Cloud strategy of EKZ drives efficiency and innovation in IT

The Elektrizitätswerke des Kanton Zürich (EKZ) has been relying on Microsoft technologies for many years. To ensure a reliable power supply in the future, the company has decided to take new paths in its IT strategy: non-customer-specific data will be migrated to the cloud. The goal is to make internal processes more efficient, reduce costs, and save valuable time. Under the leadership of Stefan Wittenberg, Head of ICT Operations, Infrastructure, and Data at EKZ, the transformation towards a cloud-first strategy is being driven forward – a step that is not only technologically groundbreaking but also sustainably changes the way the IT department works and the service for employees.

The implementation of this strategy was accompanied by the decision to take the entire IT out of the hands of an external service provider and manage it internally. This resulted in a new IT department with changed tasks and greater responsibility. „This way, we have become more flexible and faster,“ explains Stefan Wittenberg. The 15-member ICT Operations and Infrastructure team at EKZ ensures smooth operations for around 1,500 employees through functioning ICT – from servers to clients to complex data operations.

Efficient data management with Microsoft support

When it came to implementing the new cloud strategy, Stefan Wittenberg did not have to think long about who he wanted to tackle this project with. The close collaboration with Microsoft experts had already proven itself over the years – so it was obvious to rely on Microsoft for the cloud migration as well. Microsoft Azure and other tools such as Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) are used. „The collaboration with Microsoft has been very pleasant from the beginning. We always have direct contact and can reach out to our contact person at any time,“ says Wittenberg. For the IT department, this partnership is a key success factor: regular meetings with experts and quick support play a crucial role in the smooth running of the cloud migration.

A central element of the data transformation is the establishment of a Data Hub, where data is collected, integrated, and managed. Microsoft supported EKZ’s IT with technical know-how in this process. The chosen hub-and-spoke model allows for gradual data migration without overwhelming employees. This way, they can focus on smaller, manageable data volumes and tasks.

More freedom for the essentials

At the same time, the working method in the IT team becomes significantly more efficient with Microsoft Azure, as data is available faster thanks to cloud technology. „Setting up a server used to take hours. Today, we do it in almost five minutes,“ says Wittenberg. Moving the IT infrastructure to the cloud not only has technical advantages but also relieves the IT department of routine tasks such as patch management. Microsoft now takes care of that. „We are a small operations team, so it is important for us to focus on the essential topics,“ explains Wittenberg. An example of increased efficiency is internal IT support. Previously, employees often had to wait up to four weeks for their requests to be resolved. Today, the average processing time is three hours. This improvement is not only due to the cloud strategy but also to the internal processes optimized by the insourcing strategy. The long-term goal of the IT department is to migrate a large part of the IT services to the Azure cloud.

For most EKZ employees, the transformation goes almost unnoticed. „IT should work smoothly without being consciously perceived,“ explains Wittenberg. Nevertheless, internal processes have significantly improved, and the IT team can work faster, more flexibly, and more efficiently today. A visible sign of the transformation was the introduction of Microsoft Surface laptops for all employees. This not only created the technical basis for working in the cloud but also increased user acceptance. „They are not only beautiful devices, but they also work flawlessly,“ emphasizes Wittenberg. The ability to choose between three different models additionally helped to increase employee satisfaction. „Everything we can use from Microsoft simplifies our work and is extremely attractive to us,“ sums up Wittenberg. It shows: the path to the cloud is not yet complete, but the benefits for EKZ and its employees are already clearly noticeable.

EKZ is one of the leading electricity providers in Switzerland and sets standards in sustainable energy supply. Microsoft Azure and Azure Virtual Desktop have revolutionized our processes: What used to take hours, we now complete in just a few minutes. This increase in efficiency gives us room for the really important issues.