Case Study: Sunrock Builds a Future-Proof IT Environment
Sunrock develops integrated sustainable energy solutions for logistics and industrial companies. Since its founding in 2012, the company has grown into a leading European developer of large-scale rooftop PV systems, smart energy management systems, battery storage, and charging infrastructure.
But as is often the case, not everything within Sunrock grew at the same pace, particularly its IT processes and infrastructure. This led them to a point where professionalization was inevitable to facilitate further growth. A solid IT foundation was essential for this. They turned to DATAGROUP (formerly Valid Managed Services) for help.
Michiel van Heusden, CTO, and Martin Augustin, Lead IT Operations & Security at Sunrock, discuss the process and results of their collaboration with DATAGROUP in this case study:.
The Challenge: IT Is Holding Back Growth
Sunrock’s rapid growth brought with it increasing complexity. What had worked well in the early years began to cause problems more and more often. “We’ve grown very organically,” says Martin. “And the IT side simply didn’t keep pace with the organization. There were no clear processes, no centralized support, and no clear structure.”
Within Sunrock, the team used various tools such as Google Workspace, Box, Slack, and standalone applications. These all did what they were supposed to do, but together they created fragmentation. “Collaboration became difficult,” says Michiel. “Documents were scattered everywhere and nowhere, and no one really had an overview anymore.”
Workstations also posed a growing problem. Laptops weren’t managed centrally, and security varied by user. “If someone lost their laptop, we didn’t really have a clue what that meant,” says Michiel. “Where was the data, who had access, and what was the risk?”
With about 160 employees now spread across multiple countries, IT was becoming increasingly difficult to manage. “Onboarding new employees took an enormous amount of time,” says Martin. “Creating accounts, setting up permissions, preparing laptops. That took days, sometimes even weeks.”
This combination of fragmented tools, limited security, and manual management made the challenge clear: “IT was starting to get in the way of our growth, when it should actually be supporting us,” says Michiel.
Choosing DATAGROUP as an IT Partner
To make the transition to a professional and future-proof IT environment, Sunrock sought out a partner that was not only technically strong but also a good fit for the organization. “We made a very deliberate selection based on multiple criteria,” says Michiel. “Functionality, security, the approach to migration, but also company fit and sustainability.”
DATAGROUP stood out during that selection process. “We weren’t looking for a small IT firm just around the corner, but we also didn’t want a cumbersome consulting firm,” Michiel explains. “Valid sits right in the middle and aligned well with how we work.”
Sustainability was, of course, also a factor. “That was important to us,” says Michiel. “DATAGROUP didn’t score as well on that initially, but they were willing to take concrete steps in that direction (and have done so). That trust was the deciding factor for us.”
Approach: a single standard environment, implemented in phases
Sunrock decided to work together to fundamentally simplify the IT landscape. The organization opted for a single, centralized standard environment based on Microsoft technology, with a focus on modern workplaces, collaboration, and security. “We wanted to get rid of all those disparate tools,” says Michiel. “One way of working, one environment that’s secure and grows with us.”
The transition was deliberately carried out in phases. Files were moved from Box to SharePoint, email and calendars were migrated from Google to Outlook, and Teams became the central communication platform, replacing Slack. At the same time, all workstations were reconfigured and brought under centralized management. “In total, about 160 laptops were reconfigured, spread across three countries,” says Martin.
The project was broken down into clear phases. First came the preparation and a pilot group of users, followed by the large-scale rollout of workstations, and finally the migration of email, calendars, and meetings. “We completed that last step in a single weekend. It was pretty exciting,” Martin notes. “By Monday, we were no longer working in Google but entirely in Microsoft. And it went well!”
Security also became an integral part of the new setup. Together with DATAGROUP and a specialized security partner, 24/7 monitoring was implemented and policies were tightened.
According to Michiel, it was about more than just technology. “This wasn’t just a migration,” he says, “but a genuine move toward greater professionalism. We now have an IT foundation that works.”
Results: A Professional and Secure IT Foundation
The new IT environment has primarily brought Sunrock clarity and peace of mind. Where there used to be a lot of manual work and uncertainty, a secure and scalable foundation has now been established.
One concrete result is the faster onboarding of new employees. “What used to take a lot of time is now handled within a single day,” says Martin. “Accounts and core applications are ready right away.” Moreover, collaboration is now much easier because everything is in a single environment. The change has also been significant in terms of security. “We now have visibility into where laptops are, where people are logging in from, and what’s happening,” says Martin. “If something goes wrong, we get an alert right away and can take immediate action.”
The new, future-proof IT environment now supports Sunrock’s growth. “This feels like a foundation we can build on,” says Michiel. “Not just for today, but also for the next phases of our organization.”
The Collaboration
For Sunrock, the collaboration played a key role in the project’s success. Not only because of the technical expertise, but especially because of their approach to work and their willingness to contribute ideas. “Throughout the project, we had truly skilled and motivated people from DATAGROUP,” Michiel notes. “Without them, this process would have been much more complex and probably a lot longer.”
That attitude remained evident even after the migration. “Communication is easy,” says Martin. “Whether it’s about support, advice, or a strategic question, they understand what we need and respond quickly.”
According to Sunrock, this way of collaborating aligns well with the organization. “DATAGROUP isn’t just an IT vendor that carries out tasks,” says Michiel. “It’s an IT partner that thinks along with us.”
Looking Ahead: An IT Foundation to Build Upon
With this modern and secure IT environment as a foundation, Sunrock is looking ahead. The focus is now on further leveraging the capabilities of the Microsoft platform and simplifying and standardizing processes where that adds value.
“We now have a solid foundation,” says Michiel. “That gives us the freedom to look ahead without constantly having to solve problems first.” And according to Martin, the real benefit lies in what’s already in place. “The foundation is solid; now we can continue to optimize step by step.”
