Factorial reduces admin time by 65%, scaling its solution globally with Azure

In the world of small and medium-sized businesses, managers are often stretched thin. They face cumbersome administrative tasks, compliance requirements, and a steady stream of employee requests that require immediate attention. What gets sacrificed in all the busywork is what every growth-focused company needs to compete and thrive: a proactive focus on culture development and employee retention. Factorial set out to close this vital gap. 

Carlos Cuadrado Barril, Managing Director at h&k and a Factorial customer, sums it up: “Our HR team was overwhelmed with operational tasks like absence tracking, document management, and vacation approvals—all managed manually. This was keeping them from focusing on initiatives that add real value to our business, such as improving our work culture and developing our people.”

Factorial knows about this unique challenge firsthand. It evolved from a promising startup into a European “unicorn,” breaking into competitive markets and securing multimillion-dollar funding within a very short time frame. Its rapid growth shaped a clear mission: create an intuitive, all-in-one business management platform that helps small and medium-sized businesses leave paperwork behind and put people first. But to deliver at scale and across diverse global markets, Factorial needed a technology partner that could do more than just host its infrastructure. It needed a collaborator and a strategic partner invested in helping the company innovate its technology to get to market faster. 

An infrastructure ready-made to innovate with speed and scale   

After working with a competing cloud provider, Factorial chose to migrate to Microsoft Azure. The decision wasn’t just about performance; it was about unlocking new possibilities. “We chose Microsoft Azure for three reasons: AI infrastructure, interoperability with day-to-day business applications, and go-to-market strategy,” says Jordi Romero, CEO of Factorial. Romero knew that the scalable, highly secure models in Azure AI could support the company’s planned agentic architecture. 

To support global scaling and meet developer needs, Factorial deployed Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) with real-time autoscaling. This functionality was critical for onboarding thousands of its customers across regions, including Italy, France, Portugal, and Latin America. Azure Database for MySQL helped reduce Factorial’s operational overhead, so its engineers could focus on building features rather than managing infrastructure. 

Factorial also uses Azure OpenAI in Foundry Models to power its AI agents so they can answer employee questions instantly and trigger workflows, all without human intervention. Factorial’s agents now interact seamlessly with Microsoft productivity tools such as Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and Dynamics 365 Business Central. As a result, users can engage with Factorial’s platform through familiar environments, without needing to open the Factorial app directly. The company is further solidifying its industry leadership role, introducing a new MCP agent built into Business Central for even more seamless, autonomous people management. 

This wasn’t just modernization; it was transformation. Sergi Molins, Director of Strategy and Business Development at Factorial, explains, “We built our Factorial product to be more than a software solution. It is a platform that saves time, connects data, and gives managers the visibility they need to lead with confidence.”     

Offering customers more than software 

Factorial customers used to manage every HR, finance, or internal request using endless Excel sheets and email threads. Today, they run everything on one simple, modern platform, built for people—not paperwork. “AI is not here to take jobs but to eliminate boring tasks,” says Barril. “This technology frees us to focus on meaningful work, leading to better job satisfaction and higher productivity.”   

Barril cites the early outcomes for h&k in using the Factorial One solution. “We’ve reduced our weekly administrative time by 65%, increased participation in climate surveys by 34%, and decreased vacation approval times by two days. Most importantly, we reduced involuntary turnover by 22%, which is impact you can feel.”   

The Microsoft partner ecosystem also played a pivotal role. “Microsoft has been a great school for us in understanding how to maximize our collaboration with channel partners,” says Marcel Queralt, VP of Strategy and Alliances at Factorial. “We are working together globally to help small and medium-sized businesses do more.”

Serving the global need for human-centered AI workplaces 

“HR and finance teams used to think their job was to fulfill administrative requirements,” says Romero. “Now their focus can shift to what truly supports a company’s workforce development and growth goals, giving them more power wherever they are located globally.”  

Romero continues, “Our customers can talk, co-create, document scan, auto-schedule, pull reports, and answer questions on the same infrastructure that is compliant, scalable, and highly secure—all built on top of Microsoft Azure and its AI-ready APIs. We’ve taken our foundational Factorial offering and built upon it to create Factorial One—an industry-leading solution that meets the day-to-day needs of our growth-focused customers.” 

The Factorial journey proves that with the right collaborator, a team of any size can achieve global impact. “Microsoft, for us, is more than a technology provider,” concludes Molins. “They’ve made sure that Factorial gets a whole new global scale.” 

Discover more about Factorial on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, and YouTube.