A pioneering spirit paves the way for a flexible cloud future at Bredal A/S

The family-owned Danish manufacturer, Bredal A/S, began over 60 years ago by designing robust and reliable machines for spreading lime, sand, fertilizers and salt.

Initially serving Denmark, their success eventually expanded to the rest of the world, with the spreaders primarily being used in agriculture.

This presented an opportunity to modernize the production company's work processes, especially those related to the development of spreaders. However, a significant hurdle lay ahead.

"Our challenge was to find an IT partner who believed that Microsoft Azure was the right choice to take our Autodesk Inventor to the cloud in an environment robust enough to support our work," said Daniel Jensen, the company's IT and marketing manager.

Autodesk Inventor is advanced 3D mechanical design software used by the production company to draw, design and automate the construction of their machines. Moving the software to the cloud would open up new possibilities.

"We knew it would never be 100% the same as working locally. There are challenges and disadvantages in everything, but we knew it would provide our employees with more flexibility in their work if we had the software in the cloud," the IT and marketing manager explained.

Bredal A/S and Cepheo succeed with "impossible" cloud project

With the assistance of its IT partner, Cepheo, the machinery manufacturer has fulfilled its wish to move its design software to the cloud. Its new home is cloud and infrastructure platform, Microsoft Azure.

The IT and marketing manager enthusiastically describes the new opportunities.

"It's complete freedom. Azure provides us with an entirely new level of flexibility for our hardware. Now, we can adjust the performance of our machines in real-time to scale depending on the number of tasks. This gives us an entirely different level of mobility, productivity, and agility. It's a significant advantage," says Daniel Jensen, elaborating:

"We are not locked into a single way of working for the next two to three years. Now, we can afford to experiment more, releasing a new version each year based on the current requirements and needs. It makes us more adaptable than we have ever been before," he adds.

However, it was almost impossible to get the manufacturer's design software into the cloud. There was a widespread belief that Azure would not be able to host it.

"We spoke with several providers about hosting it and the related machines and servers in the cloud, but the prevailing opinion was that Azure couldn't deliver the necessary performance. Only Cepheo believed it could be done," he states.

This has resulted in a unique position in the market for Bredal A/S:

"Now we are part of the first wave when it comes to hosting our Autodesk Inventor in the cloud," affirms the IT and marketing manager.

Smooth and trouble-free collaboration with dedicated contacts

The agreement with Cepheo also includes the hosting and management of the manufacturing company's servers in the cloud by the technology partner, resulting in reduced expenses.

"My role as IT manager is shrinking because Cepheo is handling our entire hardware setup. This means we don't need an IT department," says Daniel Jensen.

The IT and marketing manager is very clear about why Cepheo was the right choice for this exciting project:

"The Cepheo team had deep knowledge of our industry and extensive expertise in IT, making us feel secure. They have supported us throughout the entire process. I can't find fault with our collaboration."

The digitalization process continues

The manufacturing company has made great strides in modernizing their work processes, especially regarding the development of their spreaders. This success has only fueled their desire to further optimize their business.

The next step in Bredal A/S's exciting digitalization journey is already well underway. In the fall of 2022, the manufacturer expects to implement its new cloud-based ERP system, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

"This is a significant development for us because it will further modernize and streamline our operations. It opens up entirely new strategic opportunities in our industry," concludes the IT and marketing manager.