The Trimbos Institute used a VDI infrastructure provided by PQR. That one was very safe and super-stable, but not very flexible. In response to the growing demand for “being able to work securely anytime, anywhere,” PQR developed a SpaceHub-based new ICT infrastructure for Trimbos. Trimbos chose PQR in part due to the existing, pleasant cooperation and flexibility of the SpaceHub service.
The Trimbos Institute is a knowledge institute for mental health and the (prevention of) use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs. It focuses on five core themes: alcohol, drugs, tobacco, mental health & prevention and care & participation.
From VDI infrastructure to SpaceHub
Ramon van Ramselaar is ICT manager at the Trimbos Institute. “Our employees are increasingly working in various locations worldwide, where they sometimes did not have an Internet connection. We wanted more flexibility to securely support these “remote workers” as well, and started looking for an alternative to our VDI workstations. We invited three more parties to submit a proposal in addition to our existing partner PQR. In the end, we chose PQR and a new IT environment based on SpaceHub.”
The choice of PQR
In the selection process, Trimbos chose a very special request for proposal: not the classic approach with extensive RFI and RFP, but a concise PowerPoint with the functional wishes and requirements. Ramon van Ramselaar: “We chose this because I want to be able to rely on our partner’s expertise for the actual design of the environment, rather than us telling them how to do their job.” Trimbos has a lot of data, such as scientific studies, which is worth a lot. In addition, Trimbos records privacy-sensitive personal data in certain cases.
“So that data needs to be completely secure, but we also want to be able to share information. We chose PQR after a careful selection thanks to their substantively strong proposals, because we were very satisfied with the existing cooperation, and because they knew our organization well.”
– Ramon van Ramselaar, ICT manager at Trimbos
The SpaceHub environment
Starting in early 2020, PQR and Trimbos collaborated to build a Modern Data Center, Modern Workspace and set up PQR Managed Services. This laid the technological foundation for the acquisition of the ICT management operations. For the more than 240 employees of Trimbos, a completely new workplace was realized based on Microsoft Windows 10, Microsoft365, the Liquit self-service application portal for the purpose of unlocking applications, and Synigo Pulse as a digital starting point for carrying out daily work for all employees.
Adoption in COVID-19 time
In the agreed-upon approach, much time and attention had been devoted to the adoption of the new work environment. The goal was that every Trimbos employee would be familiar with the new environment from day one, and be able to perform their daily digital work efficiently and quickly. Ramon van Ramselaar: “And then there was the COVID-19 pandemic. We were almost done building the workplace and had to transition incredibly quickly to support our home workers. That took a lot out of PQR and our internal success team. What helped tremendously with this was the support of an adoption consultant from PQR, and an external communications consultant. 50% of the success of the project has to do with adoption, and without them we never would have made it. The same goes for the engineers. Compliments to the whole team for getting this done together.”
Security comes first
Ramon van Ramselaar: “We travel a lot, but security always comes first. For example, we have colleagues who go to conferences abroad. Sometimes they come to places with no means of connecting to the Internet. In the past, a colleague couldn’t do anything at all, even with a USB stick. Our new environment works much more conveniently: you can work offline and when you’re back online then everything synchronizes again.” To protect the data, multi factor authentication has been set up, among other things, and all data on the Trimbos computers are encrypted. To collect all security-related logging and respond appropriately to any threats, PQR deploys Security Information & Event Management (SIEM). De uitvoering hiervan wordt ingevuld door het PQR Security Operations Center (SOC).To collect all security-related logging and respond appropriately to any threats, PQR deploys Security Information & Event Management (SIEM).
Results and benefits
With the new IT environment based on SpaceHub, Trimbos was able to transition from investments to a pay-per-use model within which it can easily scale up and down resources. Ramon van Ramselaar: “Another advantage of SpaceHub is that it gives us a lot of flexibility. What I find very strong about PQR is that no matter which parties we have to work with, they just do it.” Trimbos works with another vendor for the network and PQR is the single point of contact for the entire IT environment.
“I experience the cooperation with PQR as a very pleasant partnership from both sides. A good question that that PQR always asks me: are the users satisfied? You can meet the SLA as an IT company, but that does not necessarily result in a satisfied customer. So a good cooperation stands or falls with good communication. I feel at PQR that I am not alone. I feel it in collaboration, which is different from someone having it in a brochure or on a website. I always say: I never do business with logos, but with people. And PQR employs good people with whom we work pleasantly and professionally.”
– Ramon van Ramselaar, ICT manager at Trimbos
Basis for the future
Ramon van Ramselaar: “The new environment has now been delivered to full satisfaction and taken into management by PQR. We remain in ongoing discussions to see how we can continue to use that environment optimally, and future-proof our legacy environment. PQR’s SOC offers us great value in supporting flexible working with intelligent workstations. We really can’t afford a data breach! Therefore, we are also exploring how to further expand PQR’s security services.”