Report: IT complete operation for a car dealership

A medium -sized car dealership with connected workshop operation and around 20 employees faced the challenge of his Hybrid IT infrastructure to operate safely and efficiently in the long term. The internal IT department consisted of an administrator who took care of daily business-however, time, specialist knowledge and resources were missing for strategic topics such as cloud architecture, IT security or compliance.

The IT landscape was characterized by Microsoft 365, a cloud-based DMS/CRM system and local servers for the workshop software, which is actively used every day by over 10 employees. In addition, there was a historically grown network with WLAN and VPN access for the field service and basic IT security measures.

Uniform IT operation and more security

The aim of the project was to centralize the entire IT operation as part of a managed service model, to completely replace end-of-life systems and to close security gaps-including over 20 outdated user accounts and 2 non-documented VPN access. At the same time, a sustainable basis for further growth should be created. Both cloud services and local components should converted into a uniform operating model and being looked after permanently. With an experienced partner for managed services, the safe, performant and GDPR-compliant operation of the infrastructure should be ensured-with maximum relief for internal IT.

Our solution: structure, relief and real hands-on support through managed services

Protos took over the full IT operation as part of a tailored managed service concept-with a focus on clear processes, high transparency and immediately noticeable relief for the internal team.

Our approach:

• Operation and maintenance of the complete IT landscape (Microsoft 365, local systems, VPN, WLAN, Firewall)

• Introduction of a central endpoint management via Intune

• Basic monitoring for system availability, backups and early warning in the event of failures

• Implementation of IT security measures such as virus protection, MFA, central policies and regular awareness training

• Support with GDPR-compliant data usage and manufacturer requirements for IT security

Architecture diagram on IT operation & IT security at the customer:

The focus was always on the principle of a reliable managed service provider that not only reacts, but also proactively designed – Also for smaller companies without their own cloud or security specialists.

Transparent costs, high security, fast processes

Within the first 3 months after the onboarding of the Protos Managed Services team, noticeable successes were achieved – both technically and organizationally. The management regularly receives structured reports on system availability and security situation. Onboarding new employees at the customer take place within a few hours. The MFA coverage was increased to 100 % by technical measures and mandatory guidelines and participation in security training is over 90 %.

Thanks to the central license management and the replacement of outdated tools running costs reduced by 18% and the IT transparent. The managed service model chosen offers the company full cost control at any time – without compromises in quality or security. Support requests are on average within 2 hours edited with a monthly ticket volume of an average of 35 inquiries. Critical incidents are processed by protos within 60 minutes. The fast response time contributes significantly to the satisfaction of the employees and the stability of the company.

With IT on growth course

Just a few months after the successful start to the IT complete operation, the car dealership decided, to take over a smaller company as an additional location with 8 employees and further expand its business model. Thanks to the standardized, scalable IT structures, technical integration was not an obstacle-but a driver for smooth growth.

Protos closely accompanied the entire process: from the fast user integration to Azure Entra ID to the selection and integration of modern cloud services such as Microsoft 365 and SharePoint online to optimize the cooperation and replacement of decentralized file serve. Sensitive topics such as network security, MFA rollouts or license consolidation could also be implemented efficiently by the existing structure.

Security standards and IT processes were easily transferred to the new location And the entire team benefits directly from joint awareness training and a central support model.

DA's result: The standardized and scalable IT structure makes a significant contribution to implementing company growth efficiently – Supported by the strong Protos Managed Services team in the background.

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