The challenge: IT is hindering growth

Sunrock's rapid growth brought with it increasing complexity. What worked well in the early years began to cause problems more and more often. "We grew very organically," says Martin. "And the IT side simply didn't grow with the organization. There were no clear processes, no central support, and no clear structure." 

Sunrock used various tools such as Google Workspace, Box, Slack, and separate applications. These all did what they were supposed to do, but together they created fragmentation. "Collaboration became difficult," says Michiel. "Documents were scattered everywhere, and no one really had an overview anymore." 

The workstations were also becoming a growing problem. Laptops were not managed centrally and security varied from user to user. "If someone lost their laptop, we didn't really know what that meant," says Michiel. "Where was the data stored, who had access to it, and what was the risk?" 

With around 150 employees spread across several countries, IT was becoming increasingly difficult to manage. "Onboarding new employees took an enormous amount of time," says Martin. "Creating accounts, setting up permissions, preparing laptops. That took days, sometimes even weeks." 

This combination of fragmented tooling, limited security, and manual management made the challenge clear: "IT was starting to hinder our growth, when it should be supporting us," says Michiel.  

Choosing Valid as your IT partner

To make the transition to a professional and future-proof IT environment, Sunrock sought a partner that was not only technically strong but also a good fit for the organization. "We made a very conscious selection based on multiple criteria," says Michiel. "Functionality, security, the way in which migration is handled, but also company fit and sustainability."  

Valid stood out during that selection process. "We weren't looking for a small IT club around the corner, but we didn't want a cumbersome consulting firm either," Michiel explains. "Valid is right in between and fits in well with how we work."  

Sustainabilitywas also a factor, of course. "That was important to us," says Michiel. "Valid didn't score as well in that area initially, but they were willing to take concrete steps to improve (and they did). That confidence was the deciding factor for us." 

Approach: one standard environment, set up in phases

Sunrock decided to work with Valid to fundamentally simplify its IT landscape. The organization opted for a single, centralized standard environment based onMicrosoft technology, with a focus onmodern workplaces, collaboration, and security. "We wanted to get rid of all those separate tools," says Michiel. "One way of working, one environment that is secure and that grows with us." 

The transition was deliberately approached in phases. Files were moved from Box to SharePoint, email and calendars were transferred from Google to Outlook, and Teams became the central communication platform instead of Slack. At the same time, all workstations were redesigned andcentrally managed. "A total of around 180 laptops were redesigned, spread across three countries," says Martin. 

The project was divided into clear phases. First, the preparation and a pilot group with users, then the large-scale rollout of workstations, and finally the migration of email, calendars, and meetings. "We did that last step in a single weekend, which was quite exciting," Martin says. "By Monday, we were no longer working in Google, but entirely in Microsoft. And it went well!" 

Securitywas also given a permanent place in the new setup. Together with Valid and a specialized security partner, 24/7 monitoring was set up and policies were tightened.  

According to Michiel, it was about more than just technology. "This wasn't just a migration," he says, "but a real professionalization process. We now have an IT foundation that works."

Results: a professional and secure IT foundation

The new IT environment has primarily provided Sunrock with clarity and peace of mind. Where there used to be a lot of manual work and uncertainty, there is now a secure and scalable foundation. 

One concrete result is faster onboarding of new employees. "What used to take a lot of time can now be done in a single day," says Martin. "Accounts and basic applications are immediately available." What's more, collaboration is now much easier because everything is in one environment. 

There have also been major changes in the area of security. "We now have insight into where laptops are, where people are logging in from, and what is happening," says Martin. "If something goes wrong, we immediately receive a signal and can take immediate action."  

The new, future-proof IT environment supports Sunrock's growth now. "This feels like a foundation we can build on," says Michiel. "Not just for today, but also for the next phases of our organization." 

The collaboration with Valid 

For Sunrock, the collaboration with Valid played an important role in the success of the project. Not only because of their technical knowledge, but above all because of their way of working and thinking along with us. "We had really skilled and motivated people from Valid working with us during the project," says Michiel. "Without them, this process would have been much more complex and probably also a lot longer." 

That attitude remained noticeable even after the migration. "Communication is easy," says Martin. "Whether it's support, advice, or a strategic question, they understand what we need and respond quickly." 

According to Sunrock, this way of working together fits in well with the organization. "Valid is not an IT supplier that just executes," says Michiel. "It's an IT partner that thinks along with us." 

Looking ahead: an IT foundation to build on

With this modern and secure IT environment as a foundation, Sunrock is looking ahead. The focus is now on further exploiting the possibilities within the Microsoft platform and simplifying and standardizing where this adds value. 

"We now have a solid foundation," says Michiel. "That gives us room to look further ahead, without always having to solve problems first." And according to Martin, the main benefit lies in what is already in place. "The foundation is good, so now we can continue to optimize step by step."