. Consumerisation is increasingly evident in the shift to bring-your-own-device seen in many organisations.

The cloud changes both technical and commercial delivery models. With the arrival of pay-per-use enterprise business services, all traditional license-based models are subverted.

CLOUD

In addition, when employees can access resources via secure portals using tablets, smart-phones and thin client devices – often using multiple operating systems – then traditional notions of the desktop PC soon begin to disappear.

Beyond these cultural and technology influences, we also need to look at how business works. Always-on connectivity to enterprise resources does not just mean that workers are no longer tied to their desks. It boosts international collaboration across both the enterprise and the extended partnership network – and the efficiency with which new technologies can be turned to active advantage becomes a point of genuine and urgent business differentiation. All of this turbulence now becomes part of a migration landscape in which multiple platforms and devices must now work side-by-side. This makes your ability to craft a clear appropriate strategy and to execute it coolly and cost-effectively more important than ever before.

www.workspacealliance.com

YOUR MIGRATION PARTNER – THE GWA In an increasingly globalised economy, businesses of every kind and scale need to keep their workspace environments up-to-date and fit-for-purpose. This needs to happen in a world in which changes are happening faster than ever, and in which the individual employee expectations are constantly raised. In this turbulent environment, your choice of migration partner is as important as your choice of the technologies you wish to use. The global network of partners that make up the Getronics Workspace Alliance are among the most qualified and experienced of all migration specialists. Each is a clear leader in its respective geography, and together, with its shared global service delivery model and advanced migration tools and processes, the GWA is equipped to manage the most demanding migration projects from end-to-end. Individually, the members of the GWA have maintained continuous service provision with leading international clients over decades. In doing so, our enterprise migration experience has spanned everything from the distant days of Windows 3.0 to the latest developments in cloud delivery. The GWA is exceptionally agile, and with its “single point of contact/single point of contract” approach, it is particularly well-positioned to help international companies implement complex, multi-country migration initiatives.

A successful and proven approach Every time your organisation needs to undertake migration, you need to meet both business and technology objectives. You need

You need to ensure that continuity is maintained for employees and even more importantly for clients. You also need to ensure that the costs of migration are clearly articulated and contained. Migrate with the GWA, and you can be sure of meeting all these essential targets. Every successful enterprise migration project depends on a wide range of specialist skills and resources, including: • Assessment and advice: no two organisations are in exactly the same position. Every GWA partner is expert in helping you assess your options and crafting a viable migration plan. Clear lines of communication across the GWA mean we can execute on a global scale according to your agreed phases. • End-to-end: migration projects have far reaching implications, and the GWA has them all covered. These range from testing heritage applications on the new platform, to assessing and refreshing the hardware needed to take advantage of new business capabilities. • Maximised automation: “zero touch” is the goal. By minimising the need for manual intervention we accelerate migration while minimising cost and risk. With our skilled global network of engineers, we are always ready to get hands-on where needed. • Change management: every change poses technical, operational and cultural risk. Experts in change management, the GWA team will ensure your employees know what is happening, when and why. Advanced project management puts the GWA in full control of even the most extended teams of contractors.

to make sure that the benefits of the new environment are clearly identified and bring direct and immediate benefit.

End-to-end migration

Experts in change management

Maximise automation

Assessment and advice


MICROSOFT IN FOCUS For many GWA clients around the world, Microsoft continues to be the platform of enterprise choice. Every GWA partner has invested in the skills and knowledge needed to achieve a rare level of excellence in the continuous integration and management of Microsoft environments. By choosing to work with the GWA as your Microsoft migration partner, you avoid the risks associated with a less experienced organisation. The GWA will ensure consistency right across your operation; is equipped to manage the most demanding and complex roll-out schedules; and will stay right on budget – no organisation wants cost-creep. Microsoft commitment to continuous innovation has never been more evident than it is right now. Windows 7 was designed from the start to increase business value through mobility and collaboration, and Windows 8 now carries this through to a world in which the tablet becomes the device of choice for many. With April 2014 set as the cut-off for Windows XP support from Microsoft, the GWA members have already helped numerous clients through the migration to Windows 7. A global chemical company for example, relied on the GWA on both sides of the Atlantic to roll-out Windows 7 to 87,000 devices over a concentrated five month period. Meanwhile, in Asia Pacific, the GWA managed the Windows 7 roll-out for 12,000 seats across seven countries for an International customer in the banking sector.

