Design with perspective.

The uvex group from Fürth offers high-quality products to protect people when working out, in their free time and at work. In contrast to the ultramodern range, the IT infrastructure was somewhat outdated and didn’t live up to the company’s own aspiration of inventing itself over and over. However, a joint strategic project between Bechtle Nuremberg and Bechtle-Comsoft made the software environment fit for the future.

The company was founded in 1926 by Philipp M. Winter in Fürth, Germany, as a protective eyewear retailer. 30 years later his son Rainer thought up the name uvex—a shortened version of the UV standard of protection “ultraviolet excluded”. Today, a total of 48 subsidiaries in 22 countries belong to the company headquartered in Fürth and its product portfolio has expanded to include occupational safety product systems from head to toe and protective helmets and goggles for winter, cycling and equestrian sports. With this structure, over the past decades, a complex IT landscape had evolved and many branches had their own IT system. Three communications solutions were established within the Group in the form of Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes and Novell GroupWise, which were installed in different versions on local computers. A situation that made working on a task collaboratively and across locations much more difficult. For this reason, consolidating the software infrastructure became the clearly formulated project objective that uvex wanted to implement with a strategic partner.

Digital opportunities.

It didn’t matter to Martin Heidingsfelder, IT specialist purchaser for the uvex group, that two companies, Bechtle Nuremberg and the Bechtle Comsoft software specialists, cooperated on the project. “From the first meeting, our Bechtle contacts worked together as one. Being a Microsoft Licensing Solution Partner, Comsoft had excellent relationships with the manufacturer and current expertise at their disposal. We’ve been cultivating good regional business relationships with Bechtle Nuremberg for a long time. The unified front presented by both project partners was confirmation that we had made the right choice.” Bechtle and Comsoft offered advice on the selection of the best software and designed a modern e-mail and Office concept for uvex that is true to our motto “one world, one platform”. “Office 365 was the only choice for the project. The cloud solution is readily available, offers a storage capacity that can be expanded and the opportunity to integrate modern collaboration tools,” explains Stefan Neumann, Key Account Manager at Bechtle-Comsoft GmbH. “The co-operation with Bechtle-Comsoft worked brilliantly and we were able to consolidate the different software products within the group. As a result, uvex was provided with a sustainable future-proof and flexible technology in Office 365,” says Marcus Tröger, Key Account Manager for Bechtle Nuremberg.

Designing instead of managing.

The necessary preparations were discussed by the project partners in particular detail. “If the company changes from a client to a cloud-based solution, the installation routine changes. Processes like maintenance and provision must be adjusted and that means time and expense. But the required adjustments are soon balanced out by Office 365,” says Stefan Neumann. With the new work environment, IT can quickly make services available and users can have access to IT systems at any time. Factors that advance the company’s business and also play an important role for the discussion of work life balance. “We always ask ourselves what we can do to stay attractive to young professionals. Also because user habits have changed a lot. In our newly organised software infrastructures, today the employees can access our applications regardless of location, time and device. This is a clear advantage when it comes to keeping employees in the company or hiring new people,” says Joachim Ott, Chief Information Officer at the uvex group.

Relief from routine tasks.

Relocating e-mail accounts to the cloud also saves expensive memory space. Reduced service times are another priority for Martin Heidingsfelder, “We can make a licence available for new employees with the press of a button, which is perfect for our users and a huge relief for out IT department.” Alongside locally installed programs, uvex now reaps the benefits of cloud software. Office 365 not only facilitates collaborative work on data without having to deal with different versions, it also allows for the seamless integration of solutions such as e-mail and word processing. “Because of the licensing advice that included the re-design of Microsoft software agreements and associated license management, we now have a future-proof solution that meets all compliance requirements. The amount of project experience Bechtle and Comsoft have as well as their advisory expertise was particularly impressive. If there were any unresolved questions, they got back to us with answers very quickly. The implemented solution was readily accepted by employees, specialist departments, management and, of course, IT,” concludes Martin Heidingsfelder.   

Contact: Stefan Neumann, Key Account Manager, Bechtle-Comsoft GmbH, stefan.neumann@bechtle.com

Our company is able to benefit from innovative Office 365 technology, thanks in large to Bechtle’s excellent support. The software allows us to have a quicker and more agile response to future requirements and this will help save money.