How One Firm Built Success with a Cloud-First Focus

EUA was highlighted in a recent webinar sponsored by Panzura and Workspot on solutions to data latency, collaboration and computer infrastructure issues.

One solution to the expense of replacing workstations is to simplify infrastructure, reduce remote office spending and alleviate management complexity with cloud workstations.

Panzura, a leader in enterprise hybrid cloud NAS (network attached storage) and data management, makes it possible for the entire company to work as if you’re in one office. Files are immutable to ransomware and are able to be recovered with minimal downtime and peace of mind.

Workspot, a turnkey, enterprise-ready platform enables the use of cloud desktops and cloud workstations so your company can simplify operations and have global, on-demand productivity.

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If you need a partner to guide you through a successful digital transformation, contact the experts of Applied Software today.

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A cloud-first focused mindset

Ken Seelow, Director of Information Technology at EUA, is responsible for aligning EUA’s technology with the firm’s overall business goals and initiatives. Much of his work is around using technology to solve problems and design better environments for clients.

During the webinar, he recommended, “Be cloud-first focused.” It was explained that, by starting to be cloud-first focused, businesses can lay a strong foundation for success.

The digital journey to the cloud

EUA moved to the cloud with three phases, not knowing they would have the powerhouse they do today.

It started in 2014, when the firm was experiencing high data latency challenges and inadequate cross collaboration with their Revit models. To overcome this, they implemented Panzura to alleviate the latency and offer cross-collaboration support, allowing teams to sync with Revit. This would be the essential critical component for the future of the cloud workstation setup they have today.

Following Panzura, EUA sought to build a virtual private cloud (VPC) with Microsoft Azure.

In 2019, EUA brought on Workspot through a proof of concept and a pilot group of employees. With positive feedback and results, the firm started to slowly onboard employees to the could workstations.

From 2020 to 2022, during the pandemic, EUA had the established foundation in place to support and accommodate the important business needs of moving the entire company to the cloud without major disruptions. 

As Mr. Seelow said, “We started to be cloud-first focused, and I think that’s what set us up for success ultimately.”

Key takeaways

There are two key terms Mr. Seelow discussed regarding expanding technology innovation with opportunity and transformation: agility and the unknown.

EUA’s journey first started in discovering a solution that could prepare them to become agile.

With these three solutions – Workspot, Panzura and Microsoft Azure – all 250+ people at EUA work as if under one office. The framework consists of the physical office being connected to Azure, where Workspot workstations and Panzura data are tied together. Then branch offices and remote sites in other regions can be tied together over Azure’s high-performance backbone.

If your business is rapidly changing, there will be unknowns. You will require software that can change with you and support all your business needs. The combination of Workspot, Panzura and Azure was the solution that worked for EUA.

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