Contino Delivers Business-Wide Microsoft 365 Migration at JERA Global Markets to Enable Remote Working During Global Pandemic
The Client
JERA Global Markets (JERAGM) is a leading utility-backed seaborne energy trader specialising in LNG, coal and freight with a platform to trade across all key markets. The company currently operates across offices in London, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Baltimore, with its headquarters in Singapore.
The Challenge
Central to JERAGM’s IT strategy is the decision to move its technology to the cloud and maximise the capability of SaaS platforms. However, additional technical expertise and support was required to implement a new cloud-based platform and migrate its users.
The location of most of the JERAGM team in Singapore posed a unique challenge. With on-premises servers based in London, access to its systems was subject to slow and high-latency connectivity, and working across different time zones made it difficult to provide on–demand technical support. All of this ultimately resulted in an unfavourable end user experience.
The COVID-19 pandemic amplified the above challenges, with all users now required to work remotely. This increased the company’s dependency on legacy VPN connections and pushed its existing communications and collaboration tools to their limit. Teams were utilising a range of communications tools, none of which were mobile-friendly, introducing further inefficiencies and security risks.
There was a real need to improve and regulate the technology in use in order to facilitate better, safer collaboration and improve overall user experience.
The Solution
Contino was engaged to deliver a full Microsoft 365 (M365) migration which would enable JERAGM teams to collaborate securely and efficiently, while they continue to work remotely.
Contino delivered the following solution remotely in under four months:
Full M365 Suite Delivered With Data Migrated for All Users
Contino worked with JERAGM IT to implement a full M365 service under E5 licenses, validate and test the solution and migrate the user data from the on-prem system to the cloud. The key services delivered to end users were Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams, all backed by advanced security and compliance managed in the cloud.
Advanced Azure Active Directory Security
In addition to the highly visible end user activities, Contino also implemented numerous back-end features to ensure JERAGM was operating securely and adhering to governance and compliance requirements. This included DLP policies, ATP, 2FA, PIM, Modern Auth, CAS, Password protection and many more.
Legacy Archive Data Migration
JERAGM had ~2TB of hot mailbox data on an on-prem Exchange server and ~5TB of archive data stored within Mimecast. Contino set up the mailboxes within M365, mapped and migrated the mailbox data and worked with Mimecast to migrate the archive data. This was timed to ensure that users got a seamless email experience during the cutover.
Cutover Planning and Comms Plan
In order to go live with the new systems, Contino planned and executed a full cutover to ensure all systems were fully migrated during a weekend migration period. During this time we worked with JERAGM and their IT partners to ensure all systems were migrated and tested in a truncated timeframe. Additionally, Contino created a cutover comms plan and pack that JERAGM used to inform both their executive stakeholders and end users about the upcoming changes and their roles within them.
End User Training
Following the migration, Contino supported JERAGM with the provision of end user training to ensure that all users were able to effectively use the new collaboration tools, and that they were all aligned with common ways of working for the new platform.
“Contino’s deep cloud expertise was critical in migrating over to M365 in one weekend, with minimal disruption to the business. We now have a future-proof platform for remote communication and collaboration that meets our security and compliance needs.”
Usman Khan, Head of IT, JERAGM
The Business Outcome
Contino successfully helped JERAGM migrate to M365, delivering the following in under four months:
- Migrated 2TB of data
- Migrated 350 mailboxes across 5 countries/time zones (Japan, Singapore, UK, Netherlands, USA)
- Trained 100 users on MS Teams via remote workshops
- Introduced modern ways of working:
- Online collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint enabled real time shared document editing and access to emails and data across on mobile devices
- Modern security and compliance tools
“Contino’s team upskilled our teams in our new tools and platform, ensuring we are self-sufficient going forwards with no reliance on Contino.”
Usman Khan, Head of IT, JERAGM
Since the implementation of M365, all JERAGM users have a common set of reliable, enterprise ready communications tools that meet the industry’s strict security and compliance standards. Simple tasks like setting up a meeting, collaborating with a team and sharing a document have gone from being difficult and time consuming to a fast, seamless process.
The solution is highly scalable and future-proof, setting JERAGM up for success on the next phase of their journey.
