Automotive Quality Control leader HOLLEN grows business, boosts security with Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Matching rapid growth with modern tools

Before the rollout of Microsoft 365, HOLLEN employees used a combination of collaboration tools and email to communicate. Documents were stored on local servers, which employees accessed with a VPN. “Organizing employees’ licenses and keeping all the software up to date was difficult,” remembers Krampl. “Communicating via email and keeping track of scattered documents also presented problems.” As the company grew, the need for a modern way of working became obvious. “We needed to advance our software development and have documents in one place with easy direct access through our ERP system. That’s when we decided to go with Microsoft 365,” says Krampl.

With the help of ESB s.r.o., a member of the Microsoft Partner Network, HOLLEN implemented Microsoft 365 Business Premium. The first step was to modernize document storage. "At first, we have migrated local storages to Microsoft SharePoint for the whole organization" explains Krampl. "That allowed us to integrate SharePoint with our ERP system and then to focus on teamwork with Teams. This whole process convinced us that it will be easier to do further steps with a partner. With the help of ESB s.r.o., a member of the Microsoft Partner Network, we have migrated to AAD and configured security modules," says Krampl. "We’ve found a great match for our small business in ESB, which understood our need for flexibility".

SharePoint quickly became HOLLEN’s go-to platform for document storage. “We use SharePoint to store things like HR documents, internal processes, agreements, order documentation, management and financial documents. We also use Microsoft Teams to carry out further discussions,” says Krampl. Technical personnel can access order-related documentation from the field by using SharePoint on their mobile devices. Bringing order to the whole document structure enabled Krampl and his team to create an in-house, web-based application suite called MetriQ, which digitalizes everything from workplaces to comprehensible reporting for customers. The app consists of two aspects. MetriQ Input is used to gather data and enables onsite personnel to access working procedures and record the results of their sorting and quality control actions. MetriQ View allows customers to access reporting and relevant documentation in one place.

Prior to implementing Microsoft 365 and MetriQ, technicians had to carry paper checklists to record their work, which they later manually entered into the company’s on-premises systems and sent to customers via email. “The process was error-prone and created lag time between performing quality control and presenting the information to customers,” says Krampl. “Results are now immediately available because of Microsoft 365 and MetriQ, which is a far more efficient and accurate way of working. Today, technicians are 15 to 20 percent more efficient.” This process also enhances transparency between HOLLEN and its customers. “Communication is easier and clearer. And, we are saving time so we can all focus on more important issues,” adds Krampl.

Boosting security and attracting new customers

Security was a standout concern when HOLLEN was considering a move to Microsoft 365 Business Premium. “We were already considering Microsoft 365 when we performed a penetration test to better understand where our security could improve,” says Krampl. “The results convinced us that a Business Premium license was the best choice for us.” To further strengthen security, HOLLEN also gained access to its Microsoft Secure Score via the Microsoft 365 Defender security portal. “We immediately used the security features in Microsoft 365 Business Premium to improve our Secure Score by 35 points, indicating a big improvement to security overall,” says Krampl, who notes that the benchmark Secure Score for companies of HOLLEN’s size is well below what the business has been able to achieve. “We used recommendations from the Center for Internet Security and information from Microsoft to improve HOLLEN’s Secure Score,” says Ľubomír Vondráček, Azure and Microsoft 365 Solutions Architect at ESB. “We implemented measures such as multifactor authentication and safe links in Exchange Online to improve the score.”

Using Microsoft Intune also helped HOLLEN achieve its impressive Secure Score and saved time during the implementation. “We implemented the security baseline for all Windows 10 devices by helping secure them with Intune,” says Vondráček. “That saved us a lot of time compared with creating a security baseline from scratch.”

As a result of its improved security posture, HOLLEN was able to achieve an important Trusted Information Security Assessment Exchange AL3 (TISAX) certification, a European standard for information security in the automotive industry. “Some clients had requested that we get a TISAX certification, and because of all the work we had done improving our security baseline, we were able to comply easily and win that business,” says Krampl. “Information security is a big topic in the automotive industry, and achieving a TISAX certification helps us be more competitive.”

Continuing to evolve with a trusted platform

The introduction of Microsoft 365 Business Premium is part of an ongoing journey at HOLLEN to modernize and keep pace with the company’s rapid growth. “We’re still exploring all the security offerings in Microsoft 365 Business Premium, especially the Microsoft Defender solution,” says Krampl. And the platform’s employee engagement tools are gaining momentum at HOLLEN. “We want to increase our use of Yammer, especially for internal marketing,” he says. “We already use it to share news about our software development and draw attention to branch achievements, like winning new contracts. Overall, we see great potential to do even more.”

Find out more about HOLLEN on LinkedIn and Facebook.