WITTENSTEIN in North America is a manufacturer of intelligent mechatronic drive technology, servo systems, and related components. For the past 25 years, the company has fostered a culture of research and innovation to which they owe much of their success.

To continue to support their mission of developing high-quality products and solutions that meet the changing needs of customers, the Director of IT recognized the importance of creating a modern work environment that would enable their people to continue to collaborate and innovate in an increasingly digital marketplace.

The company’s approach to workplace and data security modernization began with implementation of Windows 10, with future plans to roll out productivity applications and mobility and data governance capabilities that would streamline global collaboration between WITTENSTEIN’s business units, suppliers, and customers.

Obstacles to Success

WITTENSTEIN’s IT department recognized the transition to Windows 10 would present a much different end-user experience. Additionally, the continuous software innovation cycle from Microsoft presents consistent change opportunities and challenges.

Implementing a thoughtful and deliberate change management strategy would be the single most important step to successful implementation of Windows 10 and future high user impact technologies.

Day One Productivity, and a Template for the Future

The North America headquarters for WITTENSTEIN is home to executives, sales, engineering and technical support teams, as well as the company’s technical center for machining, assembly, testing, service, and inventory of products. Company leadership knew that inspiring action across such a diverse workforce would require a clearly defined strategy.

IT leadership quickly recognized the potential for material business impact if employee productivity were to suffer from technology modernization efforts. The ideal scenario was a highly efficient Windows 10 deployment with full employee productivity on day 1, and a user enablement and adoption approach which could be adapted for future high impact technology rollouts.

Realizing the Full Potential of Windows 10

To modernize user-facing technology and improve the organization’s ability to govern and protect data, especially regulated or proprietary data, Windows 10 was identified as a high priority initiative. The following Windows 10 capabilities were included in the planning:

• Device Protection
• Threat Resistance
• Identity Protection
• Information Protection
• Breach Detection, Investigation & Response

BDO Digital and WITTENSTEIN created and jointly executed a holistic user enablement and adoption program including internal marketing campaigns to build excitement, email messaging and scheduling for seamless installation, on-site training sessions and support resources to enable end users, and feedback surveys to measure rollout success and adjust the process along the way.

Creating a Culture of Change and Building Competitive Advantage

By deploying modern technology capabilities, beginning with Windows 10, in tandem with a user enablement and adoption program, WITTENSTEIN was able to overcome resistance to change and cultivate enthusiasm for what’s to come!

WITTENSTEIN in North America has big plans around Industry 4.0 and Ease of Doing Business that rely on high employee productivity and global collaboration. The WITTENSTEIN leadership team for North America believes they are developing competitive advantage through innovation in work processes, and by enabling their people to use new technology effectively on day one.