E.ON turns to Windows 365 to deliver a scalable, reliable, and modern cloud solution for flexible work

As part of its drive to reduce on-premises infrastructure, E.ON chose Windows 365 to replace an existing on-premises virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). The business simplified management with Microsoft Intune and supports Windows 11 on all Cloud PCs for a harmonized environment.

Now that we have Windows 365 introduced, we see how easy it can be to operate Cloud PCs. - Thomas Schäfer: Service Owner, E.ON Digital Technology

E.ON, one of Europe’s largest energy companies, operates a vast network of energy infrastructure and boasts some 48 million international customers. As the business continues to evolve, adopting leading-edge technology is an important aspect of the company’s drive to become more agile and scalable, a goal that is aimed at offering both customers and employees exceptional experiences. For Tobias Radzio, Head of Workplace Services End-User Computing at E.ON Digital Technology, adopting a cloud-first and native approach to new technology is one way the business is bringing its future vision to life. “In the past, E.ON invested quite heavily in on-premises data centers,” he recalls. “It’s no secret that doesn’t scale well.”

The company’s approach to Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) offers a test case in its new methodology. In the past, E.ON used an on-premises VDI solution that added complexity for the IT team, did not scale well, and was costly to maintain. Today, the business has moved predominantly to Windows 365. “We see the benefit of simplicity,” says Thomas Schäfer, Service Owner at E.ON Digital Technology. “Now that we have Windows 365 introduced, we see how easy it can be to operate Cloud PCs.” 

An on-premises service creates challenges 

In the past, not every E.ON employee who wanted to experience virtualized workloads could, because the business occasionally had to turn away requests for fear of overwhelming on-premises hardware. And, when making updates to physical devices, the virtual counterparts often lagged behind. “There was a mismatch between the virtual world and the physical world,” says Radzio. When employees chose to work remotely, the demand over-extended the company’s existing infrastructure, and employees often had to use physical devices as an alternative.

Similarly, external contractors waited to receive test devices from E.ON in order to carry out their work. The result was a working experience that was less harmonious and less agile than the company’s IT team would have liked. The need to quickly onboard contractors was a big motivation for exploring new options, and finally, for selecting Windows 365 Cloud PCs. “Windows 365 was the scalable solution we were looking for, and we rolled it out incredibly quickly,” says Radzio. “With nearly 50 million customers, we need to be able to scale our support functions and promote seamless hybrid work,” adds Radzio.

The evolution of E.ON’s geographic information system, a system that E.ON employees use to track the location of powerlines and underground cables, exemplifies the company’s renewed focus on a cloud-first approach that embraces Cloud PCs from Microsoft. “We have one of the largest geographic information systems in Europe,” notes Radzio. “In the past, we built our own data centers along with our own VDI solution to run it,” he explains. While the set-up ensured low latency, the cost of maintaining the solution ballooned, scaling was difficult, and issues were time-consuming to resolve. “It got more complicated and expensive to maintain every day,” says Radzio. “When we were discussing how to rebuild this in the cloud, we had to guarantee a low latency to match what the business was used to,” he adds.

7,000 users adopt Windows 365 in six months for a consistent, modern experience

To deliver the seamless, consistent user experience that employees expected, E.ON chose Windows 365 Cloud PCs. Today, E.ON has onboarded 7,000 users in six months, with more to follow. “It required very little effort,” says Schäfer. “We do not have to worry about a lot of backend details and configurations like we did in the past.”

The move to Windows 365 also provided an opportunity to standardize operating systems across the organization by adopting Windows 11 Enterprise across the board. Due to a recent merger, and the disparity between virtual and physical environments, E.ON employees across the company worked on disparate operating systems. “It created a disconnect culturally to have people working in different environments,” says Radzio. “They had data in different systems, processes were different, and patch management happened on different days. We used the move to Windows 11 as a vehicle for change.”

The idea was to deliver the latest operating system to employees, regardless of if they worked on a Cloud PC or on a local operating system. “Windows 365 was the first thing that came into our mind to be able to deliver Windows 11 virtually to employees and create a more cohesive experience,” says Schäfer. By introducing a standardized environment across physical and Cloud PCs, E.ON has created a more consistent, easier to manage environment. “By transforming our existing VDI to Windows 365 Cloud PCs running Windows 11 Enterprise, we have ensured less complexity,” says Schäfer. 

That simplicity is also reinforced by the use of Microsoft Intune for management. “The Windows 365 Cloud PCs give almost the same user experience and features as physical devices, because they are based on the same Intune management environment and have nearly the same policies and software,” says Schäfer. “The use of Intune had a big impact on reducing the complexity of our Cloud PC introduction.” And maintaining that environment is now easier for IT teams. “Intune simplified basic device management efforts drastically,” says Schäfer. E.ON found that Windows 365 provided the same highly secure experience as other Microsoft services already in use at the company, a scenario that offered peace of mind. “It was quite easy to get the service approved by Security, Data Privacy and Works Council,” notes Schäfer. 

Improved performance for employees using Windows 365 

Today, more E.ON employees are empowered to work from anywhere using Windows 365 Cloud PCs. Employees can even work from their personal devices with no need for a company-owned device. “Anyone who wants to work from home can, without having to carry a company-owned device back and forth,” says Schäfer. So far, word of the new Cloud PCs has spread organically at E.ON. "We do not limit the service,” says Radzio. “Colleagues are talking, and more and more people are requesting Cloud PCs. Employee feedback about Windows 365 has been positive. Availability, stability, and performance are all reported as being better than the previous environment.” 

Windows 365 is helping to improve user experiences out in the field as well. “For all those employees who use Windows 365 Cloud PCs on their devices in the field to access the geographic information system, they are reporting better performance compared to the previous, on-premises solution,” says Schäfer.

After the initial success of Windows 365 at E.ON, the business is evaluating other ways to utilize the benefits of Cloud PCs. Particularly for frontline workers and call center employees, E.ON will soon begin piloting Windows 365 Frontline as a potential next step on its Cloud PC journey. “The Windows 365 Frontline model could be very beneficial from a cost and flexibility perspective,” says Schäfer. And, like many businesses, E.ON is currently evaluating the benefits of AI using Microsoft Copilot. “I was one of the lucky few who got to access Microsoft Copilot early and I can see there is a lot of potential to use the tool to streamline meetings and summarize action items,” says Radzio. With the combination of Windows 365, Windows 11, Intune, and now Copilot, E.ON is energized to embrace a new way of working. 

By transforming our existing VDI to Windows 365 Cloud PCs running Windows 11 Enterprise, we have ensured less complexity. - Thomas Schäfer: Service Owner, E.ON Digital Technology

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