SoftwareOne case study

From zero to hero. Vodafone Ukraine’s journey to the cloud.

Vodafone Ukraine’s experience demonstrates how utilising Microsoft 365 services can promote efficient collaboration while also upholding essential IT security standards. This approach guarantees uninterrupted service provision to millions of customers.

Telecommunications provider Vodafone Ukraine wanted to modernise the workplace for its nearly 4,000 employees to improve collaboration and communication by providing secure remote working capabilities across the organisation. Working closely with SoftwareOne, a successful pilot was followed by a seamless migration and adoption of multiple Microsoft 365 services. However, the biggest challenge of this project was the urgency of implementing these services in the face of numerous critical infrastructure attacks due to a full-scale invasion.

4000
users gained access to modern ways of working
Security
enhanced data security has been implemented
100%
solid foundation for migrating other services to the cloud

Client: Vodafone Ukraine
Industry: Media and communications
Services: Digital Workplace Services: Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams implementation, Digital Workplace Adoption, Workplace Security Services
Country: Ukraine

Successful pilot project drives Vodafone Ukraine’s full migration to Microsoft 365

Even before the invasion began, Vodafone Ukraine initiated a pilot project to test the effectiveness of Microsoft 365 services. For this, the company had brought SoftwareOne Ukraine on board. The scope of the project included implementing a hybrid approach with Active Directory and Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), as well as incorporating Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Microsoft Teams. Additionally, remote access to company resources was enabled through the activation of multi-factor authentication. The pilot project was a success leading Vodafone Ukraine to proceed with a full migration to make Microsoft 365 the standard workplace for its employees.

Rapid implementation amidst crises

With the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vodafone had to expedite the transition to the Microsoft 365 cloud along with user training and adoption. The urgency of the situation required immediate response and coordinated actions due to the heightened cyber-attacks on Ukrainian companies by the aggressor country. The risks of physical loss of local IT infrastructure were compounded by the potential danger of unauthorised access to critical data within their IT systems.

Despite the perilous circumstances, thanks to the collaborative efforts of Vodafone Ukraine and SoftwareOne engineers, the entire project was successfully implemented. In just three weeks over 4,000 employees were migrated, surpassing the planned timeline of four months.

Since 2014, Vodafone has implemented the digital workplace concept, which was successfully used during numerous quarantines during the coronavirus pandemic. All of the company's back-office employees are able to work remotely with secure access to the digital workplace. Thanks to the great support of SoftwareOne Ukraine, it was possible to quickly organise work in emergency conditions from the first days of the full-scale invasion. However, the mass migration of employees and the need to relocate critical facilities have become new challenges since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The final 'move' to the cloud provided access from multiple interfaces. This solution helped us to achieve our main goal - accessibility and uninterrupted communication for millions of Ukrainians in conditions of active hostilities.

– Yaroslav Mykhalyuk, Head of IT Operations Department, Vodafone Ukraine

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Looking at the project as a whole, SoftwareOne worked closely with Vodafone Ukraine to achieve the following:

Pilot testing of Microsoft 365 services
Develop and implement a Microsoft 365 migration plan for 4,000 users
Define security standards
Train and adapt users to successfully work with the new services

The implementation took place in 2 phases:

Phase 1: Pilot to test Microsoft 365 services for remote working:

Configuring the hybrid mode of operation of the customer's services with Microsoft 365 Active Directory and Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD)
Implementation of services for productive work: Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Teams
Basic configuration of security services

Phase 2: Microsoft 365 Enterprise Mobility & Security (EMS) services migration and implementation project to ensure workplace security:

Configuring conditional access policies that include mandatory verification of user authorisation using multi-factor authentication
Setting up a co-management scenario for devices with Windows 10
Enabling access to corporate information from mobile devices
Implementation of the Microsoft Information Protection service, development, and configuration of policies
Implementation of a cloud-based security solution based on Microsoft Defender for Identity
Setting up Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps and security policies
Configuration of protection policies for IaaS and specialised applications
Pilot implementation of Microsoft Sentinel to proactively protect Vodafone’s data sources from threats

For us as a partner, the biggest challenge in such projects is to establish the most effective interaction with the customer's technical team. By this measure, the Vodafone Ukraine project is probably the most successful in terms of partner-customer team interaction. I am infinitely grateful to the Vodafone Ukraine technical team for their determination, initiative and thirst for implementing modern technologies. For SoftwareOne, this is an invaluable experience that helps us inspire other customers to take a confident step into the world of digital transformation.

– Vitaliy Korchevyi, Business Development Manager, SoftwareOne Ukraine

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Achieving success: fast and secure migration to Microsoft 365 for Vodafone’s remote workforce

The project’s success was measured by the efficient and seamless migration of productivity services to the Microsoft cloud, as well as the ability to ensure a safe and flexible work environment for Vodafone Ukraine’s remote workforce.

This project aimed to create a high-performance digital workplace for every Vodafone Ukraine employee, enabling productive communication and collaboration anywhere, anytime, using Microsoft Teams.

Furthermore, the implementation of multi-factor authentication allowed for secure remote access to the organisation’s corporate resources, with varying levels of access based on specified conditions.

From zero to hero. Vodafone Ukraine’s journey to the cloud.

4000

Security

100%

Successful pilot project drives Vodafone Ukraine’s full migration to Microsoft 365

Rapid implementation amidst crises

Could you benefit from a similar service?

Could you benefit from a similar service?

The implementation took place in 2 phases:

Digital Workplace Services

Achieving success: fast and secure migration to Microsoft 365 for Vodafone’s remote workforce

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