INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDY: AUTOMOTIVE GROUP
Verinext migrates Sloane Automotive from Citrix to Microsoft Azure cloud and Office 365 to modernize its desktop infrastructure.
ABOUT SLOANE AUTOMOTIVE GROUP
Founded in 1970 by Robert Sloane, Sloane Automotive Group is a family-owned and operated dealer group serving the automotive sales and service needs of the greater Philadelphia area.
The Sloane commitment to customers and employees has enabled the company to expand to seven franchises supported by 600 employees across six greater Philadelphia locations.
Over four decades, Sloane Automotive Group has been the dealer of record for ten different domestic and import manufacturers including BMW, MG, Nissan, Pontiac, Chevrolet, Mercedes Benz, and Lexus.
Currently, the Sloane Automotive Group operates Sloane Honda of Philadelphia, Sloane Toyota of Philadelphia, Sloane Toyota of Malvern, Sloane Toyota of Glenside, Sloane BMW of Devon on the Main Line and most recently acquired Audi Warrington and Porsche Warrington in southern Bucks County.
THE CHALLENGE
To modernize IT infrastructure and give employees a common digital experience while also protecting data from malware attacks.
As a progressive company, Sloane wanted to modernize its IT infrastructure to take advantage of today’s cloud-based networks and security technology. Specifically, they sought a systems refresh to standardize network services and applications, and give employees a common digital experience while also protecting data from malware attacks and security breaches.
However, with only one full-time IT person on staff, launching a digital innovation project and digitally transforming the patchwork of aging devices while accommodating the manufacturers’ disparate requirements would prove a daunting task.
“We needed to modernize the email experience and stop using different collaborative suites of tools and spreadsheets. This was a major pain point. We needed a better, more efficient means of collaboration. Having access to information all in one ecosystem is very important to us for the ease of our employees doing their jobs.
– DAVID SLOANE, SLOANE AUTOMOTIVE GROUP PRESIDENT & CEO
THE SOLUTION
Verinext helped Sloane standardize on Microsoft, addressing security issues and protecting desktop profiles through strong firewalls and antivirus protection.
Sloane acknowledged that the auto-dealership industry is traditionally a late adopter of technology. But as the customer buying journey evolved, and sales and service teams began leveraging mobile devices, Sloane knew it was time for a change. “Having the IT infrastructure to automatically adapt and adopt new technologies as they roll out is very important to us,” Sloane emphasized.
Sloane turned to Verinext to accomplish an IT Modernization refresh. Verinext’s proven experience helping companies simplify network processes, eliminate potential security gaps, and lowering CAPEX and OPEX costs made their choice an easy one.
Verinext retired the dealership’s Citrix environment and migrated the company to a Microsoft Azure cloud and Office 365 environment for all locations.
Moving from an on-premises network to a cloud-enabled environment allowed Sloane to quickly standardize all desktops while automating data-backup and recovery. The company also created a sophisticated network segmentation to keep corporate information apart from dealer interactions.
Standardizing on Microsoft also addressed security issues and protected desktop profiles through strong firewalls and antivirus protection. Further, Verinext established security rules in the new SharePoint environment to prevent employees from auditing and downloading proprietary data previously stored on Google drives.
THE RESULTS
Migrating to Microsoft Office 365 suite enabled Sloane to grow their business and stay ahead of the competition.
Verinext provided Sloane Automotive with an IT infrastructure that mirrored the modern technology utilized by Fortune 500 companies. The Microsoft Office 365 suite enabled the dealership to grow their business and stay ahead of competitors with a standardized IT foundation and hybrid infrastructure for great customer and employee experiences—without being overburdened by network security issues.
“For such a challenging project, the digital transition experience was collaborative and very smooth. Verinext educated us every step of the way and allowed us to work and roll things out at a pace we were comfortable with. They were extremely professional and we’re very happy to establish a long-term relationship—because technology is always changing.”
—David Sloane, Sloane Automotive Group President & CEO