The Client

The Client is a global vehicle leasing company headquartered in the US. The company operates from 7,000 branches in more than 35 countries around the world.

The Challenge

The Client’s European arm asked Crimson to proffer a suggestion for a specialist IT solution that would integrate all its employee and HR information from its current workforce management and multiple personnel software in a secure, efficient, and accessible way. The Client wanted an integral hub which would integrate branch data, employee data, payroll, timesheet and legacy employee details with a single view of employee data. The solution had to have the highest-level of security because of the sensitive nature of the employee data that it would manage. It also had to work in line with The Client’s cloud first strategy. This solution would manage the data of all The Client’s employees in the UK, Ireland, and Germany.

The Strategy

Crimson’s Cloud Services consultants reviewed the nature of The Client’s request and carried out a separate risk assessment to highlight all potential security weaknesses.

After weighing up the capabilities of several on premise solutions, Microsoft SQL, Microsoft BizTalk, and Logic Apps, it was decided Crimson would deliver the solution using Azure Logic Apps and SQL 2016.  Logic Apps is well supported by Microsoft so it was felt that this cloud-based solution could be developed relatively quickly when compared with more traditional technologies. This option was also favourable as it was aligned to The Client’s agile methodology and ‘cloud first’ approach.

However, there was a danger that Logic Apps, if used as a PaaS in its traditional sense, might expose the sensitive employee data to IT support users. To mitigate this issue, Crimson created a bespoke Web API which enables a security wrapper around the Logic App workflow, in which all the data validations were performed. The Azure SQL database was also encrypted. These measures ensured that sensitive data was thoroughly restricted, accessible only to specific users.

Over a six-month period, Crimson developed, implemented, and embedded the solution within The Client’s European operations. During the next two months, the solution was tested by a global architect team who confirmed it was efficient and robust. Crimson’s Cloud Services specialists also provided early life support to The Client to ensure user adoption.

ROI

Crimson succeeded in meeting The Client’s requirements, providing them with an agile, accessible, and scalable integration system to destination system that gave users a single view of employee data.

Not only does the solution have all the benefits of Microsoft Azure’s cloud services, but it is extremely secure – mitigating all possible data protection risks.

The Client is now considering rolling out Crimson’s solution across its global business.

Crimson is an IT consultancy, an IT solutions provider, an IT recruitment agency, and a Microsoft Gold Partner operating across the UK.