Case Study: BMI | Growing Securely in the Cloud

BMI

Growing Securely
in the Cloud

Case Studies | 4 April 2023

Scaling Securely Across 40 Regions with Azure Virtual Desktop

BMI is the largest manufacturer of flat and pitched roofing and waterproofing solutions throughout Europe with a significant presence in parts of Asia and Africa. To grow its operations in 40 countries, BMI needed a way to provide scalable, secure systems access for its partner eco-system and workforce around the world.

With its first cloud-based desktop in Azure, BMI found the answer to scaling securely while minimising any risk to data and systems.

The Challenge - Faster, Secure Onboarding

Previously, onboarding third parties and the remote-based staff was a costly and time-consuming process. Each device had to be set up with access rights and security and shipped from BMI offices, while secure VPN access for devices owned or managed by third parties was equally challenging. Recovering assets at the end of a contract to prevent data from falling into the wrong hands was also difficult and expensive for BMI.

We are so impressed with the security and convenience that AVD and Telefónica Tech provides. Our InfoSec team has full confidence in the platform and we would highly recommend it to other companies.

Kristoff Groenewald, Chief Technical Architect, Cloud Platforms, BMI

The Solution - Azure Virtual Desktop

Telefónica Tech’s expertise in implementing secure, cloud-based virtual desktops within highly data-sensitive environments gave BMI the confidence that Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) was the right solution. After a successful Proof of Concept, BMI and Telefónica Tech worked closely to architect and deploy the Azure Virtual Desktop using a Cloud Adoption Framework methodology, including security baselines and controls.

The design was scalable across different business units and could be dynamically adapted over time. Telefónica Tech’s ongoing support package provides further peace of mind, proactively maintaining and managing the system.

The Results - Scalable Growth

BMI’s IT team can now onboard third-party partners, entire business units, and remote-based staff in minutes, without sacrificing security or data centre control. With the cloud desktop solution, onboarding is the same amount of time whether it’s 5 or 500 people, and it reduces the cost and risk of sending out, recovering, and exposing devices in different global locations. This scalability also allows BMI to quickly adapt to business needs, scaling desktops up or down according to seasonal demand.

Hear from the customer

Antonio Bonillo, Head of Technology, BMI

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Thanks to Telefónica Tech and their Azure Virtual Desktop platform, our InfoSec Team has been able to easily onboard 3rd parties who wouldn’t normally pass our stringent security assessment. This has allowed us to quickly and securely collaborate with important partners around the world.

Kristoff Groenewald, Chief Technical Architect, Cloud Platforms, BMI

The Outcomes

Faster Onboarding

Remote-based employees and third parties can now securely access systems using their own existing devices to log on to virtual sessions.

Cost & Efficiency Savings

Cloud-based desktops replace the need to build, ship, and recover physical devices, while eliminating the risk of hard drives getting into the wrong hands.

Scalability

Easily adjust desktops to seasonal demand, enabling BMI to quickly adapt to business operations.

Improved Sustainability

BMI can now use more energy-efficient thin-client devices, which alongside initiatives to reuse, recycle and resell IT Assets is helping BMI to improve its sustainability.

*Projected 3-year savings, per-user platform-by-platform comparison, including depreciation but not including shipping. Onboarding times may vary.

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46%

Increase in cost-effectiveness compared to the previous solution*

Faster

Onboarding, reduced from hours to minutes*

Improved

And enhanced security. The new virtual desktop allowed BMI to rapidly share access to critical apps and systems but crucially without data ever leaving their own data centre.