Hermes Einrichtungs Service (HES) is the market leader in two-man handling services. For over 50 years, around 7 million customers have hired the company to deliver furniture, large appliances, and other heavy or delicate goods. This makes the company–part of the global Otto Group–the market leader in two-man handling services, operating from a vast network of locations across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
The challenge
HES had been an early adopter of Atlassian Jira and Confluence, using these tools to streamline operations and knowledge management since the 2000s. However, the expiration of server licenses in late 2021 and early 2022, coupled with Atlassian's shift towards cloud-based solutions, presented HES with a challenge.
"We were already very satisfied with Jira and Confluence in the server version. We wanted to build on this and saw the cloud strategy as the most promising software solution for the future."
Florian Schmidt, Application Service Manager at HES
The Otto Group, HES's parent company, had already embraced a cloud-first strategy and invested in Atlassian's Cloud Enterprise package. HES had the opportunity to benefit from that investment, which came with enhanced security and compliance features, which was crucial for meeting regulatory requirements.
This convergence of factors made the decision to migrate to Atlassian Cloud a compelling one for HES, but it also posed significant implementation and data migration challenges.
The solution
To tackle the challenges head-on, HES teamed up with Atlassian Platinum and Enterprise Solution Partner Eficode (formerly Jodocus). Together, they mapped out the ultimate migration strategy.
HES opted for a phased approach, breaking down the complex migration into smaller, more manageable chunks. They started by migrating less critical projects, thoroughly testing and validating each stage before moving on to the trickier ones. This way, they minimized the risk of errors or data loss, ensuring a smooth transition.
With Eficode’s recommendations, HES used various Atlassian Cloud Migration Apps and tools. These automated many time-consuming tasks like data mapping and transfer, speeding up the migration and freeing up HES's team to focus on other important aspects of the process.
Data security and compliance were top priorities for HES throughout the migration. They implemented robust measures like data encryption, access controls, and regular backups, ensuring all information was secure. And of course, they made sure the whole process complied with those strict regulatory requirements, maintaining the trust of their stakeholders.
"The option of obtaining DSGVO-compliant Cloud Enterprise licenses via the Otto Group completely cut through the data protection issue. This allowed us to simply set the data location to Germany and focus on the technical migration of our Jira and Confluence instances. In addition, the data security and thus the security of all data through technical solutions in the cloud is also satisfactory".
Florian Schmidt, Application Service Manager at HES
HES knew that a successful migration wasn't just about the technical stuff. So, Eficode conducted comprehensive training sessions, getting everyone up to speed with the new cloud environment and its features. This helped minimize disruptions to daily operations, ensuring their team could continue to deliver top-notch service to their customers.
The benefits
In the safe hands of Eficode the migration to Atlassian Cloud yielded many benefits for HES—their operations were transformed and they became more efficient overall.
The phased approach proved a success. It allowed for a smooth and controlled transition with minimal disruption to daily operations.
By automating many time-consuming tasks, HES saved valuable time and resources that they could instead spend on more strategic initiatives. This drove innovation and improved their overall service offering, making it easier to remain a market leader.
Better security and compliance measures gave HES peace of mind, knowing their sensitive data was well-protected. This also strengthened their reputation as a trusted and reliable partner.
The comprehensive training sessions ensured that employees were comfortable and confident using the new cloud environment. And with better productivity and collaboration—since everyone could quickly adapt to the new tools and workflows—the company could serve their customers even better.
