Full Control of the Units

HP to BDO

December 1, 2019

Digital Workplace
HP
Case story

Since 1989, the global advisory and accounting firm BDO has kept track of the accountings for so many of us and for the businesses around us. BDO in Denmark consists of more than 30 branches.

Every day, they send a vast number of consultants into the field who all have a workstation with them. And not surprisingly when you are talking about one of the leading accounting firms, the requirements for the IT equipment are extremely high. So, when more than 1200 people need new ultrabooks at the same time, there can be no compromises. That goes for choice of manufacturer, model, and specifications.

For BDO’s IT Operations, Jonas Højris Kjær, the task of obtaining new PC’s for his more than 1200 Danish co-workers is quite the undertaking. That said, there is full control of the processes, the requirements, and of who he does business with. “At BDO, we as well as our equipment must follow the times, so when we swap out PC’s, we do it for all employees at the same time. Every three years, we perform what we refer to as the Big Bang at which point, we swap out all the models”, Jonas explains and continues, “A lot has happened in the PC arena since last time so it was an exciting tender we launched this time. Three teams brought in offers and our choice was HP in that they had a little extra to offer on both the product side and the terms of delivery”.

Security in the Relationship

Switching from one manufacturer to another and from one supplier to another is not something one simply does. Each time, the notion of ”we usually do this” dies a bit and meeting the specs and delivery deadlines is not always enough. The softer parameters were the deciding factors for BDO in making their decision.

”Choosing HP and their ultrabooks in the Elite series became quite a bit about the security in the relationship. HP’s machines were functionally strong, especially in their security, and their supplier offered a good price, but our confidence in their supplier who is the extension of HP, was also a deciding factor. One positive element was that we received six different models to test out. We divided those among three locations in order for our people to report back with their feedback in a questionnaire provided for each model. It was a good process,” Jonas Højris Kjær says. ”This way, we got a good idea of what the collaboration with HP would be like.”

The True Test of the Collaboration

User adoption does not only apply to software and new systems. Adjustments and adaptations to new units are also included. And Jonas and his IT troops take their Big Bang seriously. The process is planned down to the smallest detail. “As I said, we do these things as a Big Bang. We swap out the entire company. We take three months out of the calendar and then we go around to all 32 branches and make sure everything works. That puts strict requirements on HP and their supplier as this involves a lot of dates and many specially marked models that must all arrive timely. Not too early and not too late,” Jonas Højris Kjær says, and elaborates:

”We actually do quite a bit ourselves. Among other things, we manage the roll-out in the offices. However, our supplier stages all the machines and this is the piece that needs to fit into our puzzle. Their Staging Warehouse is located in Denmark which is a clear advantage to us and to HP and we have the say, the process was a success. Add to all it that we also switched from regular telephone services to Skype phone services during this process, we would have to say that all expectations were exceeded.”

Strong Unit. Strong Units

In the large swap-out of PC in BDO, Jonas allowed the employees to choose between different models. “Based on our test, we created three overall models (see below). Generally speaking, our units are very powerful since a portion of our work happens right on the PC and thus, they are generally speaking very well equipped,” he says.

A travel and business model, a 2-in-1-model with a touchscreen - HP EliteBook 1040 G6

A true auditor model with a numeric keyboard and a 15” monitor - HP EliteBook 850 G6

An expanded model for the consultants who need to process large amounts of data - HP EliteBook 850 G6

Security without Filter

Being a leading advisory and accounting firm, naturally, BDO has a very keen focus on security. “In the beginning phases, HP told us about the advantages of their new ultrabooks. Keeping our focus on privacy with that many people in the field and in public places was nothing new to us at all. However, no longer having to mess with the physical plastic filters that are greasy, get scratched, etc. was certainly appealing. This is where we could see that HP Sure View was an interesting function. You activate and de-activate it with one click,” Jonas explains and adds: “We have run awareness campaigns to ensure that everyone uses it in public or exposed places when processing confidential information – everyone from the interns to the CEO’s.”

Free Seating

Modern workplaces has been a hot topic for years and as a result, the focus around it has risen. HR, management, and IT are working closely together now a days to create the ideal framework for the everyday work life of the employees. This is certainly also the case at BDO where they work with what Jonas refers to as free seating. “In our few of our branches, we have free seating, but generally, we work from many different locations which requires guest spots for the mobile employee. As such, something as low-tech as the docking stations has become important. Our former set-up did not support this concept too well, and this is where HP also came into the game ready to swing for the fences. Their cable-connected Thunderbolt Dock matched our need in that it is very compact, well-designed, and can support universally in that various types of units can get connected,” he says.

Grey Excellence

Maybe we should just refer to it as grey excellence? Performance and function are important in a PC, but some of the first feedback Jonas received from his colleagues was focused on something entirely different – i.e. shape and appearance. “Normally, we receive feedback on the functions and the performance, but this time, the feedback was about how much they liked the grey aluminum chassis which the HP PC’s have. It seemed to make a big difference to arrive in a professional setting with a black plastic box versus a sleek grey aluminum. We visit many different environments and now our new HP units seem to have just a little extra when it comes to esthetics, than we have been used to. It is an added plus to the great performance which we also have received feedback on from our colleagues,” Jonas Højris Kjær from BDO concludes.