This case study explains how Compete366 worked with Optimise Media, a global performance advertising network, to build a global IT infrastructure using Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop.
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Business Background
Optimise Media is a global performance advertising network. Put simply, they help premium advertisers on the internet achieve the highest value customers from their advertising spend. Tracking user journeys on websites, they analyse user clicks and transactions translating this into paid commission for their customers.
The Business Challenge
With a UK headquarters of around 50 users, and another 150 employees worldwide, Optimise Media was faced with the challenge of supplying company laptops to their employees across South East Asia, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and India.
With this geographically dispersed team, the central IT department in the UK was faced with the logistical challenge of supplying laptops that met company security requirements.
The Solution
Optimise Media decided to investigate using Microsoft’s Azure Virtual Desktop as a solution to this challenge.
Already an existing user of Microsoft 0365 from a different provider, Optimise decided to look around for a new partner. Compete366 was recommended, and after an initial conversation with a Compete366 Azure expert, who confirmed that the migration to Azure Virtual Desktop would be easy they decided to go ahead with the project. It made sense for Optimise Media to also move their O365 licencing across to Compete366 too.
As Dave Burgess, IT Support Analyst, Optimise Media explains,
“From the outset we were impressed with the response from our consultant from Compete366 who guided us through the process of setting up Azure Virtual Desktop, and the implementation went very well.”
Key Benefits
The key benefits of Azure Virtual Desktop for Optimise Media are around cost savings which are expected to be around £1k per laptop plus the setup and shipping costs, and also with data security.
In addition removing the logistics of managing physical devices across borders and needing to have trained staff in place to manage this has been removed.
Data Security
- Employees are able to use their personal computer to access a virtual desktop with all of the applications they require.
- Azure Virtual Desktop is fully secure meaning that users are prevented from copying commercially sensitive information outside of the organisation.
- If a laptop device is lost or stolen, there is no data loss as this resides in the Azure Virtual Desktop environment.
Cost Savings
- Cost savings of around £1000 per laptop plus set up and shipping costs.
- The Azure Virtual Desktop is set up with auto-shutdown features which means that the business is not charged for machines running over night.
- Migrating users from dedicated Windows 365 machines to Azure Virtual Desktop will allow for multiple users on one instance, and all in the same time-zone.
The project has been rolled out firstly within the international team. As users grow across the organisation, Azure Virtual Desktop has been set up to auto-scale meaning that a new instance is only created as the previous one is filled up for maximum cost effectiveness.
Working with C366
The support we received from the Compete366 expert consultant went above and beyond what I expected. I had looked at the documentation and realised there was a lot to learn, and their consultant helped me to work through the details sending in-depth emails and clear blog articles. The response time was extremely quick and allowed me to cut through all of the noise and focus on getting the job done.”
Dave Burgess, IT Support Analyst, Optimise Media
Plans for the Future
So what’s next?
Optimise Media is looking at Azure for hosting fileshares, and is also planning to move old system files into a mapped drive in Azure Virtual Desktop. This will save even more time in terms of looking after the IT infrastructure.
And with continued hybrid working, Azure Virtual Desktop gives employees the option to be flexible and use their personal machines to access the company applications and data, wherever they are.
If you’d like to find out more about our Expert Azure Virtual Desktop consulting services then do get in touch. We’ll be pleased to help.
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“It’s great to work with the Compete366 team, the team members are really knowledgeable, helpful and responsive. No question is too difficult for them. They have really helped us to manage our Azure costs and ensure we have the right environment. When we bring a new customer on-board we can scale up immediately via the Azure portal and quickly make environments available to our customers.”
“We also find that there’s never a heavy sales pitch from them – they are technically focused and recommend what’s right for us.”
“We had great support from the Compete366 AVD expert, who was really helpful, and guided me through options to tackle issues that arose.”
“The great thing about our AVD set up is that we have a custom set up for each project which Compete366 showed me how to do. And with the scalability and flexibility of AVD – we can meet clients’ expectations and get project users up and running more quickly.”
“We were immediately impressed with the advice that the Compete366 specialists in Azure Architecture were able to provide. This was all new to us and we really needed some external expertise that we could use to get our questions answered. The beauty of working with Compete366 is that we transferred our Azure consumption to them, and at the same time received all of their advice and guidance free of charge.”
“Working with Compete366 has been like extending our own team – they are extremely and easy to work with. Right from the outset, it was clear what was on offer – everything was presented to us in a straightforward and uncomplicated way. They also provided just the right level of challenge to our developers and saved us time and money by suggesting better ways to implement our infrastructure.”
“Compete366 were able to help us leverage some useful contacts in Microsoft. We really value the expert advice and guidance that they have offered us in setting up a highly scalable infrastructure. We are also setting in place a regular monthly meeting which will allow us to further refine our architecture and ensure we keep on track as our requirements grow and change.”
“I have been delighted with the migration, where my team worked very hard, supported by expert advice from Compete366, and achieved everything in the timescale we had set out. Compete 366 made sure that we didn’t make any expensive mistakes, and guided us through the process”