After a long process, thorough preparation, and finding the perfect technological match, Verdo can now check off their desire for a unified documentation and process management platform.

Verdo is a Danish energy conglomerate that operates and develops sustainable critical infrastructure. Verdo is among Europe’s leading suppliers of sustainable, certified biomass for industry and district heating plants, and Denmark’s largest operator and maintainer of street lighting. Additionally, Verdo supplies their customers with heat, water, and electricity around the clock, all year round.

The right solution took a long time to find

With 18 companies, 550 employees, and five business divisions, there is a lot to keep track of at Verdo, and standardizing processes and systematizing hundreds of thousands of existing documents across such a large organization is no easy task. Verdo was well aware of this. It takes time and internal resources. Therefore, finding the right solution took a long time.

“Everyone agreed that there was a great need for a unified documentation tool, and for several years, we had been looking at different possibilities. When I joined Verdo, there was an internal joke that it was the ‘solution that never materialized,’ so that put some pressure on me from the start,” says Thue Stensgaard, Senior IT Project Manager at Verdo.

The choice became obvious when the requirements were clear

Initially, Verdo had a case management tool in mind, but during the process of clarifying their needs, it became evident that the requirements were more extensive. Ideally, the solution should handle cases, projects, agreements, facilities, as well as departmental and company documents. Additionally, the solution needed to support Verdo’s Microsoft strategy. The more they zoomed in on their needs, the easier the choice of solution became.

“As I see it, there is only one solution on the market for document management if you go the Microsoft route, and that is WorkPoint. We don’t need to worry about how we access all the good things that Microsoft develops because we automatically have them in WorkPoint. Moreover, WorkPoint is easy to work with, and we can often customize the solution ourselves, minimizing the need for external consultants and coding. And WorkPoint is brilliant at managing permissions, which was crucial for our need for a unified solution across the entire organization,” explains Thue Stensgaard regarding the choice of WorkPoint.

digitalworkspace365 as the implementation partner

The subsequent choice of an implementation partner was not difficult either, as both the skills and chemistry proved to be a good match between Verdo and digitalworkspace365.

“I had a good gut feeling when we started, and it has held throughout. digitalworkspace365 quickly understood our business, and the collaboration is based on trust. We receive valuable input on how to solve specific problems, and digitalworkspace365 is good at advising and ensuring that we achieve our goals. We find that what comes from digitalworkspace365 is solid, thoroughly tested, useful, and meets our requirements. And they simply have the best WorkPoint and SharePoint consultants,” says Thue Stensgaard.

Focus on the business during implementation

Verdo started with the utility companies where the need was greatest, but other parts of the business have also benefited from the solution. The phased rollout with multiple small “go-lives” made the process secure and allowed for learning.

“Instead of one big ‘go-live’, we ended up having 15 ‘go-lives’, which provided good opportunities to customize the system and learn along the way. We were able to implement according to what suited the organization. This flexibility also allowed us to, for instance, start using an agreement module based on a specific business need brought to us by colleagues. We could quickly adapt the solution to fully replace manual workflows, even if it was not planned at that moment,” explains Thue Stensgaard about the implementation of WorkPoint.

A unified solution for the entire Verdo conglomerate

When summarizing what is different today and how Verdo especially benefits from their new WorkPoint solution, Thue Stensgaard emphasizes standardized processes, flexibility, a unified solution, and the strength of the Microsoft universe for both users and IT.

“With WorkPoint and in collaboration with digitalworkspace365, we have obtained standardized processes that optimize our workflows and strengthen our quality assurance. If there is a business need, there is usually a good solution. And now we have the unified solution we have long needed, which provides us with the exact synergy across the conglomerate that we desired. Users quickly adopted the solution because they recognize elements from, for instance, SharePoint. From an IT management perspective, we can only praise the result, because we now have a solution that is much easier to maintain and build upon,” concludes Thue Stensgaard.

