As companies continue to grow, the need for a secure and streamlined data management process becomes increasingly critical. And without a cohesive set of best practices or security protocols in place, managing data efficiently and securely can become an insurmountable challenge.
Such was the case for one JourneyTeam customer, Huish Outdoors, a global scuba gear manufacturer in Salt Lake City, UT. Read the full customer story as we explore the steps taken to address these challenges, implement robust data management practices, and establish a secure, compliant foundation for future growth.
JourneyTeam Guides the Migration
Huish Outdoors was using Google Workspace as its collaboration and communication platform. In addition, many employees had created their own Dropbox accounts and were sharing files with both clients and other employees without any oversight.
The company needed a new communication and collaboration solution, one with built-in security that would scale over the next five to ten years. They also needed assistance in creating a governance infrastructure for all their data that would meet their changing needs, ensure compliance, and reduce IT’s workload.
Huish Outdoors’ Director of Information Technology, Stanley Ferguson, knew it would take a trustworthy, qualified partner with security expertise to guide Huish Outdoors. He interviewed other vendors and settled on JourneyTeam as the right fit for the company. “JourneyTeam has the right experience to make sure we meet all our company’s needs. It was an easy decision,” he said, noting that he had engaged with JourneyTeam on past projects for other employers and had always had a positive outcome.
A Secure, Scalable Solution
With JourneyTeam’s guidance, Huish Outdoors quickly determined that they needed to move from Google to Microsoft 365 technologies, due to the extensive app suite including email (Outlook), file storage and collaboration (OneDrive and SharePoint) and productivity tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). As a bonus, Microsoft 365 also included communication through Teams, and data analysis through Power BI.
In lock step with the migration, they needed to deploy security and compliance in the new solution areas and Microsoft 365 provided the built-in toolset to do exactly that. Because Microsoft 365 easily scales, adding new-users, licenses, or features were streamlined for Huish Outdoors.
In addition, company combined the power of Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) with Microsoft Intune and has slashed the time needed to provision new devices by more than two-thirds.
Change Management was Critical
Huish Outdoors needed to decommission Google Workspace and transition to the appropriate Microsoft 365 environment, moving user emails, contacts, and calendar events into Microsoft Exchange Online. At the same time, files stored in both Google Drive and Dropbox needed to be transferred into Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint.
Ferguson said it was important to cut off employees’ access to Google Workspace and Dropbox promptly to prevent data fragmentation and unauthorized usage.
But first they had to educate and prepare the company— enter JourneyTeam’s proven adoption and change management framework. JourneyTeam’s migration experts ensured Huish Outdoors was prepared for the shift, with internal communications, tailored and department specific end user training, realistic expectation setting, and a roll out that brought no surprises. All this helped to foster a positive outlook.
The Partnership Continues
Huish Outdoors now has a secure and modern platform, and a baseline security posture for incident response. As cybercriminals and their techniques evolve, and as Microsoft continues to expand its security portfolio with continual updates, the company’s team must continually adapt, too. With those dynamics in mind, Huish Outdoors and JourneyTeam continue to work together to fortify the company’s defenses and stay on top of the evolving landscape.
Reach out
JourneyTeam can help you look at your business from end-to-end, and do so while incorporating adoption, governance, and security. Don’t forget to check out the entire customer story here. If you’re considering a migration to Microsoft 365, or need a security assessment, we’d love to talk with you.
