BDO no longer owns a single server. And that was exactly the plan.
How the Swiss audit and advisory firm migrated all of its servers to Microsoft Azure with Baggenstos, freeing up personnel resources for digitalisation.
Customer profile
The BDO AG is a leading auditing, fiduciary and consulting firm in Switzerland with services in various areas. With 35 offices and over 1,600 employees, BDO offers personal proximity and expertise for successful client relationships. The global BDO organisation in over 160 countries is available to international clients. BDO AG is headquartered in Zurich and is part of the international BDO network with headquarters in Brussels.
In the interview, Christoph Scholl, CIO BDO, explains what the biggest advantage is in the solution with Microsoft Azure and why saying goodbye to servers enables more flexibility for BDO.
Interview with Christoph Scholl, CIO
In the following interview, Christoph Scholl, CIO, reports how BDO got rid of its servers thanks to Microsoft Azure and Baggenstos and was able to achieve more flexibility, security and scalability in the process. The questions were asked by Michael Kistler, CEO Baggenstos.
What do you see as the biggest advantage of the new solution with Microsoft Azure?
We were thus able to completely dispense with the upcoming hardware replacement and now no longer have any servers owned by BDO. At the same time, it gives us considerable flexibility in phases of major growth. The relief from operational tasks in the basic infrastructure also frees up personnel resources, which we can urgently use in the ongoing digitalisation projects.
What tipped the scales for BDO to take the step into the cloud with Microsoft Azure and Baggenstos?
BDO has been working excellently with Baggenstos for several years and Baggenstos' clear focus on Microsoft Azure convinced us. The cooperation between the Baggenstos team and BDO's IT is very pleasant and both sides benefit from a quick and uncomplicated exchange. The Baggenstos team is an ideal personal and professional match for the BDO IT team and the collaboration is fun for both sides.
Successful with Azure Migration Programme
Microsoft's Azure Migration Programme requires a structured approach to transform existing IT workloads into the Azure Cloud. At BDO, this was realised as a sub-project. The focus was on re-factoring the applications in order to subsequently enable stable and cost-efficient operation. The solution delivered the business benefits demanded by BDO and the very tight schedule of twelve months was also met.
What did you particularly appreciate about working with Baggenstos?
The direct access to the Baggenstos management team was a great advantage for me, so even critical questions and important decisions could be solved immediately. This had a positive effect on the dynamics and efficiency of the project. In addition to the pure project implementation, we also succeeded in realising a significant knowledge transfer to our IT team, from which we can benefit in operation.
Thank you very much, Christoph Scholl, for the open conversation. We wish BDO continued success and look forward to contributing to further growth with our services and Azure.
About
Industry & Size
BDO AG is one of Switzerland's leading auditing, fiduciary and advisory firms. With over 1,600 employees across 35 offices, it offers personal proximity and expertise – from auditing and tax to digital transformation. BDO Switzerland is part of the international BDO network, headquartered in Brussels and represented in over 160 countries.
Core Business
Auditing, fiduciary services, tax advisory and management consulting for SMEs and larger organisations. BDO combines the strength of an international network with the promise to serve every client personally – a business model built on trust and local presence.
Cloud Strategy
BDO pursues a consistent cloud-first strategy. Migrating all of its servers to Microsoft Azure was a sub-project within the Azure Migration Programme – with the goal of making operations more cost-efficient and freeing up internal IT resources for ongoing digitalisation projects.
IT Environment
35 offices, over 1,600 users, numerous business applications with high demands on performance and availability. The challenge: the upcoming hardware replacement cycle was not to be solved with new servers, but through a fundamental shift to the cloud.
Das könnte Sie auch interessieren