Confidence and coverage The success of any migration initiative hinges on the quality of scoping and planning. You need to be confident that any heritage applications on which you continue to rely will perform as you need them too. You need a clear understanding of where the new target environment will necessitate changes to your hardware estate. Perhaps most importantly, you need to be sure that all employees affected by the change are prepared and positive. When you engage with members of the GWA, we will ensure that every detail is covered. We will maximise automation for efficiency, while leveraging our worldwide network of field service experts as required. Where, for example, migration coincides with hardware renewal, our teams will safely decommission assets at the end of their lifecycle, while installing and testing their next generation replacements.

Local Matters Even though the world of business is global, local still matters. One of the winning characteristics of the GWA is its dual ability to share common processes and tools for global consistency while responding to local language and cultural preferences through its different member companies. This dual-strength is particularly valued in complex international migration initiatives.


Getronics’ expertise and specialist knowledge, particularly in regards to Microsoft technologies, is exceptionally strong. Creating a new IT platform during any company merger is no easy feat. Working with Getronics has enabled us to consolidate our business infrastructure, improve our capacity to respond to the needs of the business and also provide us with access to the latest technologies and industry leading expertise. Ultimately, with Getronics as our IT partner we’re able to focus on our business strategy, confident that our technology and IT support is in safe hands. Anders From, Global IT Director, Subsea 7

Founder GWA member Getronics was one of the original architects of ITIL service and were selected by Microsoft as key contributors to the ITIL-based Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF).

Members of the GWA are certified Microsoft Gold Partners across twenty countries and hold more than 1100 specialist Microsoft certifications.

GWA member CompuCom has been awarded the Microsoft platinum award for operational excellence in the USA and Canada for an uninterrupted eight and seven years respectively.

Since its formation in 2009, the GWA member companies have migrated over half a million workspaces in more than 40 countries.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer presented Getronics as the global case study for Windows 7 implementation at the launch event.

BEYOND MICROSOFT Even though Microsoft continues to occupy an absolutely

The business world today is characterised by mobility and

central position in the enterprise IT practice of most GWA

always-on connectivity, and unified communications are critical.

clients, migration challenges now encompass a growing range

As organisations re-evaluate telecommunications practice in

of technologies and delivery models.

the light of pure IP communication and collaboration, the GWA

Many GWA clients were eager and early adopters of

system integration and migration capabilities associated with

virtualisation as a means to reduce cost and complexity in their enterprise IT models. Now that virtualisation has evolved into full cloud delivery for many online services, its impact is even greater. The GWA members’ associated experience in Citrix and VMware have become particularly valued here.


Cisco technologies are also highly appreciated.

THE GWA IN PROFILE A lot has happened since we established the Getronics Workspace

• Each GWA member has a strong local reputation in the

Alliance in 2009. In less than five years, the GWA has established

geographical markets it serves. By combining these federated

itself firmly as a real power in global IT service. In 2012, Ovum

resources, our clients ensure that all critical cultural and on-site

ranked the GWA as the world’s number three in terms of IT assets

migration requirements are managed efficiently and sensitively.

under management.

• The entire GWA network uses interoperable tools and processes.

This recognition of an alliance, as opposed to a monolithic company

This means that migration planning and implementation can be

is significant. It is a pointer to an emerging global business model,

delivered with assured consistency and transparency.

in which the ability to coordinate resources in the service of others

• The GWA partners have both independent and joint relationships

becomes more important than simple ownership.

with the key technology players. This gives our clients direct

This approach puts the GWA in a highly differentiated position

access to the development expertise and early adopter programs

as a migration partner.

needed to turn change to differentiating advantage.

What next? The technologies on which your business relies will continue

We are also eager to help

to multiply as the workspace becomes more mobile, more infor-

you evaluate the impact of

mation-intensive and more interconnected.

the new migration landscape

You may be focused on a specific migration challenge – on how to

on your own IT and business

have completely removed Windows XP by April 2014 or on how to

strategy.

enable secure tablet use for your sales or engineering teams. If that’s the case, then the GWA team is ready to help you scope and execute cost-effectively and according to your individual business deadlines.

Latam

About the Getronics Workspace Alliance: Getronics Workspace Alliance is a global alliance providing customers access to an extensive global network of IT service providers. The Alliance supplies consistent IT support for 7.4 million workspace assets around the world. The nine Alliance members – in 26 countries with a total of 35.500 employees, extended with 75 service partners in more than 90 countries – share common processes, methods and tools to deliver global IT services, providing direct benefit for international organisations, through consistent services delivered with a strong local presence, robust international governance and shared service innovation. The nine members are: Getronics, Spie, KPN, CompuCom, AGCN, NTT Data Getronics, ServiceOne, Getronics LATAM and Tecnocom. All members are recognised leaders in the European, American and Asian markets.

For more information on the Getronics Workspace Alliance migration services or to arrange a consultation: e-mail: [email protected] or visit: www.workspacealliance.com