KSD, the IT company of the canton and city of Schaffhausen, relies on Microsoft 365 and Teams as a cloud-based collaboration solution in public administration from Microsoft’s Swiss data centers. The school IT department of the city of Schaffhausen also relies on Microsoft 365 – and uses around 2,600 Surface devices in the classroom.
In January 2022, the government council gave KSD Schaffhausen the green light: After creating a roadmap and in-depth data protection impact assessments, the public administration of the canton and city of Schaffhausen will be allowed to introduce Microsoft 365 and Teams as a productivity and collaboration solution in the future. “We are very pleased to support the administration as a business partner in its digital transformation and its path to the cloud,” says Waldemar Eberling, Head of Infrastructure, Client Engineering & Security and member of the management board of KSD Schaffhausen. The use of Microsoft 365 was made possible by Microsoft’s local data centers in Switzerland. Eberling emphasizes, “Data storage in Switzerland was one of the most important prerequisites for our decision.”
Microsoft 365 for process optimization and cost reduction
KSD is currently working on a proof of concept and pilot project to test the software. This is to be followed in 2023 by the productive introduction in the administration of the canton and the city of Schaffhausen. KSD is thus pursuing clear goals: “With Microsoft 365 productivity solutions such as SharePoint, we want to optimize processes and make collaboration more efficient, among other things. We are also fulfilling the employees’ desire for a modern solution here,” says Eberling. “This is equally the case with Teams as a collaboration solution. In addition, we can also use Teams for telephony and thus reduce costs.”
The team will work to bring the new technology closer to its customers. For example, KSD is focusing on training and educating the administration’s workforce. KSD plans to hold user adaptation workshops in the future. “In doing so, it is important for us to take the employees along on the journey and make them more familiar with the use of Microsoft 365. After all, people will only use technology that they trust,” says Eberling.
Surface devices and Microsoft 365 in Stadtschaffhaus classrooms.
Where Microsoft 365 has already been in use since 2016 are the schools in the city of Schaffhausen. Last year, old devices were also completely replaced with around 2,600 new Surface devices. “We have around 3,500 students with just under 500 teachers. There are just over 2,000 Surface Go 2s in use at the fourth to sixth primary and first to third secondary schools,” says Mario Hartmann, school IT coordinator for the city of Schaffhausen.
Teachers use the Surface Pro 7 as a work device. “All devices are handed out with a pen, which is very much appreciated in the school environment,” Hartmann says. “In addition, all classrooms have been retrofitted with wireless display adapters, which is an expedient, reliable and cost-effective solution.” Thus, the new Surface devices empower students and teachers to learn and teach in a modern way.
