Objectives • Establish best-in-class

user support

• Ensure consistency worldwide for 21,000 employees

• Enable employees to work and collaborate anywhere

Approach • Ensure local language support

• Combine remote management with onsite experts

• Assign a dedicated HP Customer Success Manager

Business Outcomes • Business is more agile

and productive

• Focus on the user experience is increased

• Preconfigured hardware takes support to a new level

• Unprecedented levels of remote working achieved

*The HP Services shown may vary per region

Festo drives global innovation through workplace agility HP Services ensures 24/7 consistent, global support to 21,000 employees*

INDUSTRY: Manufacturing

COUNTRY: Germany

“HP brings global harmonization and standardization, from configuration and deployment to device security.” Matthias Schmidt Head of End User Computing, Festo

Objectives Global agility meets engineering vigor Festo is the world’s leading supplier of automation technology and technical education. German and family-owned, it operates in 250 locations throughout the world and has 21,000 employees. This global business deploys its pneumatics and electric drive solutions and state-of-the art training solutions to its 356,000 customers, generating €3.07 billion in annual revenue. Festo’s objective is to establish worldwide IT consistency while accommodating regional preferences. It wants to retain the richness of its engineering history and move quickly as an industry leader with the agility to drive the latest innovations.

“Speed is king,” says Matthias Schmidt, Head of End User Computing, Festo. “It’s about how fast we can deploy new innovation, how fast can we change direction, how quickly we can move when we see an opportunity.”

The workplace experience is at the core of global operations. Festo wants to arm employees with the tools they need to work and collaborate from anywhere. Culturally, it wants to encourage individuals to be self-starters and problem-solvers. Yet it needs to ensure security, management and global oversight.

Festo’s IT team wanted to outsource the day-to-day operations of IT support. For Matthias Schmidt and his team, the priority is optimizing the workplace experience. New features like Windows Hello or Cortana voice recognition are highly demanded by the business.

“Tech is so reliable these days which means break-fix support is not so critical anymore. We want to help users get the most out of their devices and applications. Users expect the ease-of-use they receive in a consumer-grade experience in the workplace,” Matthias Schmidt says. The emphasis is on connected, global supply chains; ready-to-use hardware preconfigured to Festo specifications; and global support that coaches, inspires and reassures users.

21k Festo users supported globally

13k employees transitioned to work remotely

Approach Harmonizing support to deliver consistent service The HP Services are built around a Service Desk function which leverages Festo’s ITSM system, USU, and is provided in 11 languages as part of HP Managed Device Services (MDS). It covers desktop and notebook PCs, print devices, smartphones and a range of other devices, from barcode scanners to touchscreen panels. “HP brings global harmonization and standardization, from configuration and deployment to device security,” Matthias Schmidt explains. HP devices include security features for enhanced protection.

The engagement establishes a single point of contact for service queries worldwide. It spans the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and as far as New Zealand. For the busiest locations there is an HP engineer onsite, others have an engineer on call. Security and software updates can be dealt with remotely with cloud-based management tools. The Ship2Desk feature means hardware arrives onsite preconfigured and ready to use.

Finally, the engagement includes a dedicated HP Customer Success Manager, responsible for overseeing project delivery and service optimization. For Matthias Schmidt, it provides a single management contact with one supplier to cover all support issues: “Firstly, HP establishes a global solution. We have around-the-clock HP Service Desk and onsite support where needed. My goal is to be as integrated as possible – between the hardware, the support and the long-term planning. We have that with HP.”

The engagement with HP is a key pillar of Festo’s long-term IT strategy, a cornerstone of communication and collaboration. “From a hardware perspective, we want to look at greater video integration or new ideas around docking and ports,” Matthias Schmidt says. “On the support side, it is far easier to discuss new services with a trusted partner. We want to look more closely at supply chains – having equipment where it’s needed, when it’s needed.”

Business Outcomes Building a closer, more user-focused support experience Festo’s workplace transformation strategy was in place before the end of 2019. It wasn’t long before 2020 tested practicalities to the limit. Festo had very short notice before transitioning its 6,000 staff in Germany to remote working, part of a total of 13,000 worldwide adjusting to the new workplace. Previous remote working rates had realized near 20%, so this new level was unprecedented.

“HP establishes a global solution. We have around-the-clock HP Service Desk and onsite support where needed. My goal is to be as integrated as possible — between the hardware, the support and the long-term planning. We have that with HP.”

Matthias Schmidt Head of End User Computing Festo

11 languages supported across the 24/7 HP Service Desk

130k calls into the HP Service Desk supported each year

80% of incidents forwarded to second-level support are solved within 24 hours

The transformation was made possible because Festo already had in place an agile and adaptive IT infrastructure. It could ensure the appropriate hardware for different users and that the global HP Service Desk could scale quickly to step up support. Calls to the HP Service Desk were up 16% month on month in the aftermath of moving staff to remote working. Once staff were settled, the figure dropped 28% in April. “With the IT in place, service calls had more to do with reassurance around the technical aspects of working remotely,” Matthias Schmidt explains. “It was a huge benefit to have the HP Service Desk in place, 24/7. It gave us the ability to cope with the cultural change and the impact on employees’ lives.”

With the challenges of COVID-19, the planned roll-out of Windows 10 1909 was temporarily put on hold. However, the smooth transition to remote working inspired new considerations. “We initially thought we’d need to bring users into the office to manage the upgrade, but the effectiveness of HP Service Desk gave us the reassurance we could do this remotely. We ended up doing 3,000 Windows 10 upgrades a week through August, three times the expected number,” Matthias Schmidt says. “All managed remotely.”

This, he continues, is an example of the new style of user-focused service provision. Hardware can be delivered direct to the employee, preconfigured and ready to go. Upgrades can be managed remotely, with no need to impact the working day. “It is flexible, seamless and entirely transparent,” he says.

Matthias Schmidt says the breadth and depth of the relationship gives him confidence HP can deliver what Festo needs into the future: “We can be flexible in terms of adding new services, or scale some down when no longer needed. Services are never stable, but they needn’t be a fight. With HP as a partner, we speak a common language.”

Learn more at hp.com/WorkforceSolutions

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