Windows IntuneCustomer Solution Case Study

Malt Processer Enhances IT Management and Security for Mobile Workforce

OverviewCountry or Region: United StatesIndustry: Manufacturing—Food products

Customer ProfileBriess Malt and Ingredients Company provides quality ingredients to the brewing, food, and pet foods industries. Based in Chilton, Wisconsin, Briess serves more than 1,500 customers.

Business SituationBriess wanted to reduce PC management time, enhance information security, improve asset tracking, and more efficiently support its mobile workforce.

SolutionBriess is using Windows Intune to deliver PC management, IT security, and asset management services from a single web console.

Benefits Simplified PC and security

management Better management for mobile PCs Improved asset management More uptime, higher efficiency Proactive PC management

“I can manage PCs much more effectively with Windows Intune—whether they’re right next to me, or in a remote location.”

Derek Schauland, Information Technology Manager, Briess Malt and Ingredients Company

Briess Malt and Ingredients Company has succeeded by treating its customers like partners and by finding innovative ways to overcome business challenges. With a highly mobile workforce, the company’s IT staff found it challenging to manage employee PCs, keep them updated with the latest software, and track the status of the company’s hardware and software inventory. Briess adopted Windows Intune in order to deliver PC management, IT security, and asset management services with a single solution. As a result, Briess has simplified the administration and security management of its PC environment. Now the company can better track its IT assets, plan for future IT investments with more insight, and focus on boosting the bottom line.

SituationBriess Malt and Ingredients Company is a major producer of specialty malts and grain ingredients. With 130 employees, Briess provides quality ingredients to the food, brewing, and pet foods industries, serving more than 1,500 customers across North America.

The company credits its success to working with customers as partners and finding innovative ways to overcome unique challenges. Because of a widely distributed workforce, the IT department at Briess found it challenging to manage employee PCs and ensure that each was running the latest tools to safeguard against viruses and other malicious software.

Employees working outside of the office were often disconnected from the corporate network for hours or days at a time. This left IT administrators unsure of whether or not users were receiving the latest software updates. The company’s IT staff had to schedule face-to-face meetings for employees to come into the office and perform routine PC management tasks.

“When someone is sitting right next to me in the office, it’s easy to see if their PCs received the right updates and patches,” says Derek Schauland, Information Technology Manager at Briess. “But when they’re working outside of the office and off of the company network, I couldn’t ensure they received and downloaded the necessary updates.”

Because the company didn’t have good insight into its PC environment, the IT staff couldn’t diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve security issues until employees

returned to the office, a situation that had compromised PC security in the past. The IT department often only became aware of an issue with a PC once an employee reported it, so it took longer to assess and resolve problems.

In addition, Briess used a security solution that was not integrated with its PC-management solution, which made it more difficult to assess the overall health of PCs within the company. “It was frustrating having to bounce between tools for management and security issues,” says Schauland. “We really needed a single solution that would enable us to assess both PC status and security at the same time.”

Briess had been tracking its IT assets manually, which was both labor intensive and inadequate. “Keeping track of our assets is a critical task, but it was difficult and time-consuming,” says Schauland. “I had no way to check what systems our remote users were using, so if I needed to plan for IT purchases, I would have to wait for them to return to the office. This, to say the least, was not the most efficient process.”

Briess was actively looking for ways to overcome these logistical challenges so employees could work more efficiently and securely—no matter where they were located. SolutionSchauland and his team decided to use Windows Intune—a cloud computing solution from Microsoft—to deliver PC management, information security, and asset management services for the

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“Previously, if someone called in with an issue, I’d have to move among multiple management and security tools just to diagnose the problem…. With Windows Intune, I can provide earlier diagnosis and resolution, along with improved security.”

Derek Schauland, Information Technology Manager, Briess Malt and

Ingredients Company

company from a single web console in Windows Intune, enabled by the Microsoft Silverlight browser technology. With Windows Intune, IT staff at Briess can use remote monitoring tools to troubleshoot problems, safeguard computers from malicious software, inventory hardware and software, centrally configure security policies, and manage the deployment of Microsoft updates.

All of the PCs at Briess with Windows Intune subscriptions are safeguarded from malicious software with tools on the Microsoft Malware Protection Engine used by Microsoft Forefront Protection Suite and Microsoft Security Essentials. With Windows Intune, Briess can assess PC issues that employees are experiencing on the spot—and even send out updates right away. Because Windows Intune is powered by cloud computing, IT administrators can monitor company computers even if they are not connected to the corporate network; employees only have to connect their computers to the Internet.

“Having a cloud-based PC management solution is huge for us,” says Schauland. “Previously, if someone called in with an issue, I’d have to move among multiple management and security tools just to diagnose the problem. And even after I diagnosed the problem, I couldn’t send out patches or updates because the user was working remotely. With Windows Intune, I can provide earlier diagnosis and resolution, along with improved security.”

By tracking and managing its IT assets with Windows Intune, Schauland can assess the company’s IT infrastructure needs and forecast future spending more accurately

and proactively. “I can use Windows Intune to gain insight into the systems, hardware, and applications used in our organization at any time,” says Schauland. “It’s helping me decide which IT investments to make—and when to make them.”

