DVAG relies on EBF for its digital workplace

  • Customer

    Deutsche Vermögensberatung Unternehmensgruppe (DVAG)

  • Services

    MobileIron, Consulting, Hosting

  • Industry

    Finance

Nicolas Zenk

Senior IT Expert Strategic IT Procurement

With EBF we have a partner at our side on whom we can fully rely for all questions concerning the digital workplace. The EBF team ensured that the digital workplace was a reality for us and that our rapid growth was perfectly accompanied concerning Enterprise Mobility. We will continue to be in good hands with EBF in the future.

Challenge

The goal is to continually optimise the digital workplace and uncover potential in the areas of user experience, lifecycle management, security and data protection. In addition, the complexity and burden on the infrastructure and IT team, which resulted from a steady growth course, was to be reduced.

Our Solution

We have developed a UEM architecture for the complex corporate structure, set up a customised concept for hosting the devices, continuously support DVAG as an expert in digital workplace matters and take on comprehensive consulting activities.

Result

We advise on all challenges in the mobile environment, can optimally manage the device landscape, ensure smooth operation and proactively identify and implement optimisation potential. Employees can work efficiently and securely on the move, while the IT team and infrastructure are relieved.

Challenge

Mobile devices are indispensable for the Deutsche Vermögensberatung (DVAG). Internal colleagues use the devices in order to have access to their business data and to be able to perform tasks effectively on the move. Sales representatives can advise customers quickly and easily using state-of-the-art technology and conclude contracts digitally. In addition, DVAG uses mobile devices for some of its gastronomic offers as well as for its hotel industry, which relieve the employees enormously in their activities.

But the challenges here are great. The more complex the corporate structures, the more heterogeneous the requirements. The more complex the infrastructure, the more difficult it is to integrate solutions. The more sensitive the data, the greater the need to protect it. The higher the number of applications, the greater the burden on the infrastructure and the administrative effort. And it is precisely for these conditions that DVAG wants to find optimal solutions – especially against the background of its strong growth, which is also reflected in a more intensive use of mobile devices. In 2018 alone, the number of mobile devices has almost doubled and the complexity in these areas has increased.

About 5,000 head offices and branch offices with more than 17,000 full-time financial consultants and office employees use DVAG applications on mobile devices. But there are not only many users, but also very different devices in use: with different operating systems, from different manufacturers, in different ownerships, with different restrictions and with many in-house apps, which have to be updated monthly on all devices and are available in different versions. The management of all these devices is therefore complex and the demands on the respective infrastructure are very high.

In 2017, DVAG was therefore looking for an Enterprise Mobility expert to support the Group in managing the devices and apps and to continuously advise the company on all issues relating to the digital workplace.

Digital-User-Experience---Mobility-Solutions

Solution

EBF is the perfect partner for DVAG due to its in-depth knowledge of the market and all relevant technologies, its large partner network and high agility. EBF advises the group on all challenges in the mobile environment, can optimally manage the existing equipment landscape, ensure smooth operation and proactively identify, analyze, design and implement optimization potential.

Configuration and management of four MobileIron instances

Based on an extensive analysis, the EBF team developed a Unified Endpoint Management architecture for DVAG in 2017 which fulfills the demands of the complex corporate structure and in particular of the characteristics of the field service. EBF has set up different instances of MobileIron for the field service and the office team, which are optimally adapted to the respective requirements. There is a test instance and a productive instance for both areas, so that each major change can first be extensively tested and then a smooth implementation in the productive system can be guaranteed.

Migration to EBF Hosting

DVAG is on a course of steady growth. In addition to many other factors, this also increases the number of devices as well as the number and size of applications made available to employees. The number of devices of the field service has doubled in the last few years and the number of devices of the office employees is also growing continuously. Since more and more operating systems are supported and a monthly, simultaneous update of all apps is required, the load on the internal infrastructure increased enormously and reached a volume that is no longer manageable for DVAG. This is because about 50 app versions with a total volume of about 1.5 GB have to be distributed monthly. This has pushed the infrastructure to its limits.

The experts at EBF therefore developed a tailor-made concept for the hosting of the DVAG devices within just a few months. Thanks to EBF’s high-performance data centers with redundant and scalable systems and intensive quality management, EBF can ensure a high level of connection stability as well as an optimized data transfer, peak loads can be absorbed and, ultimately, app updates with such an enormous volume of data can be carried out smoothly.

In addition to the precise planning of the prerequisites, resources, costs and structures, the concept also included the design of a test phase including extensive evaluation and quality control, followed by detailed planning of the migration of the productive instances. The test phase took place in April 2019 and was successfully completed. The migration of all instances and devices followed until September 2019. As a result, the DVAG infrastructure is now enormously relieved and can be used for the smooth operation of other processes.

Management of all operating systems - from iOS and Android to macOS and Windows

DVAG uses a wide range of devices – from smartphones and tablets to laptops, desktop devices and surface hubs. The operating systems and manufacturers of the devices vary as do, for example, the ownership structure and the degree of restrictions. While BYOD devices with very limited restriction rights for DVAG’s IT are also used in field service, smartphones and rugged devices are also operated in kiosk mode at the subsidiaries belonging to the Group from the gastronomy, hotel and trade sectors. Surface hubs, which are installed in some of the group’s meeting rooms, also increase the complexity of the equipment landscape.

The EBF experts have succeeded in aligning the configuration of MobileIron to the entire device fleet and managing all devices via a single portal – taking into account all individual features. The administrative effort for DVAG’s IT is thereby enormously reduced, the monitoring of all devices is facilitated, and the cross-device work of the employees is supported. DVAG’s growth and the associated expansion of the equipment landscape are thus perfectly accompanied – always in an agile manner.

Reliable support and continuous consulting

Since 2017, the EBF team has been continuously at DVAG’s side as experts in the field of digital workplaces and has taken over comprehensive consulting activities for the company. The goal is to continuously optimize the digital workplace and the associated IT processes and to uncover potentials in the areas of user experience, lifecycle management, security and data protection.

EBF’s experts can react immediately to new challenges and requirements, develop innovative ideas and comprehensively evaluate new technologies. EBF helps to test solutions, supports in discussions with third-party providers, systematically evaluates scenarios and develops implementation concepts. In this way, dedicated resolutions can be submitted to DVAG’s management. If a decision is positive, the EBF optimally prepares the implementation of the solutions and implements them on the basis of a detailed rollout plan. DVAG can then always rely on smooth operation of the solutions and compliance with the individual service level agreement. The EBF team solves inquiries and problems reliably, competently and quickly.

Result

Thanks to EBF, DVAG’s employees can work efficiently and securely on the move, while the company’s IT department is relieved and can rely on EBF’s expertise. DVAG and EBF are already working on many other ideas that will continue this trend.

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