AHW implements multiple Microsoft products while experiencing substantial net savings

As a leading supplier of John Deere products and other agricultural, lawn, and garden equipment spanning across two states and 18 dealerships, AHW wanted to enhance customer contact by improving employee access to new technology and adhering to new security requirements. With a small IT staff of only four that supports nearly 600 employees, completing this alone would have been demanding without increasing the number of IT staff members.

Already using some Microsoft 365 capabilities, the IT team at AHW began using more of what it already owned within the Microsoft 365 suite. Implementing one technology product at a time, the IT team addressed key parts of its operations by slowly combining its needs under one Microsoft umbrella. With each capability it added, the company soon realized that by changing to Microsoft 365 E5 licenses, it could provide the staff with the tools it needed, increase automation, improve internal and external communication, simplify management, and elevate its security posture. 

Adopting new technologies for business success

Originally named after its founding families, AHW, established in 1932, now likes to think of its name as an acronym for “Always Here When.” This acronym is an ode to its customers who rely on AHW for its quality products, primarily John Deere equipment, to support their businesses.

“Our foundation is built on ‘tomorrow’s solutions today’ and the idea of adopting new technologies to be prepared for our customers’ needs. This means providing quick answers and quality, timely service,” says Brant Burris, Corporate Marketing Manager at AHW. “It’s something that has helped set us apart throughout our entire history. And this is something that our customers have come to depend on us for.”

Transforming communication while increasing savings 

After using foundational Microsoft technology for several years, AHW decided that it needed to take advantage of more Microsoft technology. It began with Microsoft Teams Phone to replace its legacy telephony system. 

“It was easy to train someone that was already fluent with Microsoft Teams,” says Scott Avery, Corporate IT Manager at AHW. The IT staff began rolling out Microsoft Teams for the phone system in February 2022, completing a system-wide transition in under a year, even including inactive months during the business season.

By using Microsoft Teams Phone to transform the way it communicates with customers, AHW improved the selling process. “We’d love for our sales team to be out in the field, talking to the customers at their farms, but when they are busy with a customer, they can’t answer the phone,” says Avery. This limited the customer’s ability to get answers and AHW completing sales. Calls were also sent to a front desk rather than to the appropriate department, causing frustration for both the staff and customers.

With Microsoft Teams Phone, calls are now automatically queued and directed to the most appropriate department. For the sales staff, calls are now routed to a centralized sales team when the original agent is with a client. This greatly improves the customer experience by getting them support faster and permitting other departments to use their skills in other, more relevant tasks. By implementing technology already available to its staff, AHW has been able to save money each year by avoiding costly telephony systems. 

Implementing Microsoft solutions one by one

After seeing the success and ease of using Microsoft Teams Phone, AHW couldn’t stop there. “We started using Microsoft Teams, and that’s when a pivotal shift occurred,” says Avery. “That was kind of our big domino that fell.”

AHW continued its transformation by upgrading to Microsoft 365 E5 along with Microsoft Sentinel for more advanced capabilities like security support and licensing management. To connect and secure its 18 dealerships and support center, AHW chose a Microsoft partner, Netrix Global, which had already assisted with AHW’s telephony migration.

“Netrix Global is providing the security operations center, helping us to create custom rules in Microsoft Sentinel, providing us with around-the-clock support, and offering us security advice,” says Jimmy Nees, Technology Manager at AHW. Having the security operations center helped AHW to advance its security measures well beyond the corporate requirements without hiring an internal team, saving the company even more money and time.

Finally, AHW added workflow automation with Microsoft Power Platform to enhance its business operations. This helps AHW to apply several different processes throughout the organization and improve its efficiency by reducing manual inputs while increasing data accuracy.

Managing technology licenses to reduce costs

Using Microsoft products throughout the company’s digital transformation ultimately led to fast implementation and easy adoption by its employees. And with a comprehensive package of Microsoft tools, AHW reduced its overall expenses.

Managing all these different technologies and licenses became simpler when they were seen as a suite rather than individual parts. “This was accomplished by upgrading to the Microsoft 365 E5 license, which gave us the ability to look past the licensing challenges to where it’s not as intimidating,” says Nees.

“We don’t have to nickel-and-dime all these different licenses for different individual users. Now we manage everything in one centralized dashboard used by all our administrative centers,” says Avery. “And when we looked at the cost of just adding the Microsoft licenses for each product, it was really an easy decision to choose Microsoft.”

AHW extends its financial savings to its employees. “We’re giving full-time employees monthly stipends for cell phones and a reimbursement every two years for a new phone. This ensures that our team has the latest hardware to provide the best experience to our customers,” says Avery.

Benefiting from partnerships into the future

The best part about using compatible Microsoft technology is that it accommodates further advancements in the future. AHW implemented one Microsoft product after another because they are designed to work together and create a complete technology solution.

As a result, AHW proved that a large digital transformation is affordable and easy with the right trusted partnerships.

“We know that we have a partner that’s going to work with us, and we have a solution that’s going to meet our needs immediately. We can implement new technologies quickly by Microsoft seamlessly conforming to AHW’s procedures,” says Avery. “With this partnership, we have improved our customer experience, enhanced our staff’s capabilities, and prepared our company for the future.”