BenefitsWhen Briess Malt and Ingredients Company began using Windows Intune, the company simplified the administration and security management of its desktop and portable PCs. Now Briess employees enjoy more uptime with less work for IT staff, and the company can better manage its IT assets, plan with more insight, and focus on boosting the bottom line.

Simplified PC and Security Management By adopting Windows Intune, Briess does not have to rely on two separate solutions to manage its PC environment and to safeguard employee computers from malicious software, so Schauland no longer has to toggle between consoles to send out updates. “It was frustrating to log on to one solution for PC management and another to monitor and deploy security updates,” says Schauland. “And our previous security solution was cumbersome and difficult to use—not to mention the fact that it didn’t allow me to send out critical patches to mobile workers.”

Now Schauland can manage PC configuration and security in less time, while also helping to provide better protection to mobile workers. “Everything I need is available from the single console in Windows Intune. It’s so much easier to use, which makes my job easier,” says Schauland. “And as long as employees are

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“I can use Windows Intune to gain insight into the systems, hardware, and applications used in our organization at any time. It’s helping me decide which IT investments to make—and when to make them.”

Derek Schauland, Information Technology Manager, Briess Malt and

Ingredients Company

online, I can gain insight into the status of their PCs and deploy updates as needed.”

According to Schauland, the transition to Windows Intune has been seamless. “Windows Intune is so easy to set up and deploy,” he says. “It uses the same intuitive interface used in Windows, which means there’s no training required or learning curve to overcome.”

Better Management for Mobile PCsNow Briess can help to ensure that all of its company computers are better protected. Plus, IT administrators at Briess can check the status of PCs that are being used on the road or at home, as long as they are connected to the Internet.

“As long as our employees are online, I can easily check the status of PC health from my console in Windows Intune and ensure that patches and updates have been received,” says Schauland. “Having this real-time insight helps me monitor our level of security protection and determine whether any gaps exist. Today, I feel our PCs are much better protected—regardless of where the employees are located.”

More Uptime, Higher EfficiencySchauland and his team can set Windows Intune to automatically deploy Microsoft security updates, eliminating the downtime incurred when IT staff has to manually install each one.

“The ability to use Windows Intune to automate updates is such a time saver for me,” says Schauland. “Features like this have helped me to be more efficient, and enabled our employees to stay productive.”

The company had been paying for a third-party tool that allowed Schauland to remotely log into each user’s system, but the solution only allowed him to assess issues, not deploy solutions to resolve them. Now, IT staff at Briess can use the remote assistance capability in Windows Intune to rapidly respond to user requests for help and remote assistance, and to diagnose and remediate issues efficiently and quickly.

“Along with its other capabilities, Windows Intune includes tools that enable me to fix problems remotely,” says Schauland. “That saves money and time—and helps keep our PCs running optimally even when they are off the corporate network.”

Improved Asset ManagementNow, instead of tracking hardware and software assets manually using a spreadsheet, and having to wait for mobile workers to join the network in order to assess the status of their PCs, IT staff at Briess can gain insight into the company’s entire PC environment at a moment’s notice. According to Schauland, he and his team can maintain a better understanding of the hardware and software systems currently used at Briess, as well as whether these IT assets are being used efficiently.

“With Windows Intune, I can track all of our assets and licenses and run the reports in just a few seconds. That means I can quickly determine if a user needs more RAM, or if we are running short of specific software licenses,” says Schauland. “I anticipate a 30 percent reduction in the time I spend managing assets, and we will be able to

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“Everything I need is available from the single console in Windows Intune. It’s so much easier to use, which makes my job easier. And as long as users are online, I can gain insight into the status of their PCs and deploy updates as needed.”

Derek Schauland, Information Technology Manager, Briess Malt and

Ingredients Company

plan in advance for IT purchases that keep our employees’ PCs running at their best.”

Proactive PC ManagementThe previous security solution at Briess often generated inaccurate or out-of-date alerts. The IT team had to spend time finding ways to reduce those distractions without disabling the security solution altogether and compromising security. “I save two hours a week with Windows Intune because I see issues faster and can react to actual threats versus spending time determining if the alerts are accurate,” says Schauland. “I can even use Windows Intune to take the next step and find more information on a threat if it’s completely new to me.”

Schauland has found that he can now shift from reactively putting out fires to proactively monitoring PC status, diagnosing problems, and resolving issues. “I can manage PCs much more effectively with Windows Intune—whether they’re right next to me, or in a remote location,” he says. “With the time I save, I’m now working on new strategic IT initiatives that will help boost our company’s bottom line. I wouldn’t be able to do this without Windows Intune.” Windows IntuneWindows Intune simplifies how businesses manage and secure PCs using Microsoft cloud services and Windows 7, so your computers and users can operate at peak performance from almost anywhere. You can provide a better experience for your workforce that's easier to manage by standardizing your PCs on Windows 7

Enterprise or on an earlier version of Windows—it’s your choice. Windows Intune fits your business by providing a comprehensive desktop solution that gives you big tech results with a small tech investment.

For more information about Windows Intune, go to:www.windowsintune.com

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For More InformationFor more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers in the United States and Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:www.microsoft.com

For more information about Briess Malt and Ingredients Company products and services, visit the website at: www.briess.com

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published February 2011

Software and Services Windows Intune