Until Windows 7 was discontinued, all 12,000 users, spread across two main sites, needed a new and therefore more modern Windows 10 workstation environment. At the same time, 3,500 old endpoints had to be replaced with the latest desktops and notebooks.

The project was therefore launched in November 2017 to migrate the operating systems to Microsoft Server 2016 in addition to the workstation environment.

The focus was on the following benefits for the customer, which were successfully realised

  • Implementation of the new workplace philosophy
  • Standardisation of operating systems and applications
  • Lean and agile update cycles
  • Reduction of Windows 7 support costs

When the esc team took over the rollout management approximately 1.5 years after the start of the project, the first task was to convince the departments and people involved as well as the users of the successful and joint implementation of the project. We were already the fifth project manager for this project. For this reason, communication and support for the individual process steps was particularly important. With a transparent, understanding and results-orientated approach, we gained the trust of everyone involved and the approval and positive feedback from the customer and users.

In May 2019, a team of four esc experts took over the coordination of the delivery of the hardware, including the clearing process, database setup and communication. After a successful pilot phase, the official rollout started on schedule in June 2019. In close collaboration with the various teams, the objectives were achieved to the satisfaction of the users and the customer. The positive feedback confirms the correctness and importance of our approach. In close coordination with internal and external project managers, the generational change of hardware was also organised transparently.