Government Succes: The Municipality of Utrecht has successfully transitioned to a Microsoft Cloud environment with the help of HSO
Easily accessible information leads to more job satisfaction.
Discover how the Municipality of Utrecht transitioned to a Microsoft Cloud environment with HSO, making data more accessible, enabling employees to work more efficiently, and improving security. Read more about this successful IT migration.
The Municipality of Utrecht faced a completely fragmented digital infrastructure, which resulted in critical data being hard to find. Even more concerning, it eroded confidence in the reliability of the information, resulting in employee dissatisfaction.
An integrated Cloud environment was desperately needed.
Laura te Lintum, Product Owner of Digital Collaboration at the Municipality of Utrecht, reflects on the successful migration from an on-premises to a Cloud environment.
"We worked with a lot of applications and stored data on network drives. Consequently, information was located in many different places. Employees had difficulty finding information, with all the consequences that entailed. Trust in the available information was low, and people often wondered: am I working with the correct version of this document?" Laura recalls.
Working 3.0
It was time for a change. The municipality decided to thoroughly modernize its digital infrastructure. The first step was the 'Working 3.0' program. By combining the expertise of IT, facility management, and HR, they aimed to optimally support employees. The transition to a Microsoft Cloud platform fitted perfectly into this scenario.
"The integrated collaboration environment and the ability to work remotely effortlessly were exactly what we needed to modernize our workplaces and eliminate employee frustrations," explains Laura about the choice for Microsoft Cloud technology.
Custom Migration Path
The municipality could not make the transition alone. Laura explains: "Our team has a lot of functional expertise, but we lacked the technical knowledge for a large-scale migration. That's why we enlisted HSO. They developed a custom migration path that ensured safe and efficient data migration, file conversion to new formats, and a streamlined version control. Thanks to this approach, we were able to transition seamlessly to the new environment. " HSO not only provided technical support but they also considered the most effective strategies for the migration. "They are real techies and dive deep into the matter, coming up with solutions that fit perfectly," says Laura. "We have always been able to speak openly about our expectations and obstacles. This allowed us to switch quickly and solve problems effectively."
Safer Working in the Cloud
As a result of the migration, documents are now centrally stored and more intuitively accessible.
The municipality has transferred 30 terabytes of personal data to OneDrive and migrated part of the 90 terabytes of old file shares to SharePoint. "Employees can now work faster, and easier, and find the information that they are searching for easier, and know for sure that it is correct. The impact is enormously positive," says Laura.
The transition to the Cloud has significantly enhanced security and compliance and now meets the requirements essential for a government agency. A common misconception among government agencies is that Cloud environments are less secure than on-premises data management. Laura remarks on this: "Cloud is seen as unsafe, but if you look at the security possibilities in the Cloud versus on-premises, I think you can secure better in the Cloud." And that's true.
With advanced security technologies and automatic updates, you are always protected. Microsoft offers 24/7 monitoring and meets strict international standards. Robust disaster recovery solutions and rigid access controls, such as 2FA, ensure that data is safe and can be recovered.
Agile Working
The Municipality of Utrecht and HSO chose an agile approach, ideal for complex projects like data migration. Progress was made in short, manageable sprints. "By working agile, we could quickly respond to changes and ensure that everyone was on the same page. The continuous progress allowed us to regularly collect feedback and adjust where necessary," Laura explains.
The collaboration in the teams was excellent. "The HSO'ers were fully integrated into our team. They were regularly present at our office, including during planning and meetings. This ensured seamless collaboration, where problems could be solved quickly," says Laura.
The collaboration in the teams was excellent. "The HSO'ers were fully integrated into our team. They were regularly present at our office, including during planning and meetings. This ensured seamless collaboration, where problems could be solved quickly,"
Helping Employees by Innovating
With the successful migration to a modern digital work environment, the Municipality of Utrecht looks forward with much confidence. Laura sees many possibilities with Microsoft technology. "We plan to effectively integrate new tools like Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, and Copilot AI so that we can support our employees even better. HSO remains an important partner in this process. The ultimate goal is to create a fully integrated digital work environment that meets the current needs of our employees and is future-proof," Laura looks ahead.