Security has long been considered a burden that impedes an enterprise’s ability to boost productivity and improve IT administration, and in many cases it has been. But when a security team has access to the right tools and knows how to use them, it is possible to achieve things that help the business in other ways.
Such has been the case for DLG (the German Agricultural Society), which did indeed increase employee productivity while reducing the IT administration workloads using HP Device as a Service, HP Proactive Insights, and HP Wolf Pro Security Service.
HP tells DLG’s success story in a recently released case study, parts of which is excerpted below:
About DLG
With a network of more than 30,000 members, DLG is a respected voice in the German agricultural sector and food industry, seeking to develop expertise, ensure a broad transfer of technology know-how, and set and champion quality standards.
DLG relies on its employees and volunteers across more than 10 countries. But to do their work efficiently, they need the right equipment from DLG’s nine-strong IT department. In the past, this was a very mixed bag of devices, consisting of desktop PCs, notebooks, laptops, all-in-one devices, and tablets – all in various models.
A heavy lift
“For us in IT, managing all the different hardware and software was a huge effort,” recalls Holger-Steffen Stapf, head of IT at DLG. “We had to look at who gets which device, how old that device is, and when it needs to be replaced.”
Each employee’s hardware requirements were also very different; some wanted portable devices, others preferred desktops, some wanted to work with a digital pen, others without.
“Monitoring all those devices, patching them, and making sure they were secure enough all added to the complications for us. So, we knew we had to reduce our IT workload through rigorous standardization,” Stapf says. The goal was to have just one type of standard device that looked stylish, met everyone’s requirements, included enhanced security, and helped employees be productive.
The solution
The first step was to choose HP EliteBook x360 notebooks with docking stations and displays, plus HP Financial Services and HP Proactive Insights.
Using Proactive Insights, the number of device failures experienced by DLG has fallen by more than 15%, significantly reducing the burden on IT staff. It also increased productivity for employees.
When the pandemic hit, HP Wolf Pro Security Service, in tandem with the HP EliteBook x360 notebooks, made the transition to home working quicker for all employees.
“The devices are better protected against hacker attacks, even though they are no longer behind our firewall,” Stapf says.
This protection means DLG can avoid costly leased lines at large trade fairs and employees no longer need to connect their devices to the network via the internet.
