In just over 80 years, Multi-Wing has grown from a small local business in Denmark to a global leader in the production of customized cooling and fan products for data centers.

The only challenge was that the company's IT infrastructure couldn't keep up, says Multi-Wing's IT manager, Søren Kousted Tonsberg.

"We had reached the limit of our capacity. Our hardware had also become too outdated and needed replacing," he explains.

This left the IT manager with two options: to purchase new hardware or to have it hosted by a provider. While it may seem simple to choose between the two, there are actually several strategic considerations involved in the decision.

"If you buy new hardware, you have set a capacity ceiling once the decision is made. It's difficult to estimate the capacity correctly. If you set it too high, you'll overpay, but if you set it too low, you'll limit the company," he elaborates.

After careful deliberation and financial calculations, Multi-Wing ultimately chose hosting. It offers greater freedom, flexibility and agility, while also giving the IT manager more time to unlock the company's potential.

"We have a small IT department, so I wanted to avoid being responsible for updating and maintaining our hardware. I don’t need to do that now that our hardware is hosted," says Søren Kousted Tonsberg.

There is no doubt about what attracted the IT manager most to having the company's hardware hosted.

"The flexibility of hosting appealed to me the most. It was also how I sold the idea to the owner. By having our IT hosted, a small company like ours can tap into economies of scale," he says.

The benefits include reduced maintenance and upgrade costs, as well as improved access, performance and security.

Greater growth and enhanced security with cloud hosting

Multi-Wing's decision to have their hardware hosted is rooted in a cloud-based strategy that is focused on modernizing, optimizing and growing the production company, which has manufactured over a million fans for more than 10,000 customers.

This is achieved in part by using Microsoft 365, which provides the global manufacturer's nearly 400 employees with more flexible, efficient and secure workflows on all devices, anytime and anywhere. This is a clear advantage, especially when employees work from over 20 locations across Europe, Asia, South America and North America.

"Previously, we were limited by the fact that employees had to come to the office to work. That's no longer the case. Now we have the opportunity to work anywhere, anytime," says IT manager Søren Kousted Tonsberg.

Multi-Wing has opted for a hybrid cloud solution, with a combination of hosting on Microsoft Azure and Cepheo, who have been the company's IT partner for over a decade.

"We wanted to grow after some tough years of decline in the industry. So we needed the ability to scale our IT up and down as needed. Since the monthly cost would be roughly the same, whether we bought or chose hosting, it was almost foolish not to have it hosted," explains IT manager Søren Kousted Tonsberg.

The employees at the fan manufacturer work 24/7, as the IT manager describes, because they are located all around the globe. This places high security demands on the production company.

"We are vulnerable because we are spread out. Therefore, we need to limit the risk of cyberattacks. We have done this by opting for cloud-based hosting. It gives us with the necessary flexibility, allowing us to isolate a potential cyber-attack so our people can continue working," he says.

A crystal-clear prediction of IT expenses

Before Multi-Wing's hosting agreement with Cepheo, the company had 120 servers, but after a thorough clean-up, they are now down to 70. This reduction is not due to a reduction in functionality but solely from rationalizing their use of servers, which has improved their overview.

"Going through the process of transitioning from ownership to hosting has given us much better control over our assets. We've also gained a much clearer view of what our IT costs us, which is very valuable for our business," says IT Manager Søren Kousted Tonsberg.

The next step in Multi-Wing's digital journey, according to the IT manager, is to explore the possibility of replacing their Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 ERP system with Microsoft Dynamics 365 in the cloud to enhance the international company's workflows, making them even more modern, flexible and secure. In this context, it has been very valuable for the IT manager to be able to report to the leadership what their current IT costs and what the new system will cost.

"I couldn't say that before. Now I can put a price tag on each system and say it costs us this much per month, plus maintenance. It is much more visible and tangible for the management. It makes decision-making easier," he adds.

Cloud hosting has also given Multi-Wing an advantage over its competitors in the industry.

"Many were not prepared when COVID-19 hit the world. Some companies only began rolling out Microsoft Teams, remote work and more at that point. Our employees were already accustomed to remote work from the cloud, so our strategy has certainly made us more flexible," explains the IT manager."

Effective collaboration with Cepheo leads to faster results

Throughout Multi-Wing's transformation journey, the manufacturer has received continuous guidance from Cepheo. These guidance sessions focused on the cloud-based strategy and how to set up the ideal IT infrastructure to achieve the company's strategic and business goals. This has also led to workshops and weekly consultations to ensure that employees get of to a flying start with the new workflows.

Søren Kousted Tonsberg commends Cepheo's employees for their help in achieving this.

"We've had a really good and constructive collaboration with Cepheo's employees. After more than 10 years, we have established a mutual understanding that allows us to deliver results more quickly," concludes the IT manager.