Client story Insight’s Jumpstart Keeps Frontnode and Its Customers at the Forefront of Cloud Technology
By Insight UK / 21 May 2020 / Topics: Cloud
By Insight UK / 21 May 2020 / Topics: Cloud
“Our strategy is to be at the forefront of IT technology,” says Sascha Fiebig, Technical Project Leader at Frontnode in Sweden. “It is our drive to be the new IT department for our customers and help them to be productive, secure and maintenance-free in the cloud.” Insight’s Jumpstart session on Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) – part of the Insight Cloud Journey, the step-by-step cloud adoption approach for the cloud channel – was the perfect opportunity for Frontnode to learn more about Microsoft’s next step in desktop virtualisation. “Insight’s expertise and hands-on approach helped us make the next move."
Frontnode’s challenge was threefold. First, there was a current request from one of their customers who wanted to merge three separate offices in one place, each with their own on-premise servers and local services. The dilemma was either refreshing (parts of) the infrastructure and joining the offices on premises or migrating to the cloud with Microsoft Azure and Windows Virtual Desktop. Second, Frontnode had been looking for a while for a solution where their Modern Workplace customers could take full advantage of the cloud regardless of vendor dependency and on-premise legacy, possibly with Windows Virtual Desktop. This was immediately the third challenge: WVD was new to both. “We were honest with our customer from the start and explained that we first had to understand a new technology like WVD ourselves. But also that we were confident that we would manage and that we were backed up with the knowledge and support of Insight, as our partner.”
“Insight helped us with their broad expertise in many areas. Particularly in the Jumpstart, but also afterwards as a sparring partner for exchanging ideas.”
Sascha Fiebig, Technical Project Leader, Frontnode, Sweden
Insight’s Jumpstart on Windows Virtual Desktop brought technical knowledge and opened new commercial opportunities for Frontnode. “We learned how Windows Virtual Desktop could move our customers completely to the cloud from a technical perspective without complex on-premise solutions and at a lower price. We also learned about licenses and how we could integrate WVD into our business strategy.” Because price was an important argument for Frontnode’s customer, they quickly decided that WVD was the best solution to migrate the three offices and save money on infrastructure. “With the templates created during the Jumpstart session, we were able to deploy the first Windows Virtual Desktop environment for and with our customer. The technology easily matched our existing knowledge and skills, but in a more modern and flexible way. Insight was very helpful in solving some more complex issues we encountered while migrating our customer, and provided valuable information on price management, scaling, FSLogix solutions and further improvements for user experience and cost savings.”
“Windows Virtual Desktop is included in the Microsoft 365 license. That is a great advantage and a major opportunity for us to move customers’ business applications to Azure in a cost-effective way,” says Sascha Fiebig. “For customers, the main advantage is the ease of access. They can use their existing Microsoft 365 logins to access all systems and applications through Windows Virtual Desktop without the need for a VPN or additional security layers. They can benefit from all existing security policies in Azure, such as Multi-Factor Authentication.” Sascha also mentions price as a major advantage, but would like to add a critical remark: “Especially for smaller customers, cost savings may not be immediately visible; they only occur when resources and usage are optimised.” Frontnode wants to be at the forefront of technology. Therefore, it did not take long before Windows Virtual Desktop became part of their sales strategy for new and existing customers. “We believe in the power of WVD to move legacy systems to the cloud with low cost and easy access. Insight showed us the way, particularly in the Jumpstart, but also as a sparring partner for exchanging ideas.”
Frontnode wants to be at the forefront of technology. After Insight’s Jumpstart they immediately adopted Windows Virtual Desktop in their business strategy.
The first project already helped a customer decide to migrate their three offices with on-premise servers and local services to WVD to cut infrastructure costs.
The Jumpstart convincedFrontnode that WindowsVirtual Desktop can movecustomers to the cloud without complex on-premise solutions and at a lower price.
