Amsterdam UMC laid the foundation for innovation by setting up Microsoft 365 with Rapid Circle and transitioning from two environments to one. This enabled a modern workplace that is accessible anywhere, anytime, and from any device, while creating a solid structure for further optimisation and innovation.
Amsterdam UMC
Healthcare (academic hospital)
Integrating the ICT landscapes of AMC and VUmc, including office automation, and migrating from two environments to one clean and future-ready cloud environment
Microsoft 365 as a modern workplace foundation, implemented together with Rapid Circle
A modern, accessible workplace enabling collaboration, innovation and rapid response during Covid-19
In June 2018, AMC and VUmc formed an alliance to continue together as the largest Dutch hospital: Amsterdam UMC. During this alliance, the ICT Department was tasked with integrating the ICT landscapes of both AMC and VUmc, including office automation (the workplace).
Amsterdam UMC wanted to migrate from two environments to one cloud environment and take this opportunity to establish a solid and “clean” foundation for further innovation. Instead of ‘lift and shift’, it was a ‘first time right’ approach. This was a unique opportunity to establish a new foundation.
Amsterdam UMC laid the foundation for this by setting up Microsoft 365 with Rapid Circle and transitioning from two environments to one. This laid the groundwork for many innovations, optimisations, and innovations in technology and methodology.
Merging environments, cleaning up, rolling out in two organisations, and migrating in one result in a complex project. Amsterdam UMC, together with Rapid Circle, established the approach based on best practices, a good project organisation, management buy-in, and tools, laying the foundation for a predictable project. Rapid Circle was even willing to take on the project on a fixed fee basis.
Phase 1: Foundation and migration
In the first phase, the environment was built up. All employees were given a new identity to log in to the new Amsterdam UMC domain, granting access to mailbox, calendar, SharePoint, and future Microsoft 365 applications.
Once the new environment was set up, all SharePoint sites and data were migrated to SharePoint Online and 40,000 mailboxes from the old domains to the new Exchange Online environment. After this phase, employees could access mail and calendar from any location and securely share documents through SharePoint Online.
Phase 2: Efficient and secure collaboration
In the second phase, the focus shifted to mobility and collaboration. Security for company devices was expanded to include BYO devices, enabling secure collaboration from home on personal smartphones, laptops and tablets.
In this phase, file shares were migrated to OneDrive and SharePoint and Microsoft Teams were made available. Enterprise Mobility + Security (EM+S) and Mobile App Management (MAM) ensured IT retained control over security at device, app and data level.
After implementation, employees could collaborate more efficiently on-site or remotely. Rapid Circle guided employees through the different phases with a comprehensive and tailor-made adoption trajectory, including practical quick reference cards and instructional videos.
The IT organisation also shifted to a new governance role. Rapid Circle advised on the optimal setup of the cloud management environment, including automated platform governance. For example, a Teams template allows users to request Teams environments that IT can approve and roll out with one click.
Amsterdam UMC was the first hospital in the Netherlands to fully transition to Microsoft 365. Employees now work with one calendar and one address book, and information and files are easier to find.
Because Amsterdam UMC was already fully on Microsoft 365 before Covid-19, Microsoft Teams was rolled out to 28,000 users within two weeks to support collaboration and remote work. Teams is also used for communication with family members of patients and for multidisciplinary consultations, integrated with Cisco Systems so specialists can participate remotely.
Departments moving between AMC and VUmc locations can now start fresh with structured data and files in SharePoint Online, while Microsoft 365 supports the new Amsterdam UMC branding.
A strong foundation also enabled rapid innovation. At the start of Covid-19, Rapid Circle developed a Power Platform app and dashboard in one weekend to provide real-time insight into available hospital beds. Without the right cloud foundation, this would not have been possible.
Want to learn how Microsoft 365 can lay a solid foundation for innovation, collaboration and rapid transformation in complex organisations? Get in touch and explore the possibilities.
Microsoft 365 provided a clean and future-ready foundation to support collaboration, mobility, security and ongoing innovation across the merged organisation.
The migration required combining two existing domains into one new environment, including duplicating and consolidating 40,000 mailboxes linked to multiple identities.
Teams enabled rapid remote collaboration for staff, virtual multidisciplinary consultations, and communication with patients’ families during limited visiting scenarios.
Rapid Circle was responsible for assessment, planning, design, migration, security setup, adoption guidance and managed services for Microsoft 365 and related innovations.
