Geraud UK Ltd is the British arm of Groupe Geraud, Europe’s largest private operator of local authority markets. Established in 1998, they have a wealth of knowledge in the market industry and currently manage markets throughout the United Kingdom, France, Sweden and Denmark. Groupe Geraud has specialised in the development and regeneration of community retail markets since 1880. In the United Kingdom, Geraud UK Limited operates 4,700 market days each year across its subsidiaries providing indoor and outdoor markets, International Street Markets, Christmas Markets and Food and Drink Festivals for public and private sector clients.
What was the challenge?
Due to an unforeseen incident at their offices, our client temporarily lost access to their on-premises exchange (email) server. Although a rescue plan immediately swung into action, it was likely to be a little while before the ability to send and receive email was restored.
How was the client effected?
All email comms were down, including the ability to send and receive. Email communication for this client is key, and so staff were seriously compromised in their ability to work.
What did we do to fix?
We decided to take the opportunity to perform a rapid migration from on-premises exchange server to the Microsoft 365 platform. The advantages of this included the ability for the migration to be worked on in tandem with the fix of the original issue, a faster restoration of email comms, and going forward, a much more resilient and redundant platform.
The team had to liaise with multiple staff, both in the office and working from home, including supporting management staff in various European countries.
What effect did it have for the client?
Once the email services were migrated, and the rapid deployment of 365 was complete, staff were then able to communicate internally and externally once again, and the wheels of business spun back into action.
The client now has a state-of-the-art email platform, giving superb multi device access, collaboration tools, access to office anywhere via browser or the new 365 app on tablet and phone, and a secure encrypted communications system.
Due to the international nature of the client, the team needed to brush up on their French and Swedish skills! Navigating the Windows operating system in another language is quite the challenge!