Three pieces of advice for implementing WorkPoint

Based on his own experiences, Thue Stensgaard, Senior IT Project Manager, shares three pieces of advice for those facing a WorkPoint implementation:

• Involve the right users early in the process – Spend time finding and involving those who know the business processes. If you have them involved in developing the tools, you will achieve better integration within the organization and better process support.
• Identify local super users – Involve them in a super user community and equip them for ongoing dialogue with users. They can serve as both 1st level support and contribute to the continuous development of the solution to ensure ongoing user support.
• Prioritize data preparation – Do not underestimate the task of getting data in order. There is much to consider when going through everything. It is a major cleanup effort, and it is both important and time-consuming.

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A desire to stay ahead of security was the reason why the Danish enterprise Naturmælk asked for digitalworkspace365’s help in ensuring high Governance in the use of Microsoft 365. 

Naturmælk is a community of 43 organic farmers who operate a dairy and work towards making both the individual farms and the dairy sustainable businesses. IT security also plays an important role here.

Taking active measures for security

The scope of IT crime is increasing, and Mathias Bendesen Møller, the CFO of Naturmælk, had no intention of sitting idly by.

“There’s a cyber war going on, and I don’t want to wait until we’re attacked. When you want to take active action but don’t have the expertise yourself, you have to seek help from outside. At digitalworkspace365, I get the necessary help and insights to understand both limitations and possibilities in Microsoft 365,” says Mathias Bendesen Møller.

GDPR compliance in order

Naturmælk has thoroughly reviewed all security parameters in the use of Microsoft 365 and has activated features that strengthen their Governance. In terms of GDPR, the company now utilizes options they were not previously aware of. This includes, for example, setting criteria for the automatic deletion of sensitive personal data.

“As a standard, there’s a lot to consider. With the help of digitalworkspace365, we have done what we can to ensure ourselves. Everything that can contribute to higher security is now activated so that we can protect ourselves against external attacks,” says Mathias Bendesen Møller.

Avoiding anarchy in the use of Microsoft 365 

For Naturmælk, the Governance workshop also meant that they became aware of and started using Teams and forms, which are tools in Microsoft 365, much more than before. However, in a secure manner. Naturmælk has limited the platform slightly, so that users do not engage in any inappropriate actions.

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Extensive digitalization of critical workflows placed new demands on security. With the help of digitalworkspace365, Geia Food now has a solution where they can flexibly grant external access to their system without compromising security.

As a market-leading food supplier to the Scandinavian market, the Danish enterprise Geia Food has a vast network of partners, extensive food control, and correspondingly high requirements for documentation with authorities. The bar for both collaboration and security is set high, and the complexity is significant.

Increased security requirements with open systems

Geia Food is a growing company undergoing a digital transformation that makes workflows easier both internally and for the many external suppliers. Among other things, suppliers need to conduct audits through digital questionnaires to ensure full traceability throughout the supply chain. The process is more efficient and user-friendly with a unified digital solution, but it also poses new security requirements.

“When we invite people in, it’s important to know who is inside, what they are entitled to, and, most importantly, when they are out,” says Daniel Olesen, IT Manager at Geia Food.

New working methods require new standards

When Geia Food, like the rest of the world, was forced to work virtually to an even greater extent in early 2020, Teams quickly became a central collaboration tool. It was another opportunity to thoroughly examine the company’s Governance.

Expert assistance provides reassurance

In collaboration with digitalworkspace365, Geia Food went through the company’s Governance in a workshop focusing on both technical possibilities and business aspects. The Microsoft 365 platform is extensive and can be challenging to grasp when many other aspects of the company’s IT infrastructure also require attention.

“I consider myself knowledgeable, but when it comes to Microsoft 365, I’m an amateur compared to the people at digitalworkspace365. They know what they’re talking about. There are many checkboxes and many options, so you have to be careful. digitalworkspace365 was sharp in helping us,” says Daniel Olesen.

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