One IT becomes three. Zurich's economic organisations go their separate ways.

Technically, the three organisations Zurich Chamber of Commerce (ZHK), Arbeitgeber Zürich and the Swiss Arbitration Centre had long been interconnected: they shared the same platform. Within six months, Baggenstos built an M365 environment with new local workplaces (notebooks, monitors) for each individual organisation while preserving synergy effects.

The project goal was to turn one environment into three separate, stable, secure and future-proof M365 environments with clear operating processes. Some resources, such as printing or Wi-Fi, were to continue being shared. For each organisation, a dedicated internet connection including a firewall and new switches had to be set up to ensure its security and independence.

Time-intensive preparations

The clean separation of the existing IT infrastructure into three independent Microsoft 365 tenants required a careful assessment and a clearly structured migration plan in compliance with all data protection regulations. No information was allowed to be assigned incorrectly, no permission granted incorrectly. Emails had to be migrated flawlessly.

Thanks to thorough inventories and careful planning, the Baggenstos specialists pulled off the feat: on the day of the switchover, there was no IT disruption that would have impaired the day-to-day business of the three Zurich economic institutions. Today they can use their own environment to strengthen the business location and the role of employers in the Zurich region, while the Swiss Arbitration Centre can improve its services with its own well-thought-out cloud infrastructure.

Companies

The clean separation of the existing IT infrastructure into three independent Microsoft 365 tenants required a careful assessment and a clearly structured migration plan in compliance with all data protection regulations. No information was allowed to be assigned incorrectly, no permission granted incorrectly. Emails had to be migrated flawlessly.

• The Zurich Chamber of Commerce (ZHK) has been the voice of the economy for the Zurich, Zug and Schaffhausen region since 1873. It represents over 1,200 companies with more than 200,000 employees.
• Arbeitgeber Zürich has stood alongside employers in the Zurich economic area for over 100 years. The association has around 2,200 member companies.

• The Swiss Arbitration Centre, headquartered in Zurich with offices in Geneva and Zurich, is the leading institution for resolving international commercial disputes in Switzerland.
  

{{Referenz (/zhk_vzh_asa) | Regula Pfister}}

{{Referenz (/zhk_vzh_asa) | Christian Zehnder}}

{{Referenz (/zhk_vzh_asa) | Korinna von Trotha}}

Facts & Figures

Starting point and objective

Turning one into three: the three organisations were to operate in separate M365 environments in future and additionally receive new on-site infrastructure with notebooks, monitors and network components. The goal was to disentangle them while retaining certain synergies, such as a shared print infrastructure. This also meant establishing new operating processes and concluding separate contracts with suppliers. The Swiss Arbitration Centre took the opportunity to replace its traditional telephony solution with Microsoft Teams Voice.

Key figures

40 employees and users

• 2 locations: Zurich & Geneva
  
• 3 operating agreements in the Operation Care model

Solution & implementation

The implementation required intensive preparation. From an inventory of processes and data, three separate environments emerged. The Baggenstos team orchestrated the onboarding into the separate M365 tenants with MFA/Conditional Access, Microsoft Intune and standardised client configurations. The policies for risk-based access were also defined. This was followed by the creation of a standard image of the clients.

Further elements of the project

• Email migrations: from the former IT provider to three Microsoft 365 environments.
  
• File migration: ShareGate for files/Teams; data migration to OneDrive, Teams and SharePoint.
  
• Print solution with the cloud service Printix, Follow-Me, automatic driver distribution and much more.
  
• Hardware rollout: modern Windows notebooks and monitors with integrated docking station (Autopilot).
  
• New network infrastructure (firewall, switches, Wi-Fi access points).
  
• First logins & on-site training during the switchover to the new solution.

Challenges

All data, users and permissions had to be migrated and reassigned correctly. This required an intensive period of analysis and planning. Central services such as the printing environment and the Wi-Fi infrastructure were to continue being used across tenants. Coordination with the previous supplier proved particularly difficult when taking over legacy assets and managing access rights. The transition from the shared to the separate infrastructure had to be organised and coordinated without disruption – at the two locations in Zurich and Geneva.

Results

The rollout took place on schedule with a supported first login and personal on-site assistance, enabling a smooth transition. Thanks to Printix, printing became lower-maintenance, as a local print server is no longer needed and management is centralised. The clients are now standardised and secure with Swiss data hosting. In addition, clear operations were established with Baggenstos Operation Care.

At the process level, the three organisations benefit from an independent cloud environment: they operate more efficiently with strengthened compliance. Clear IT structures and operating procedures ensure greater security. Furthermore, Conditional Access only allows access under the predefined conditions. At the same time, employees share certain services such as Wi-Fi and printing, which optimises costs.

Why Baggenstos?

Baggenstos won over the three customers with its long-standing Microsoft 365 expertise and clear, structured project planning. This created the confidence that the switchover would proceed successfully and without disruption on the defined day.

Many thanks for the great collaboration

Through close and constructive coordination, the project was implemented on schedule, efficiently and without impairing ongoing operations.