Case Studies

Success stories from companies that have successfully migrated to openDesk.

---

Case Study Template

Structure for new case studies

Each case study follows this structure:

1. Customer Profile (anonymized)
2. Challenge
3. Solution
4. Implementation
5. Results
6. Lessons Learned

---

Example: Mid-sized Engineering Firm

Customer Profile

Attribute	Value
Industry	Mechanical engineering / engineering services
Size	85 employees
Location	Southern Germany
Starting Point	Microsoft 365 Business Standard since 2019

Starting Situation: The company creates technical documentation and construction plans for industrial clients. Sensitive CAD files and project data were stored in Microsoft clouds.

---

Challenge

Pain Points:

• GDPR audit with deficiencies regarding data storage
• Concerns about US Cloud Act
• Annual Microsoft license price increases (+12% p.a.)
• Dependence on proprietary file formats

Compliance Requirements:

• GDPR compliance for client projects
• Proven data storage in the EU
• Audit trail for sensitive project data

Timeline Pressure:

• GDPR audit deadline: 6 months
• License renewal: Expiring in 4 months

---

Solution

Chosen Operating Model: On-Premises

Implemented Components:

• Open-Xchange (Email, Calendar, Contacts)
• Nextcloud (file storage, sharing)
• Collabora (document editing)
• Element (Chat)
• Jitsi (video conferences)
• OpenProject (project management)
• Keycloak (IAM)

Integration Points:

• Active Directory connection
• CAD workstation integration
• VPN for remote access

---

Implementation

Phase	Period	Activities
Week 1-2	Planning	Infrastructure sizing, plan AD integration
Week 3-4	Setup	Server installation, basic configuration
Week 5-6	Migration	Email migration, file import
Week 7-8	Training	Key user training, documentation

Team:

• 1x Project Manager (client side)
• 2x IT Administrators (client side)
• 1x Consultant (graphwiz.ai)
• 1x Migration Specialist (graphwiz.ai)

Special Challenges:

• Large CAD files (10-500 MB) required storage optimization
• Outlook rules had to be migrated manually
• Some Excel macros had to be adapted

---

Results

Quantitative Metrics:

Metric	Before (M365)	After (openDesk)	Change
Annual License Costs	EUR 28,000	EUR 0	-100%
Annual Operating Costs	EUR 0	EUR 18,000	+EUR 18,000
3-Year TCO	EUR 95,000	EUR 62,000	-35%
User Acceptance	N/A	92%	After 3 months

• ✅ GDPR audit successfully passed
• ✅ Full data sovereignty achieved
• ✅ No more US legal risks
• ✅ Transparent, calculable costs

💬

The migration went more smoothly than expected. The Nextcloud integration in particular has improved our collaboration.
– IT Manager, Mid-Sized Engineering Firm

---

Example: Tax Consulting Firm

Customer Profile

Attribute	Value
Industry	Tax consulting
Size	35 employees
Location	North Rhine-Westphalia
Starting Point	Microsoft 365 Business Basic

Starting Situation: Law firm with sensitive client data. High compliance requirements through professional regulations.

---

Challenge

Pain Points:

• Professional regulations regarding data minimization
• Concerns about cloud storage of client data
• Cost increases at Microsoft

Compliance Requirements:

• StBaO compliance
• Professional confidentiality
• Documented data retention

---

Solution

Chosen Operating Model: SaaS (Managed Service)

Implemented Components:

• Full openDesk suite
• Extended email encryption
• GDPR-compliant backup solution

---

Results

Metric	Value
Setup Costs	EUR 8,500
Monthly Costs	EUR 650
Migration Duration	4 weeks
User Satisfaction	95%

✓

Professional legal review of IT infrastructure passed with distinction.
– Compliance Achievement, Tax Consulting Firm, NRW

---

Your Case Study?

We would be happy to document your successful openDesk migration as well.

Benefits for You:

• Professional preparation
• Marketing support
• Reference customer benefits for follow-up projects

Get in touch →

---

Download

Case Study Template for own documentation:

• Case Study Template (Markdown) (Coming Soon)